High School Online Self-Help Class with Open Tent Academy
Just a few weeks into a ten-week high school self-help online class with Open Tent Academy titled “Ten Terrific TED Talks” offered by Open Tent Academy, I’m convinced this is one of my best course discoveries yet for my 9th grader. I’m a huge believer in equipping my teens with tools to help them not just excel academically, but to amplify their personal development skills they will use forever.
If you are unfamiliar with TED Talks, Open Tent Academy provides this description: “*TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.”
Course Content
Noted as a potential online high school 0.5 credit course (Language Arts, Humanities or elective), “Ten Terrific TED Talks” is targeted at students who are comfortable writing a five-paragraph essay. As a ten-week e-learning high school course, the class is comprised of a once-weekly, 90 minute, live online component plus daily assignments. Depending on my son’s effort and focus, the daily homework takes between 30-90 minutes.
Exactly as stated in the title, this course is built upon ten carefully selected TED talks covering a wide scope of topics. Participation in the live component is encouraged, which is highly important to me as a parent- the LAST thing I want is to pay for an e-learning course and have my student off playing on his phone or goofing off. My entire family watched the first TED talk together and we were intrigued by the importance of hands in personal communication. All week, we laughed as we greeted each other with hands behind our back or used specific gestures to see if we could obtain a unique response from another family member.
Supplies
Other than a computer (with Internet), pencil and paper, no specific materials are required for this elective online class. If requested, the teacher will provide a letter grade; otherwise, assignments are given a numeric rating. Set up in Canvas, the modules are incredibly well organized and each week’s assignments are clear and easy for the student to find and understand. If needed, the instructor is easily accessible and responds promptly to questions.
Assignments
Personally, I love the short writing assignments my son completes for this course.
Although I realize the value of lengthy, well-thought out, traditional five-paragraph essays (he writes these in his Language Arts class), the kind of writing he does for “Ten Terrific TED Talks” reminds me more of real-world, practical writing. Questions are designed to create reflection and thought-provoking responses, similar to writing in response to a journal prompt (which he hates, as opposed to these assignments). Recently, he composed a paragraph about grit that really demonstrated to me that he thought deeply and did some self-reflection after watching the talk. All writing assignments receive feedback and comments from the instructor in a timely fashion.
The final project for this e-learning course was the creation and production of the student’s own TED talk. My son enjoyed planning, researching, and giving his own TED talk (and this even included some video editing).
Benefits
In today’s busy and competitive world full of endless opportunities, characteristics like grit, confidence, and leadership are what will set people apart! Although some students may naturally possess a little more of these qualities than others, the chance to be taught by experts in short bursts of motivational video plus guidance from an exceptional teacher is a fantastic one.
Don’t hesitate to sign your teen up for this course through Open Tent Academy, and I promise it will be one to generate discussion amongst your family and provide useful tools for the high school years and beyond. For more course recommendations, reviews from real parents, and overall online school tips, join our private Facebook group!
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