Behind the Scenes of TED-Ed's Wildly Popular YouTube ...

Stephanie Lo, director of TED-Ed Programs, tells EdSurge the videos are geared toward people aged 13 to 21, but viewers fall into a broad age ...  NewsResearchEventsJobsBoardProductIndexMoreGuidesProductIndex(Legacy)PodcastHigherEdAdvertisingAboutEdSurgeNewsletterCompanyDashboardManageJobAlertsNewsResearchEventsJobsBoardGuidesProductIndexBETAProductIndex(Legacy)PodcastHigherEdAdvertisingAboutEdSurgeCompanyDashboardManageJobAlertsSignupforourNewsletterBehindtheScenesofTED-Ed’sWildlyPopularYouTubeChannelforStudentsTweetShareSignupforournewsletter×TweetShareLikethisarticle?Signupforournewsletter→×FunStuffBehindtheScenesofTED-Ed’sWildlyPopularYouTubeChannelforStudentsByTinaNazerian  Aug16,2018SvetlanaKononova/ShutterstockTweetShareEmailTweetShareEmailThisarticleispartoftheguideTheWorldIsWatching:HowYouTubeShapesEducation.WhenKimPreshoff’sstudentswatchsomeanimatedTED-Edvideos,theydon’tknowthatshewastheonewhocameupwiththelessonsandwrotethescriptsuntilthecreditsroll.TheNewYorkstate-basedhighschoolenvironmentalscienceteacherdoesn’tliketomakeabigdealaboutitinfrontofherstudents,butwhentheyfindout,they’reusuallyinawe.TEDisbestknownforitsvideosshowcasingitsdifficult-to-get-intotalksfromexpertsandcreativethinkers.ButthenonprofitalsohasaneducationarmwithitsownYouTubechannelfilledwithanimatedexplainervideos,generallyaboutfourtosevenminuteslong,ontopicsthatmaysurpriseyou,suchasthe“mostsuccessfulpirateofalltime”andthe“world’smostmysteriousbook.”Theorganization’sYouTubechannelstartedin2012aspartofYouTube’sChannelsExpansioninitiative.StephanieLo,directorofTED-EdPrograms,tellsEdSurgethevideosaregearedtowardpeopleaged13to21,butviewersfallintoabroadagerange.Currently,thechannelhasmorethansevenmillionsubscribersandhundredsofvideos,whichtogetherhaverackedupmorethanabillionviews.Losaystheanimationsstartedoutasanexperimenttoseeiftheyresonatedwithlearners,andtheydid.Personally,shethinkstheyhelppeopleseeconceptsbroken-down.AnyeducatorcaneithersuggestatopicshewantstoseeTED-Edcreateavideoon,orpitchalessonherself,asPreshoffdoes.ThecoredriverofTED-Ed’scontent,Losays,isthequestionofhowto“bestsparkthecuriosityoflearners.”Whenthechannelfirstbegan,Losaystherewerealotofsciencesubmissions.Butlately,theorganizationhasseen“spectacularinterest”inhistory,literatureandlanguage.“Ithinkit’sactuallytopic-agnostic.’Preshoff’svideosfocusontheenvironment,asubjectshe’spassionateabout.Shesaysalotoftimes,shechoosestopicstofillaneedinhercurriculumifshecan’tfindagoodexistingresourceorvideoonthematter.Othertimes,it’sbecauseshewantspeopletobebetterinformedaboutasubject.Shepitchedhervideoontheimportanceofbiodiversitywhensherealizedalotofpeopleprobablycouldn’tdefinetheterm.Stillotherideassimplygountold:notallofherpitchesendupaccepted. “Iteachenvironmentalscience,andI’vewatchedalotofchanges,”Preshoffsays.“I’mreallyhopingthatIcanreachpeopleabouttheimportanceof—Iknowthisisgoingtosoundsoidealistic—preservingtheplanetandmakingadifference.”Fromstarttofinish,theprocessofconceivingandcreatingthevideosiscomplicatedandlengthy.Preshoffsaysitgenerallytakesatleastfourmonthsforavideotobereleased.Firstthere’sthepitch,followedbyadevelopmentmeeting.ThencomeswhatPreshoffcallsthehardestpart.Shehastowritean800-900wordscriptthat’s“simpleanddirect”andfollowsguidelinesTED-Edsendsher.Amongthoseguidelines?Thinkoftheanimationsreplacingsomeofherwords—suchasshowingspecificanimalsimpactedbybiodiversityinsteadoflistingthembyname.That’snotalwayseasy,shesays,becauseteachersthinktheirwords“arealwayssuperimportant.”Whenshesubmitsherscript,TED-Edtakesalookandasksherwhereshegotherresources.Theorganizationdoessomefact-checking,andthenengagesanarratorandananimatortobringittolife.Preshoffsayssheseespartsoftheanimationthroughouttheprocessandshe’sabletogiveherthoughtsandaskforchanges.“Whenitgetsbacktoyou,itisanamazingpieceofwork,becausewhatyouexpectandwhatyouwroteismadesomuchbetter,anddonesocreatively,”shesays,addingthatthe“beautifulpieceofwork”iscompletelyateameffort.Preshoffdoesn’tgetpaid,nordoessheexpectto(althoughTED-Edgivesherandothereducatorswhodeveloplessonsgiftcards).Forher,it’senoughtohelp“makeadifferenceintheworld”andhelpothereducatorshavesomethingtheycanuseintheclassroom.“Itfeelslikeyou'regivingback.”Takehervideoonthescienceofsmog.TheendofthatvideofeaturedanodetoPreshoff’steachingcareerandinvitedviewerstogiveherashout-outinthecomments.Preshoffsaysthatsimpleactmadeherfeelreallyappreciated.“I’vebeenteachingfor30years,Icanrecallmaybe30timesthatmykidshavesaid,‘thankyousomuch,wejustloveyou,’”shesays.“ButtowatchthecommentsfromacrosstheworldcomeuponthebottomofmyYouTubevideo,itwasprettyastoundingandprettyhumbling.”TinaNazerian(@journoinred)isareporteratEdSurgecoveringeducationtechnology.Reachherattina[at]edsurge[dot]com.Duetoaneditingerror,thisarticleinaccuratelystatedthenumberofviewsonTED-Ed'sYoutubeChannel.Thepiecehasbeenupdatedwiththecorrectnumber.FunStuffNextUpTheWorldIsWatching:HowYouTubeShapesEducationFunStuffWhatIt’sLiketoBeaTeacherVloggerStaronYouTubeByTinaNazerianLearningResearchWholeBrainTeachingIsWeird—andWeirdlyViralBySydneyJohnsonProject-BasedLearningWhyThisStudent-RunYouTubeClubIsAboutMoreThanMakingVideosByStephenNoonooDigitalLearninginHigherEdYouTubeSearchesFavorVideosThatAttackPublicEducation,ScholarFindsByJeffreyR.YoungMorefromEdSurgeTeaching&LearningWhyWeNeedtoTalkAboutTeacherTraumaByDianaLeeSchoolInfrastructureTheSchoolHallPassIsGoingDigital.IsThataGoodThing?ByJeffreyR.YoungMarketTrends5RisksPosedbytheIncreasingMisuseofTechnologyinSchools 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