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Andrew Maynard is a scientist and emerging technology adviser. He blogs at 2020 Science and tweets as @2020science. Some of the most entertaining, informative and mind-blowing science videos on the web come from TED - the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference. Challenged to give the "talk of their lives," the world's top scientists and science communicators have been dazzling audiences - many of whom are thought leaders, trend-setters and entertainers - for years now. Most of the best talks are now freely available on the internet, but sifting through hundreds of video clips to find the real gems can be hard going. To make things easier, here are five of my favorite TED Talks on science. The selection rules were simple: - Was I engaged within the first few seconds? - Was I entertained, inspired and challenged? - Would my kids understand the talk? and - Together, do they tell a story?

anyone can use this simple platform to pair any video on YouTube--not just TED Talks--with custom content.

Sherry Turkle (TED Talk), a professor at MIT, discusses (2012) how our many devices isolate us. Just last week, I watched a group of seniors at a coffee shop sitting together and texting rather than conversing. It made me think about their definitions of communication. Thought provoking.

Collection of TED Talks organized by curriculum topics. 

A TED talk about visualizing data in a way that it can easily be understood.

Collection of TED talks for social studies teachers.

The question of what learning matters most to our students is one that I return to regularly. A fascinating range of models are available each with similar elements but presented in a slightly different manner. Most could be summarised by the 'Four C's' model outlined in 'Most Likely to Succeed' by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith. Critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity are vital and each plays an important role in allowing us to manage the complexity of modern day life. Beyond being relevant to success in the classroom the Four C's are the foundations of life-long learning but I question if alone they are enough. I believe we must include a fifth; compassion.

With speakers like neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor and global health expert Hans Rosling, the list proves one of the compelling ideas behind TEDTalks: that an unknown speaker with a powerful idea can reach -- and move -- a global audience through the power of quality web video. Links to all 10 talks are found below the video window -- or browse through our Top 10 TEDTalks Theme. Even if you've seen them all, the highlights video below is darn fun.