TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing is a collaborative “library of lessons”. It is a collection of lessons created around educational YouTube videos geared toward high school and college students and educators. Like TED.com, TED-Ed is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization. The board of advisors for TED-Ed include Aaron Sam and Jonathan Bergman, both Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science winners; John Hunter who created the World Peace Game, which has been played across the world since 1978, Jackie Bezos and Salman Khan, both founders of educational foundations, and Sir Ken Roberts and Melinda French Gates, both known for their philanthropy and support of education.
Much like TED.com, TED-Ed provides informative lectures and lessons on subjects that can be used in the classroom. What sets TED-Ed apart is that it not only presents the talk but also includes lessons, assessments of the material presented under “Think” and information to Dig Deeper within any subject. Users can use the lesson as is, or can easily customize it to suit the needs of the information requirement or goals and objectives. Creating a custom lesson is relatively simple, but if assistance is needed there is an effective Help section and video tutorials to walk the user through the process. Each lesson also provides the creators of the lessons.
One must register to use the site but beyond creating a username and password, there is no obligation or cost for the user. The Terms and Conditions limit registration to those aged ≥ 13 years. In the about section of TED-Ed it is stated that each of the 355 TED-Ed Originals, 170 TED Talks and 63 TED-Ed selects are “carefully curated educational videos”. There are 62,389 total flips presenting information that is original from the creator and modified by educators and students. TED-Ed is constantly changing as more lessons are added and lessons are modified by others to suit their individual requirements. While each site does not list citations for the material presented, the site itself does provide information for others to cite the lessons.
TED-Ed.com is suitable for the school library and academic library as an additional source. It is a valuable resource in assisting high school teachers and students. While the lessons presented on are vetted by the TED-Ed advisory board, users should still triangulate the information presented to ensure that there is not bias or misinformation presented in any individual lesson. College students and instructors may also find the information useful as part of a module. Users should also vet the creators of any given lesson to ascertain their authority on the subject presented. Infomine.com does not list TED-Eed.com but does provide information on TED-Ed.com, suggesting that it is recommended for an academic audience.
TED-Ed is presented in a cohesive, visually pleasing format. There is continuity across the pages and lessons presented. Pages and videos load quickly. This access is only as fast as the Internet service of the user. TED-Ed lacks outside advertisements, only listing Kohls’ Cares and YouTube as sponsors on their About page. Navigation is easy, but the search engine within the site could be tweaked as it is not adequate or well-designed; the search function is in need of improvements to effectively and efficiently search for information by adding controlled vocabulary, indexing and the functionality of Boolean operators and an advanced search. The search interface does not seem to support Boolean operators, a search of “Art” and “Science, ” returned lessons that had the word “Art” or “science” or “And” in the title or description. The FAQ section presents useful information but is not comprehensive; there are no guides presented on searching within the site. Lessons are categorized by subject with some subjects containing subcategories. Science and technology is highly represented on the page though there are only two lessons on information literacy. Some subjects are sparse on the lessons presented and others are abundant. With more diverse users, this is bound to improve. Because of the simple navigation, librarians and users who are comfortable with Internet searches will be comfortable on TED-Ed. Lessons can be copied and shared; there is information for citing lessons. There is no phone number to call for assistance and an emailed question was left unanswered even after 60 hours.
TED-Ed is an excellent starting point for teachers and students, though it is currently more useful for supporting questions in science, engineering, technology and math than arts and literature. It is easy to use for both the novice and the expert. A more diverse presentation of information or limiting the scope to the sciences would enhance the site. The Help section and search functions could be improved to make this an excellent resource for teachers and students. However, without citations for the information presented or credentials of the creators, caution is recommended and requires users to complete individual research. Overall, this site is recommended for teachers who want a little help with lesson plans and for students looking for information on particular subjects.
