District Five school participates in international TED program
February 24, 2016
A group of students from Lexington-Richland School District Five were among the first to participate in a new international program aimed at providing virtual field trips and insight into the fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED).
Nearly 80 CrossRoads Intermediate School sixth graders joined students from Canada, the Middle East and other parts of the world on Feb. 23 for the first TED Exploration Connect, a spin-off of the non-profit’s better known TED Talk series. During the web session, students spoke remotely with underwater archaeologist Jill Heinerth, a past TED Talk presenter who is currently exploring underwater caves in Newfoundland.
“Being selected for this brand new TED program is a huge honor,” said Melinda Bullard, a language arts teacher who pursued the opportunity for her students. “What better way to research than to talk to an actual scientist in the field. It reaffirms the ideas of exploring and following your passion, something we’ve been teaching the students about in class and through the TED-Ed Club at CrossRoads.”
Exploration Connect is one of the newest initiatives out of TED, the international nonprofit forum with the motto “ideas worth spreading.” The group’s educational initiative, TED-Ed, launched clubs in 2014 as part of its global program to help students create and articulate solutions to real-world problems. CrossRoads Intermediate started its TED-Ed club during the 2014-15 school year. Students in this year’s clubs will present their TED Talks in May, Bullard said.
“The topics are different, but we can all be passionate about something…that’s what the club and TED Exploration Connect teaches the students,” she said.
During the Feb. 23 virtual field trip, CrossRoads Intermediate students heard first-hand about Heinerth’s explorations of diverse ecosystems, from deep inside underwater caves to inside giant Antarctic icebergs. Using photographs from her dives, Heinerth also shared how data and specimens she collects are being used to unlock mysteries about evolution and climate change.
CrossRoads Intermediate School students Mahrukh Iftikhar and Michael Brewer said the first TED Exploration Connect was a great learning experience.
“I thought it was really cool because we got to see people from around the world, and we got to meet an actual deep sea diver …I’ve never been been deep sea diving before,” Iftikhar said.
Brewer added, “I’ve never really been out of the country, and I haven’t been far out of the state. …It was cool to be speaking with people across the world.”
Deep sea diving isn’t for everyone. “It seems a little too dangerous (and) too life-threatening,” Brewer concluded. “But it does seem fun.”
More information on TED-Ed Clubs is available online at: http://ed.ted.com/clubs/.
To learn more about Jill Heinerth and see her TED Talk “The mysterious world of underwater caves” visit: https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_heinerth_the_mysterious_world_of_underwater_caves?language=en
