Intellect and creativity were palpable as TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) devotees poured into the Wyly’s lobby for coffee before a packed Session I program kicked off. In 2002, Thum founded Ethos Water to bring clean water and sanitation to deprived areas around the world by selling bottled water and giving a small part of the revenue to fund safe water projects.ĭALLAS - Exploring the idea of “disruption,” big thinkers and the curious of mind gathered at the Wyly Theatre on Saturday for the third annual TEDxSMU – a day of discussions and lectures from some of the world’s biggest innovators facilitating productive change.
That’s been Thum’s mission possible for the last decade. This annual gathering showcases visionary speakers who discuss how technology, entertainment and design can make the world a better place for all its creatures. Thum was in Dallas last weekend to speak at TEDxSMU 2011, a local symposium authorized by the international TED organization. “Beauty, design, craft and rarity come together to transform this negative thing - a gun - into an object of desire.
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“We envision an Africa free from the fear of assault rifles,” says Thum, a 43-year-old social entrepreneur who launched Fonderie 47 in November. And when you buy it, you’re also paying to destroy 75 assault weapons.
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That’s the serial number of the AK-47 that was destroyed in the Democratic Republic of Congo to make it.įor $25,600, you can own a handcrafted ring similar to his. Driving a modern car is not the same as engineering a car–and math instruction should focus on the driving (using math to solve real problems) rather than the engineering (with some exceptions).Peter Thum’s ring bears an unusual inscription: 56-13305582. “Math is not equal to calculating,” he says. His suggestion: instead of giving students the formulas and making them compute the math by hand, we should teach students to conceptualize real world problems, pose the right questions, apply the right kind of math, and use computers to compute the math. Check out Meyer’s blog for lesson ideas and math fun.Ĭonrad Wolfram argues for computer-based math in his TED Talk. He encourages math teachers to turn word problems into real problems. This force students to figure out what information and formulas they need for themselves. No problem worth solving is simple, he says, adding a quote from Einstein: “The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill.” To that end, Meyer spends 90% of his prep time turning boring problems from math textbooks into conversations that build math reasoning skills by eliminating the step-by-step instructions and neatly packaged information provided for solving the problem. Math teach Dan Meyer says we need to focus more on teaching math reasoning in a way that students will actually retain it ( check out his TED Talk).
While I have yet to create a museum exhibit about math, wouldn’t it be great to teach it like something people want to learn instead of have to learn? I’ve recently been binging on math-related TED Talks and all the great ideas out there almost make me wish I taught math.