Xixi Wang

Since 2014, thousands of student groups across the globe have been developing and sharing their ideas using our free TED-Ed Student Talks resources. To celebrate 10 years of TED-Ed Student Talks, we have been collecting stories of impact from the program’s facilitators as part of our “10 for 10 years” series.

For this installment of the series, we are highlighting Archana Mohan, co-founder of Bookosmia, India’s largest free and open digital platform for children.

Here, she speaks with TED-Ed’s Senior Community Manager, Peter Maccario, about how the Student Talks program aligned with her platform’s goal to give children a space to share their voices, and how they were able to adapt the activities to the unique needs of their students and the online setting:

Peter Maccario (PM): Tell us about Bookosmia, your role, and the students you’re serving there.

Archana Mohan (AM): I co-founded Bookosmia with Nidhi Mishra. We’ve both always been interested in the intersection of children, literature, education, and young voices. As we became parents ourselves, we thought that there should be a place where our children’s thoughts could also have space. And that’s Bookosmia: a free, open website for all children to submit their stories, poems, essays, artwork, any kind of expression. It’s a digital publishing platform that gives a certificate to every child who writes to us.

PM: How did Bookosmia get involved with the Student Talks program? 

AM: We saw the wonderful work that TED-Ed was doing with the exact same motive of having young people speak out, helping give them the voice and the structure to do so. We loved the idea and applied to be facilitators. I think it’s our third year now. And the most striking fact for us has been how unifying TED-Ed has been, how universal its ideas are, and the Idea Journal remains everybody’s favorite. They’re always talking about it!

“TED-Ed is not just about public speaking — it’s where you learn new things about new people.”

PM: How did you implement Student Talks into Bookosmia, and how did it fit into what you were already doing as a digital platform?

AM: At the beginning, we had these wonderful meetings that TED-Ed set up with other facilitators who were just starting out, where we could talk to the previous educators and ask questions. I was a bit worried because for most people, the [Student Talks groups] were being done in one place, like a school or a community center. They actually meet the [students] in person and that’s how these programs run. But I knew that for us that wouldn’t work. We knew we wanted to have our young friends from tier three schools and cities also join us. Limiting it to a physical space would automatically cut out all those children, which we thought wasn’t fair because they were already interacting with us. We wanted to do this online, so the first thing we did was assess how we could integrate this best with an online structure. The best part was all of the Student Talks activities were so flexible with what you could do in a classroom, whether online or offline. Doing the group online brought in so many diverse perspectives that I think would have been lost if we had only done it in one community center where all children go to similar schools, or come from similar income groups, or have similar backgrounds. Because we were talking to children from various parts of the country from different backgrounds, the richness of the conversation was definitely improved.

Students participate in the online Student Talks activities

PM: How were you able to start getting the students invested in the program?

AM: There’s a great activity [in the Student Talks curriculum] called “What is in your water?” which asks students to think about what they’re passionate about. What I love about that activity is no one has ever asked these children what they’re passionate about. Most people don’t think to ask children that. They ask “what are your hobbies?” Or, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Those are two common things that children get asked, but they’re never asked what they’re really passionate about, or what makes them happy. That’s what we were focusing on when we started out: getting the children to understand themselves better, then helping them understand their classmates who were all from different places. We break the ice through a lot of activities, and each of our sessions starts with something fun. I think a lot of our program takes off from where TED-Ed starts, but then we use a localized approach which children are more familiar with.

PM: What other adjustments have you made to adapt the program to your students’ needs?

AM: There is a notion that TED-Ed is an exclusive club, and I loved how we broke that down. When you tell people you’re a TED speaker, there’s value in it. But it can be a bit intimidating — the students think, “am I good enough?” From the beginning we wanted to ensure that that thought doesn’t creep into their heads. The activities at the start of the program, where students talk about their strengths, draw themselves, and write about how they’re feeling before giving a talk, we loved those and we spoke about them together. So many children said to us, “I have never given a speech in public. I’m nervous to talk and I’m an introvert.” And we realized that those were just labels that these children had heard from other people that unfortunately they had now co-opted with their personalities. And to remove these barriers for them, we showed them examples of other TED-Ed speakers. One talk we always show is from a young girl, Molly Wright. She  talks about the power of connection, and shows them that anyone can be a speaker; whatever age you are, whoever you are, you’re able to do that.

Another thing that we did if people were not comfortable on video was suggest podcasting. They went through the same process, developing a throughline, listening to talks, making outlines and everything, but they did their final talk as a podcast. It was just audio, they focused on the delivery of the speech and this allowed them to be in a comfortable space without anyone watching. Once they were comfortable in that setting, they realized they knew their talk, and the video portion just became an extension of that.

Prabhgeet giving her talk about embracing grief

PM: If you were to pick one standout moment from your time leading TED-ED Student Talks with your students, what would you highlight and why?

AM: First, I love watching them let go of their inhibitions. Second, shedding the labels that have been associated with them, either by other people or by themselves. Third, watching them learn that they and their classmates have so many unrealized skills. TED-Ed is not just about public speaking — it’s where you learn new things about new people. For example, we watched the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie TED Talk about the danger of a single story. I can’t tell you how many young people come back and say that whenever they see someone who’s different from them, or they have a prejudiced thought about them, this talk immediately comes to mind. I love how they’re able to associate those talks and use it in real life. In school, they’ve had to write essays for their classes and they’ll tell us about them saying, “in my throughline, I did this.” So they’re using the process in their schoolwork, and I think that’s only possible with a program like TED-Ed that lays out the whole process clearly. By the end of the program, the students know exactly where they need humor, where they need the hook, what they want to convey, and how to conclude.

“Anyone can be a speaker; whatever age you are, whoever you are, you’re able to do that.”

PM: You’ve spoken about a sense of confidence and building new perspectives, are there other skills you’ve seen improved by the program?

AM: Confidence has been the number one change. The second is language. English is not their first language, so while they are able to communicate quite well in English, there is also the question of “what words should I use?” One great learning has been that the simpler the language, the more it reaches people. Also, authenticity and agency are things that they have gotten introduced to. They understand that they are citizens, they have rights, and can speak up and their opinion counts. When children are taught these values, they automatically feel like they are heard and they feel valued. I think it dramatically improves how they look at things. All of this is linked to the program.

PM: What has been the most challenging part of implementing Student Talks online, and how did you overcome it?

AM: Having everybody on the same page when you’re online can be difficult. We can’t all talk at the same time, it’s too noisy. So, you have to mute people and then let each person speak. Luckily, young people are very mindful of how they conduct their online lessons, and so they understand.

Mitali giving her talk about unconscious gender bias

PM: What words of wisdom would you share with someone considering Student Talks for their students or classrooms?

AM: Keep it light and have activities that speak to the children, things that they identify with. Always start with a fun activity. One of the most fun activities we do is create your own meme. We take standard meme templates, and have them write in their own memes and they love it. We also take video of people talking, mute the audio, and ask the students to come up with their own script. What this does is make the whole atmosphere unserious, which you really need to do when you’re talking to young people. Get them invested in the activity, and then make them think.

For anyone considering the program, I would say absolutely go for it. There’s a lot to learn — not just for these young people, but also for the instructors. I think everyone benefits from listening to these young people and their fresh ideas. It’s a win for everyone.

Interested in learning more about TED-Ed Student Talks? Check out our Student Talks page here to find out how the program works and how you can get involved.

Check out the other pieces in the 10 for 10 years series here, here, here, here, and here.