The TED (“Ideas worth spreading”) series at www.ted.com brings together world-class thinkers on a range of issues. These presentations tap into “Technology, Entertainment, Design” to share ideas critical to the world and tend to be multidisciplinary and cutting-edge.
A sampling of TED presentations are covered below, showing new ways of presenting digital data that may change the nature of electronic learning (e-learning):
- Dynamic data visualization (“Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen”)
- Linked data (“Tim Berners-Lee on the next Web”)
- Artificial life simulations (“Will Wright makes toys that make worlds”)
- Envisioning new realities through the imagination (Jane McGonigal: Gaming can Make a Better World)
Dynamic data visualization
“Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen” (2006)
This doctor and researcher focuses on human development work but uses sophisticated ways of presenting data in a dynamic way, to show global and national trends.
Linked data
“Tim Berners-Lee on the next Web” (2009)
Here, the founder of the WWW explains the power of linked data. He explains the concept of dbpedia. He argues against the protectionist attitudes about data and argues for the sharing of research information (“raw data now!”). He demonstrates strategies for the enhanced findablity and sharability of relevant information on the Web.
Artificial life simulations
“Will Wright makes toys that make worlds” (2007)
Renowned game designer and aspiring cyborg Will Wright (“Sim City,” “Spore,” and others) talks about the design of games (as “toys”) to encourage indirect, non-overt, and intuitive learning. He describes how he discovers his own individual passions and uses those as inspirations for his games. Spore uses an artificial world.
Envisioning new realities through the imagination
“Jane McGonigal: Gaming can Make a Better World (2010)”
Jane McGonigal (“Superstruct,” “The Lost Ring”) describes her work creating games to help people solve the urgent problems of the world. She describes World without Oil, EVOKE, and other games that she has worked on.
