Life Skills

TED Talks

All talks available online

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.

Since then its scope has become ever broader.

Phillip Zimbardo: How people become monsters… or heroes – 23:14
Barry Schwartz: On our loss of wisdom – 20:48

Damon Horowitz : Philosophy in Prison – 3:51
Markham Nolan: How to separate fact and fiction online – 13:29

Many more can be found on their website.

http://www.ted.com/talks

School of Life

http://www.theschooloflife.com/

The School of Life is devoted to developing emotional intelligence through the help of culture. We address such issues as how to find fulfilling work, how to master the art of relationships, how to understand one’s past, how to achieve calm, and how better to understand and, where necessary change, the world.

 <- Watch the introduction video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q28W7N6Th58

Book of Life

https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/

(The “book” is now slightly hidden.  Click on the link above and then click on “Browse Articles By Topic” in the upper right hand corner of the screen → to see the list of topics, then click on the topic to see the list of articles.  It is a very large library! )

It’s called The Book of Life because it’s about the most substantial things in your life: your relationships, your income, your career, your anxieties. In a world overflowing with information, and amidst all the chaos and disparate sources of knowledge, the Book of Life authors are attempting to distill, to compress, to say what is essential.

The Book of Life is being written by many people over a long time; it keeps changing and evolving. It is filled with images and films as well as texts. By floating online, it can grow a bit every day or so, as new things come along and it can be equally accessible all around the world, at anytime, for free. Just like a regular book, The Book of Life is divided into chapters: it’s our way of carving up reality and throwing the emphasis on what matters most.  We’re aiming at a certain voice: calm, reassuring, sane – because few of us (including the authors) manage to be these things for very much of the time.

I’ve included the Table of Contents here so you can see what is in the book even if you are reading this inside of one of our nation’s prisons.  Perhaps then you can ask a friend or family member to locate the entry on the internet and print it to mail to you.

RSA Animate

Everything in this section available Online Only

The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce): seeks to understand and enhance human capability so we can close the gap between today’s reality and people’s hopes for a better world.

Truth About Dishonesty – 11:09
The Power of Networks – 10:58

Empathic Civilisation – 10:40
Secret Powers of Time – 10:09

Many more can be found on their website.
http://www.thersa.org/

Building Community Assets The Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD) and its affiliated faculty have created a library of community building workbooks, published scholarly articles, books, and chapters oriented to an array of audiences. Understanding Asset-Based Community Development (4 pg. booklet) ABCD Institute is co-directed by John L. McKnight and John P. Kretzmann who have demonstrated that community assets are key building blocks in sustainable urban and rural community revitalization efforts. These community assets include: The skills of local residents The power of local associations The local history and culture of a neighborhood The resources of public, private and non-profit institutions The physical infrastructure and space in a community The economic resources and potential of local places ABCD Resources page The Asset-Based Community Development Institute and faculty members have developed a number of additional resources, including videos, for community builders. https://resources.depaul.edu/abcd-institute/resources/Pages/tool-kit.aspx

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is the first and largest single collection of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today..

Link http://www.gutenberg.org

Bookshare

https://www.bookshare.org/cms/

A person with a learning disability such as dyslexia, or who is blind or has low vision and who is unable to read standard print, or who has a physical disability and is unable to read, may qualify for Bookshare as long as a competent authority confirms that the learning challenge significantly interferes with reading.

Khan Academy Available Online Only

Salman Khan TED Talks

 

The Khan Academy is on a mission to help you learn what you want, when you want, at your own pace. They offer a library of over 3,500 videos which covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities, finance and history. Each video is approximately 10 minutes long and especially purposed for viewing on the computer. All of the site’s resources are available to anyone, and the materials and resources are free.

Link http://www.khanacademy.org/

Citizen Schools

Available Online Only

http://www.citizenschools.org/

There is a critical gap in education. But it isn’t an “achievement gap” as the media often describes

it. It’s an opportunity gap. We can close this gap, and help these three million students discover

and achieve their dreams, by connecting students who want to learn and adults who have

something to teach…families with big dreams and volunteers with big hearts…visionary school

leaders and a non-profit with a proven model…citizens and schools.

Here’s more great stuff from Dr. Philip Zimbardo of the Lucifer Effect and the Stanford Prison Experiment

Heroic Imagination Project

Everything in this section available Online Only

http://heroicimagination.org/

The Heroic Imagination Project (HIP) provides knowledge, tools, strategies, and exercises to

individuals and groups to help them to overcome the social and psychological forces which can

keep them from taking effective action at crucial moments in their lives.

• Heroic Imagination Project Videos

 

Resisting Influence from The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo Available Online Only

Different forms of influence require different strategies and tactics for resisting or neutralizing them.

Link http://www.lucifereffect.com/guide.htm