Despite the fact that sarcasm is often held to be the lowest form of wit, a mockumentary can be a great way to introduce students to a topic.This beautifully crafted video gives plastic bags the full nature documentary treatment, and in doing so provides a humorous way for students to approach a very serious topic. For environmental leaders, this can provide a great jumping-off point for school-based action. From a Media Studies perspective, it also provides a way for students to think critically about the distinction between content and presentation. This can lead to discussions on the production of persuasive, emotive content that is not necessarily grounded in truth (such as propaganda).

http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_stewart_how_youtube…

Copyright is an area of immense interest for me: I cannot say exactly why, but I think it is to do with the interplay of creativity, reward and culture. I mostly think of copyright as being a battle between the content creators and content …

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMqM13EUSKw

Each of us has our own understanding of the laws of physics. These beliefs are formed through personal experience (falling out of a tree), classroom education (an apple falls out of a tree) and much more. My own experience has taught me that the …

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http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gever_tulley_on…

As a parent and a teacher, I am keenly aware of the need to provide children with a safe environment in which to grow up and learn. However, at a certain point, too much safety begins to deny children the opportunities to assess and …

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciYk-UwqFKA

Nick Vujicic may have neither arms nor legs, but what really sets him apart from most of us is his attitude. Whilst it is hard to imagine someone with more to complain about, he maintains an extremely positive outlook on life. In this video …

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1oMa3gZPg4

I like to think I am not generally given to hyperbole, but this might be the most amazing video I have seen this year. Damien Walters is a practitioner of parkour, which is “the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one’s …

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http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_specter_the_danger…

In an age where we rely so heavily on technology, more and more people are starting to doubt and deny the science that underlies it. In this fascinating  talk, Michael Specter discusses the danger of such denial. Examples include the supposed link between autism …

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http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2010/04/17/news…

This extremely dated video clip introduces video to a new craze sweeping the world: Internet. When you need something to remind students that there was life before the Net, this is the resource to use. It also provides a view of the Internet as …

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8639769.stm

It is easy to assume that if we make a mess, we can simply clean it up. However, this is not always the case, as shown in this disturbing video, where a Hawaiian beach is slowly turning into plastic. The video introduces us to …

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http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/rives_tells_a_story_of_mixed_emoticons.html

This video is really interesting; and comes to the heart of how we use language as a social semiotic (i.e. a socially constructed set of common meanings and understandings). Language is changing. How can this be used in teaching? Get students to write a …

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