The World as Classroom
The idea gurus at TED have just released an online portal for educators—and for the student in all of us: TED-Ed. Teachers from around the world are invited to submit short lessons, and those selected are paired up with animators to produce pithy, eye-catching videos for the TED-Ed website. Even cooler is the “flip” function that allows educators to design a lesson around any one video to use in the classroom. Our favorite so far? “The Power of Simple Words.” ‘Cause as any advocate will tell you, simplicity matters.
What’s in a Name?
A lot, actually. Especially if you’re a superhero. As The Economist‘s Prospero blog points out, several classic superhero names are by now passé; and film producers are coming up with multiple ways to avoid calling characters by, well, their names. Advocates encounter a similar challenge with messaging. The name of an advocacy campaign can sometimes be as important as the campaign itself: it should be brief, catchy and sticky. Superpowers help, of course.
Let’s Tawk Diarrhea
Speaking of catchy titles, our friends at PATH recently published a report on national approaches to diarrhea control in three African countries titled Diarrhoea Dialogues: From Policies to Progress. Noting that diarrhea is the single biggest killer of children in sub-Saharan Africa (and entirely preventable), PATH and co-author Tearfund urge policymakers globally to address the problem. PATH aims to make “poo” the new go-to topic of conversation…but maybe not at the dinner table.
