A post by Richard Byrne reminded me this morning about several things I’ve wanted to share here. First, I think TED Talks videos are wonderful! And not just because Chris Anderson, TED’s curator, attended the same school as me in India. I believe TED offers some of the most stimulating, challenging and inspiring content available online. The ever expanding range of subjects covered is amazing. So, I think any educator or life-long learner who is not subscribed to TED is missing out.

Secondly, there is a specific TED talk that resonated with me. It’s the talk by Dan Meyer entitled Math Class Needs a Makeover. (I’ve embedded it at the conclusion of this post.) In this video, Dan highlights the disconnect between math in the real world and the way math has typically been taught in North American schools. One of the points made by Dan is the importance of encouraging math learners to formulate the questions that mathematical reasoning can help answer.

This brings me to the third thing. Dan Meyer’s 101questions site, where the community of the curious can pose problems and ask questions.

Images and videos are posted on the site, and registered users are invited to pose questions, using 140 characters or less. After asking your own question, you can check to see what others have asked. I’ve had fun exploring the site, and I’m pretty sure there’s great potential here for engaging math learners. Here’s what the user interface looks like.

For anyone seeking to engage math learners, this is a fabulous resource!

Now, if you haven’t already seen it, please watch Math Class Needs a Makeover.