Generate A TED Talk with AI Assistance

• Brainstorm social issues or sustainable development goals that concern them. You may choose to view the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, going over vocabulary in the articles and discussing if and how any of the rights are not upheld in countries around the world.
• Have students view individual or view as a class United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Categorize or match students’ brainstormed list with the 17 goals.
• Discuss: Why is raising awareness about these issues important?
• Ask students if they are familiar with TED Talks. If so, ask them to name any talks or to search on the site or on YouTube for any TED Talks they have watched and recommend. Ask them to report what the topic was and how it influenced their thoughts or taught them something they didn’t know.
• Ask students how could a TED Talk could contribute to a solution to any of the issues they brainstormed.

Have students watch a TED Talk or a snippet of one related to an issue students identified. Have them notice how the speaker constructs the talk and images that are shared. You can create comprehension questions for the talk, as desired, by using Twee.

Explain the typical structured format of a TED Talk. Optionally create a listening and notetaking worksheet for the following:

1. Opening: The speaker starts with a compelling opening to grab the audience's attention, often with a personal story, surprising fact, or powerful statement.

2. Introduction: The speaker introduces themselves and provides background information on their expertise or topic.

3. The Big Idea: The speaker presents their main idea or argument, the central theme of their talk. This is often concise and memorable, encapsulating the essence of their message.

4. Supporting Points: The speaker elaborates on their main idea, providing evidence, examples, and anecdotes to support their argument. This section may include data, research findings, or personal experiences.

5. Visuals: TED Talks often incorporate visuals such as slides, videos, or demonstrations to enhance understanding and engagement.

6. Storytelling: Speakers frequently use storytelling techniques to captivate the audience and make their message more relatable and memorable.

7. Call to Action or Conclusion: The speaker concludes their talk by summarizing key points and often issuing a call to action, challenging the audience to apply what they've learned or to consider a new perspective.

8. Q&A: Some TED Talks include a question and answer session, where the speaker responds to inquiries from the audience, further engaging with the topic.

Returning to the TED Talk students viewed in the introduction, ask students to identify the elements of the structure that was provided above. As needed, have students view the TED Talk again to identify these elements and/or other elements.

• Provide students with a TED Talk script, such as that provided as an accompanying document. You can get a TED Talk transcript for another TED Talk or prompt an AI text generator such as ChatGPT to create a TED Talk on a topic to include the elements. Your prompt can be: Write a TED Talk on the topic of X with an opening, introduction, statement of the main idea, supporting points, a story or anecdote, and a call to action or conclusion.
• Have students read the transcript or AI-generated TED Talk and identify the parts (opening, introduction, statement of the main idea, supporting points, a story or anecdote, and a call to action or conclusion).
• Depending on your course student learning outcomes, have students write short TED Talks on their selected topic related to human rights or sustainable development goals with the typical TED Talk structure (opening, introduction, statement of the main idea, supporting points, a story or anecdote, and a call to action or conclusion) or if your objective is oral presentation skills, demonstrate for them how to use a Large Language Model such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini to construct their TED Talk for them.
• If students use AI to help them co-write their TED Talks, have them first create an outline for their talks, including a strong hook, key points, and call to action.
• Then have students review and refine the AI-generated content, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses and making desired changes. Demonstrate this by modeling. Students should be directed revise and edit the content to ensure clarity, coherence, and personal voice.
• Have students practice delivering their talk with constructive peer feedback on pace, tone, and gestures. Provide teacher feedback on pronunciation, stress, intonation, and delivery.
• Students can then create very brief slideshows with images to enhance their talks using a preferred slideshow program such as PowerPoint or Google Slides. Another option is for students to experiment with AI slides generators such as Canva, Slidesgo, Visme, or other. Remind students to use words sparingly and to select images carefully to accentuate key points in their talks.

Students deliver their final TED Talks (individually or small groups).

Use a version of the provided rubric to assess each presentation (self-assessment and peer evaluation encouraged). 

Discuss how students can further develop their ideas and actions beyond the TED Talk (e.g., petitions, online campaigns, community events). Encourage students to share their talks online or use them to raise awareness in their communities.

Consider inviting a guest speaker familiar with selected student-chosen issues to provide feedback and inspiration.
Have students record their TED Talks for self-reflection and future reference.