The Do Remember Me project connects teens in Philadelphia with other teens around the world via Skype/Google Hangout. This short (~11 min) documentary on the program was produced by Loki Films for the Sundance Institute’s Short Film Challenge.

Students from various TED-Ed Clubs from around the world communicate via Google Hangout in this short, inspirational video. From the producers: "Cultural exchange may be as simple as talking about your favorite song, or as complicated as trying to explain the effects of your country's political climate. No matter what, though, it always matters."

This three-minute video lesson briefly explores themes of peace embedded within cultural greetings around the world. For example, typical greetings in Bangladesh, Lesotho, and Nepal all translate, more or less, to "peace be with you." From TED-Ed: "Conflict and cultural clashes are a part of our global reality, but so is the universal desire for peace. From Bangladesh to Myanmar to Lesotho, discover this inspiring common sentiment in traditional greetings of peace." The video has an accompanying TED-Ed lesson available here.

Taiye Selasi's work as an author and photographer explores relationships to multiple identities and other global themes. Drawing from her her own experiences learning and living throughout the world, Selasi speaks on behalf of "multi-local" people for whom home may more than just a singular place.

I was struck by Taiye Selasi's assertion that "all experience is local [and] all identity is experienced” in a very personal way: Selasi and I both spent the mid-to-late '90s living in Brookline, MA, and attending Milton Academy. Thus we are both locals of the same town and same high school, but we have very different identities because our experiences in these places have been wildly different. This idea that experience makes us who we are is an important concept that I think can be emphasized and leveraged in multiple ways in the classroom:

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• Teachers can challenge students to seek out experiences in areas in which they are interested. That is, encourage them to not just become knowledgeable about a particular interest, become to become a practitioner of it.

• Teachers can internalize the idea and adjust their teaching methods, making things more hands-on and student centered. That is, if I want my students to identify as scientists, I need them to experience science rather than just read about it or listen to lecture. If I want my students to be inquisitive, curious, and independent learners, then I need to provide them with experiences to that end.

• Teachers can directly discuss the idea anytime a student makes a generalization or broad assumption, turning the situation into a teachable moment.

• When introducing a new topic, teachers could solicit students to share their experiences with the concept, rather than simply asking "what do you know about [concept]?”

Novelist, nonfiction writer, and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Chimamanda Adichie shares her personal experiences to warn us of the danger of hearing a single story--that danger of developing significant cultural misunderstandings. This is the first of her two TED Talks, her other, We Should All Be Feminists, can be found here.

Hugh Evans, co-founder of The Oaktree Foundation and the Global Poverty Project, argues that identifying oneself first and foremost as a member of the human race--rather than a member of a nation or culture--is key to taking action against climate change, poverty, inequality, and other problems facing the world.

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown discusses the interplay between global citizenship/ethics and patriotism/national identity in this Q&A with TED curator Chris Anderson.

Carl Sagan's famous words about the "pale blue dot" photographed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it reached the fringes of the solar system are set to music and paired with historical and theatrical video clips. A moving way to launch a unit on Global Education.

Just a cute, fun video of probably 40 different animations of Earth that TED-Ed has done over the years. Released in honor of Earth Day 2016. Maybe a nice background or intro slide for a presentation.