TEDEd

In 2011, the distance education took a giant leap on with the launch of TEDEd, a non-profit initiative that harnesses the talent of the world’s best teachers and visualizers to take great lessons beyond the classroom to anyone with internet access. Through an open submission process on the TED-Ed website, educators and animators from around the globe can contribute lesson plans and video reels on any topic. Select lesson submissions will be matched with chosen visualizers to create video lessons that will take the teaching and learning experience beyond the classroom in short videos that can be anywhere from three to ten minutes long. The channel will be part of the already running You-Tube education channel (youtube.com/edu) which offers a collection of half a million educational videos that go beyond the “cat flushing a toilet” kind of stuff available on the mother channel. Online education concepts, such as YouTube’s education channel and Khan Academy, have been around for awhile, but what sets TED-Ed apart is the eye-catching animation through visualizers, professional editing, and high quality production values, and the shorter length that abbreviates what can be an hour-long class.