Effective Project Based Learning

Notes on PBL from Gary Stager's presentation.
What makes a good project?
  • Purpose
  • Time
  • Personally Meaningful
  • Complex, open to Serendipity
  • Connected - across disciplines, intelligences, people
  • Shareable
  • Access to Constuctive Materials
Questions to ask when you make a project.
  • Is the problem solvable?
  • Is the project important?
  • Who does it satisfy?

Keynote 1 – Anita Givens

Texas adopts textbooks state wide. They are now allowing Open Source, and for some odd reason will pay for it. Each year they have a proclamation about what subjects they are willing to pay for this year, Google Texas Proclamation 2010 and 2011.

CA has 10 online textbook for free use in CA.

21st Century Physics Flexbook from Virginia.

Texas is a beast that is moving slowly, but moving. They have rewritten their textbook laws to encourage districts to rid themselves of textbooks and go electronic. They are giving 50% of the savings to the districts that adopt cheaper electronic or open source textbooks. This is a warning shot over the bow of the publishers, which I think are dead if Texas succeeds.