Stefana Broadbent TED Talk

I can see that she feels that internet can enable intimacy. I feel that this can be absolutely true.My uncle was in Iraq, and his family was able to skype him fairly often. This enabled their family to stay close or intimate. On the other hand, I often feel that things like Facebook does the exact opposite. I think that people become detached from reality. There is much less face to face conversations. In class I remember somebody saying that texting and things like that gives them courage. I would much rather them earn the courage than have a device give it to them. In the future, that will not always be the case, that they have a device to give them the courage. At that point, technology has been much more harming than it has done good. I thought it was very interesting how she was against institutions controlling the use of phones and computers for private use. She felt that by doing this, they were trying to control who has the opportunity to use the benefits of technology which seems very anti-American: giving different classes of people better opportunities. While it makes sense that institutions would control the use of technology for private use, I think she is saying that it should be equal for all people. For example,  if teachers can use their phones every once in a while, maybe students should too. If managers can call home from their office while those that work for him or her are not allowed cell phones in which they could do the same, where is the equality that our forefathers fought for, that so many people fight for still. It seems to me a little inconsistent.
She used note cards which at first bugged me, but she rarely used them which I thought was good. She used them only to make sure she was hitting the right points. She didn't seem excited about what she was talking about, which showed in the end when people weren't exactly sure if she had finished. I feel that she was perhaps a little nervous which masked her feeling for the subject. Overall though I thought she was good. She had a series of pictures of people she told stories about. This i think helped the audience to connect with those people and her presentation a little more.

David Blaine TED Talk

In this TED talk, David Blaine talked about how he held his breathe for 17 minutes. He practiced, tried, failed, and tried again. He was able to bear incredible amounts of pain. To me this is an example of the ability of humans to surpass the supposed limits. This was a lot like the four minute mile barrier. He was able to push his body to the limits and succeed in his goals. To me this shows that anything is possible. We as a society but barriers up that are not real. Just as the kid thought it was not real, after those barriers are broken we question instead of accept. This shows the inherent pride of humanity. We would rather distrust others than be proven wrong.
This could apply to education in that society creates norms or barriers in which we are not suppose to cross. These are not real and are not good. If we learn to accept instead of question i feel that education would be much more successful.
David Blaine was a fairly boring presenter. The only thing that kept me interested in this talk was the story. This is good, but the presentation did capture the audience. A great presentation has both. Overall it was good, but he needed to be less monotone especially over a twenty minute time period. Audiences get bored and it is the job of the presenter to keep them captivated.

Dave Eggers TED Talk

I feel that Eggers is putting things together. This is what Daniel Pink is encouraging, being able to put things together that most other people wouldn't. He put students who need help in their education together with writers who could spend extra time with the students. These helped to create a better neighborhood while helping the students learn and the writers would sometimes get ideas from the students as well. In the end as well, the store started to make a lot of money. People were in the store which inheretly created more interest in the items. He used the phrase "cross polination." All of the groups benefited. I feel that he is taking for granted that people would want to use their time to help students though. Although it is a great ideal to "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country," I feel that there is still a population that doesn't want to serve others. They look more for the benefits for themselves. I think this would be one of the problems with his idea. I love how the stores are fun. School can often be boring so they add an eliment of fun. This would help me focus and work hard without as much bordom. I could also tell that he loved what he did. He was nervous but overcame that and even made fun of himself. He was excited about what was happening. This gave the audience a glimpse of what was happening and some excitement about it.