Sources of Inspiration: Resources
In this section, we have links to videos and other resources used in presentations done at schools around the world. As always, if you find an item you think we should add, we welcome your submitting it for consideration using our resource submission form.
Many videos and more were added to this list in June, 2017. If you know something we should add, please tell us about it using the link above.
Inspiring Videos
- 15-Yr-Old Kelvin Doe Wows M.I.T.
- Teen from Sierra Leone built a radio from spare parts scoured from trash bins and became the youngest person invited to MIT on the university's Visiting Practitioner's Program.
- Living on One Dollar (trailer)
- These college students decided to experience poverty, and came away with a powerful glimpse into the lives of the poor.
- Trek the Mountains of Khumbu, Nepal in Google Maps
- From Google Maps Treks, a visit to the homeland of the sherpas.
- Every Child Deserves a Champion
- Rita Pierson's powerful TED Talk.
- Alike
- This animated piece about conformity and family has no dialogue.
- Most Likely to Succeed: Faleshia
- Here's a Strayer University piece about young woman - a single mother - who talks about pursuing her education.
- Dancing While Deaf
- Wonderful piece about Antoine Hunter, a San Francisco dancer who is the organizer of the Bay Area Deaf International Dance Festival and director of the Urban Jazz Dance Company.
- Josh and Scout (Mutual Rescue)
- Beautiful, but intensely emotional piece about a man at the end of his hope who meets a kitten.
- Kylie and Liza (Mutual Rescue)
- Powerful story about a kitten and a girl diagnosed with cancer.
- Through My Eyes
- A young Muslim student in the United States entered this piece in the White House Student Film Festival.
- Resilient Kids from Health Happens Here
- Kids read their letters to their incarcerated fathers.
- Rubik's Cube: A Question, Waiting to Be Answered
- The founder of the Rubik's Cube contends that the questions are often more important than the answers.
- The Mosque Across the Street
- A Starbucks' Upstanders piece about Heartsong Church and the Memphis Islamic Center that runs counter the many stories of anger and conflict in American media.
- SIT - Short Documentary Film
- This piece is about a family with a young man who has trouble getting going. In life. The documentary was put together by the older sister in the family.
- Star Wars: My Son's Adorable First-Time Reaction
- This father records his son watching Star Wars for the first time and counts up the questions. From the How to Be a Dad series.
- Kid Gives Speech After Learning How To Ride A Bike
- This kiddo rides a bike, and lets us know the key is to believe in yourself.
- Found Sounds
- Guy makes musical instruments from all manner of stuff thrown away; some good lessons about diamonds in the rough in this one.
- Jack Andraka and the Intel Science Fair
- Nice reminder of what's possible when students have a personal connection to their studies, and when someone, somewhere, encourages them.
- The Cowgirls of Color
- Upworthy video about black women rodeo starts.
- The Bus Driver's Act of Kindness
- Upworthy piece about a bus driver who decides to help an older lady find where she was going.
- RocketReady: Connecting with Ghana
- Gamified PD system from Laguna Beach USD in California; this video tells about a connection that started from the effort.
- How to Run a Company with (almost) No Rules
- Ricardo Semler TED Talk about the power of great questions for life and work.
- Year in Search 2016
- Google's annual video about popular searches.
- Year in Search 2015
- Google's annual video about popular searches.
- Year in Search 2014
- Google's annual video about popular searches.
- Caine's Arcade
- Some cardboard, some social media, and a boy's vision.
- Beyond Caine's Arcade
- Learn what happened to Caine and the movement the film inspired.
- Austin's Butterfly
- This wonderful piece from Expeditionary Learning is about bringing the best out of students through meaningful feedback and trying again.
- Validation
- One who dedicated himself to focusing on the positive.
- Momentos
- Sometimes, to move forward, we must remember where we came from.
- The Power of Words
- Sometimes what one says is mostly a function of how it is said.
- Speak with Conviction
- What might our patterns of speech say about ourselves? Taylor Mali has some ideas on this.
- Affecting Lives
- Mark Bezos tells in this TED talk of his work as a volunteer firefighter, and what it has taught him.
- Daily Affirmation
- Jessica isn't very big, but she knows how to start the day.
- Meaning
- Get some thoughts on life from a 9-year-old with some ideas to share.
- 20 Things We Should Say More Often
- Kid President gives us all some seriously good advice.
- Monument Mountain Regional High School
- Meet students at this Massachusetts high school who designed their own learning plan.
- Students' Expectations of Schools
- We talk about our expectations of students, but what do they expect of us?
- Hackschooling
- Learn a bit about unschooling from a young man who lives it.
- Dancing 2012
- Matt Harding traveled the world doing a "stupid" dance in front of a camera, and took the idea to a new level.
- Tour the States
- One learning USA geography might find this helpful.
- Tour the World
- Got eight and a half minutes to circle the world?
- Reimagining Learning
- Richard Culatta tells a bit about how school could be in this TED talk.
- Stop Stealing Dreams
- Author Seth Godin asks students what school is for, and provides some historical pespective.
- The Apollos
- Students from BAVC tell of the kids from Oakland Technical High School who, in 1979, made a difference.
- Fireflies
- This is a beautiful story of a friendship that overcomes the chasm of autism.
- Google [x] Moonshot Thinking
- What happens when wildly intelligent people start working together to ask really big questions?
- Saroo Brierly: Homeward Bound
- Learn about the journey of a boy and the power of determination.
- Reunion
- This is a Google commercial that struck a hopeful nerve in India and Pakistan in 2013.
- Virtual Star Party
- Take a passion, and build a community.
- Self-Driving Car Test: Steve Mahan
- How liberating can a drive to get a taco be?
- A Day Made of Glass 1
- Owens-Corning released a video a few years ago with ideas about what the future might hold.
- A Day Made of Glass 2
- Good films often produce sequels, and this takes the first video's ideas a step or two farther.
- Zeitgeist 2013
- Learn what the world was curious about in 2013.
- Zeitgeist 2012
- Relive the events of 2012 with this one.
- Zeitgeist 2011
- Google's view of 2011 through search.
- Images of Scouting
- This video (a download, by the way) was made by a student to promote his troop.
- Changing Education Paradigms
- Ken Robinson's talk via RSA Animate.
- Lost Generation
- See and hear two takes on how the world works.
- Ikea Lamp
- Feeling past your prime? Remember, you're the light, not the lamp.
- Porcelain Unicorn
- Despite very few lines of dialogue, this video tells quite a story.
- Get a Clue
- This is what launched Carol Anne McGuire, who launched Rock Our World.
- Shorewood Lip Dub
- See what kids can do when motivated. (This is a download.)
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- the actual footage
- The video above, but the way they shot it.
- An Unusual Football Game
- This is sports at its best. Have tissues close by.
- Ball Girl Crazy Catch
- Critically think about this one; it's actually a Gatorade commercial.
- Mark Dohn's Lab Rules
- One teacher noticed that his kids weren't reading the rules posted on the wall. (This is a download.)
- The Fun Theory
- Scandinavians try mixing stairs and a piano.
- Skepticism and Personal Information
- How do modern fortune tellers do their work?
- World Order in New York
- This Japanese pop video exemplifies collaboration in a truly catchy way.
- TED
- One of the greatest sources of inspiration ever created.
More Food for Thought (not video)
- "He Will Be Our Brother"
- 6-year-old Alex asked the president to let a Syrian refugee boy live with his family. Alex shows who we are at our very best.
- Storycorps
- This collection of audio stories comes from the founders' desire to "create an archive of the wisdom of humanity."
- Teaching Tales
- Podcast from California principal Brent Coley exploring the stories of our work.
- How a Robotic Arm Changed Four Lives
- NPR story about some college engineering students who constructed a robotic arm for a boy.
- 3D Printer Brings Dexterity to Children with No Fingers
- NPR story about possibilities with 3D printing.
- Radically Effective Pedagogy in Mexico
- One of the best write-ups telling what can happen when a teacher lets go.
- This I Believe
- NPR has an archive of it's "This I Believe" audio series. Here, it is arranged by theme.
- Role of Mistakes in the Classroom
- Alina Tugend posted this piece in Edutopia on how very important it is that we make mistakes.
- 10 Things I Want All New Teachers to Know
- Great advice for new teachers from Justin Tarte.
- The Village Well
- This is an audio piece about a service project in Africa.
- 6 Traits of Life-Changing Teachers
- Betty Ray of Edutopia shares advice and stories.
- What Makes a Good Teacher?
- The Chronicle of Higher Education put out this article in 2016 looking at teachers across the grade-level spectrum.
- Efficiency and Triviality
- From The Guardian: What's the point of efficiency if you're in a rush to finish something trivial?
- My Family's Slave
- This long article from The Atlantic about a family from The Philippines won't leave your head and heart anytime soon.
- Tomatoes and Google
- This is a CBC story about how Google Translate helped connect a Canadian farmer to new Syrian neighbour.
- Karen Mandau's Portrait of a Thai Man
- Karen Mandau is a travel photographer who shares beautiful pictures and stories on her Instagram feed.
Several from Our Library
- My Name is Michael
- One young man tells of his world with autism.
- Tatiana in Cofradia
- This teen may not have much materially, but she has happiness and hope for the future. (This is in Spanish, but the visuals convey the meaning for those who don't speak the language.)
- Carry Someone's Problems
- Learn of a young woman in Africa who decided her dream was worth following.
- The Atomic Model
- This winner from one of our first contests is from a school for kids with special needs.
- Sonnet 23
- In this project, kids read a Shakespearean sonnet and added their own visuals.
- Project Amigo Volunteer
- Can a video made solely from still images tell a good story? Watch and decide.
- Dads and Dudes on Duty
- This is a program at a school in California you might want to try with your community.
Video Contests
- Student Finalists
- This page has all the student finalists from our contests to date.
- Collaboration Finalists
- Our collaboration strand is for when students and teachers build a video together.
- Teacher Finalists
- Your colleagues from around the world show their creativity.
- Sample Video Evaluation Form
- Made with Google Forms, students can use this to develop an eye for good videos.
- Table of Contests
- Here we list all our contests to date.
Submissions
- Resource Submission Form
- Feel free to share anything you think we should add to these pages!
- Next Vista for Learning Home Page
- Please bookmark our site.