Episode 103 – Learning by Design - Project WOW

It’s Friday December 18th, 2009 and welcome to episode 103 of TechTalk4Teachers, I’m Tom Grissom and I’m Judy Barford. That’s right we have a guest in the studio, welcome Judy.

Judy Barford discusses the value of project-based learning and shares the lessons learned from Project WOW that she has led over the past 12 years here at Eastern Illinois University in partnership with 3rd grade classes at the Carl Sandburg School in Charleston, Illinois.



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(26 minutes 14 seconds)

Be sure to listen to this weeks podcast as Project WOW is one of the most effective learning environments developed with Carl Sandburg 3rd grade teachers and students, EIU pre-service teachers and Mrs. Barford that incorporates theory-based research into practical learning experiences for all involved.

Project WOW National Parks Website:
Be sure to checkout the dozen projects about our National Parks created by Project WOW 3rd graders.
http://www.eiu.edu/~wow/classes/fa09/

Technology Pick of the Week

My technology pick of the week this week is a free ebook from author Seth Godin called What Matters Now, a link is available in the show notes. You do not need an ebook reader such as the Kindle to read What Matters Now as it is also available for viewing on a webpage or downloadable as an Adobe PDF document for viewing on your computer.

What Matters Now – free ebook in PDF format
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23711234/What-Matters-Now

This is a free ebook that is targeted more toward a business audience however there is much that applies to education. Seth Godin is a leading thinker in the marketing and Web 2.0 world and is also the author of several best selling books over the past decade such as Tribes, Purple Cow, The Dip, Small is the New Big, and many others. Seth has recognized that the world has changed and is giving away What Matters Now as a free ebook. What Matters Now is really a collection of insights from dozens of leading authors of today compiled in an easy to read 82 page ebook format. If you have some time over the holiday break give it a read and let your creative juices flow with new ideas. Seth has recognized the synergy between new technologies and marketing strategies that is making new things possible from individuals on an unprecedented scale. This same synergy is being applied to education by many educators as we strive to change the world by taking advantage of powerful technologies to amplify and share our message. It is truly a wonderful time to be an educator.

That wraps it up for episode 103 of TechTalk4Teachers. Show notes for this episode and archived episodes are available on the web at the EIU Instructional Technology Center website at www.eiu.edu/itc To leave a comment or suggestion please send an email to techtalk@eiu.edu or leave a comment on the TechTalk4Teachers blog. I also want to let listeners/readers know that this will be the last episode of TechTalk4Teachers for 2009. We will be back in mid-January 2010 with another new episode, until next time this is Tom Grissom, Happy Holidays and keep on learning!