https://ed.ted.com/about

Most of us are familiar with the TED family of products. We have probably listened to a TEDx Talk or maybe attended a TED Conference. The TED philosophy is that “ideas have the power to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately, the world” (TED, n.d.) and their TED Ed platform provides an elegant space for students and educators to contribute to that mission.

TED Ed is a platform for students and educators to share ideas and content. The platform provides a library of short animated videos about educational content around which educators can create their own interactive lessons. For example, if there is a video on the digestive system of the human body, the instructor can create her own quiz, add a discussion thread, or post additional resources for students.  Students and educators can also contribute their own content to the platform and share their ideas with the world.

TED Ed can be used for young students and for adults. The existing content is wide ranging so students and educators can likely find level-appropriate content about the subject in which they are interested. If not, they can create their own and add it to the library and share with others!

Reference

TED (n.d.) TED Ed: About. Retrieved from: https://ed.ted.com/about

https://quizlet.com/

To put it simply, Quizlet is an app through which students can study content. However, that simplifies the app unnecessarily. Quizlet is a powerful, customizable tool that supports learning using principles of cognitive science. The app allows students (or teachers) to create their own quizzes, flashcards, games, and diagrams using their own content or shared content. Students can quickly and easily build their own quiz or study aids using the content they are currently studying in class. Or, students can search for a topic among the thousands on the site and find study aids created by others on the same topic. Students can even customize the content created by someone else! One of the strengths of this app is its ability to customize the delivery format to a user’s preference. If students prefer flashcards, the content can be generated into flashcards. If students prefer diagrams, the content can be placed in a diagram.

Quizlet can be used for all ages and all content. For adults, this app could be used in a work-training situation or in a college classroom. One example might be students in a physical therapy program studying the medical terms for body movements.

Experts in educational technology contend there are many exciting advancements in the field of educational technology that could change the way students learn. Four areas of note for the near future are:

• Automation, artificial intelligence, analytics
• Augmented reality, virtual reality
• Open or global learning opportunities
• Digital citizenship

(Avedisian & Matsumoto, 2018; ISTE, 2019; Zimmerman, 2018)