PROJECTS-L is a discussion list for anybody interested in the use of the project approach in early childhood, elementary, and middle level education. Many activities are called "projects" by teachers and children, but for the purposes of this listserv, a project is defined as "an in-depth study of a topic undertaken by a class, a group, or an individual child;" most often, it refers to collaborative studies of real world topics that offer opportunities for direct observation and investigation of actual phenomena. For young children a project must be local and relevant to their immediate environment and interest. A project on a historical topic would fit the criteria of offering real world opportunities for investigation (on the Internet, for example) for older children. A study of a school bus or of the animal life in a nearby pond would fit this definition for any age group.
The discussion of any aspect of project work that fits the definition provided here is suitable for the listserv. Anyone interested in the project approach is encouraged to participate in the discussions, including preservice or practicing teachers and faculty, students in teacher education programs, and other interested individuals.
PROJECTS-L is co-owned by Sylvia Chard, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, University of Alberta, and by the Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative at the University of Illinois.
For more detailed information about the project approach, visit Sylvia Chard's Project Approach Web site at: http://www.project-approach.com/
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unsubscribing, setting list digests, etc.), please contact the list administrator
at:
listadmn@ecap-mailserver.crc.uiuc.edu
(mail, no mail, digest) - Message Options
(acknowledgement, reproduction) - Unsubsribe
Subscribe
To subscribe to PROJECTS-L, send a one-line e-mail to listserv@listserv.illinois.edu with following message:subscribe PROJECTS-L {Your First Name} {Your Last Name}
Where {Your First Name} and {Your Last Name} refer to your real name (not your login name). Note that there is no reason to include a subject or your e-mail address. As an example, if Jane Doe wanted to subscribe to PROJECTS-L, she would send a message that looks like the example on the right.
NOTE: Your message to LISTSERV should not include a "signature" if at all possible. The computer will try to interpret the lines of your signature as commands.
You should receive a note confirming your subscription within a few minutes (although sometimes it can take and hour or two).
Send a Message
To send a message to all the members of the PROJECTS-L list, compose your e-mail message as usual and send it to the list discussion 
address:
PROJECTS-L@listserv.illinois.edu
Mail Options
There are three different mail options for the PROJECTS-L listserv: MAIL (the default), NOMAIL, and DIGEST
MAIL: Messages arrive in your mail box one at a time as they are posted to the listserv. This is the setting you are AUTOMATICALLY given when you subscribe. It is very easy to respond directly to messages received, but some people find that so many separate messages can clutter up their mail box.
Do NOT put a subject line in your message to and remove any signatures from the body of your message.NOMAIL: You remain subscribed to PROJECTS-L, but new messages will not be sent to you. This is a good way to keep your mail box from filling up if you will be on vacation or away from your e-mail account for an extended period.
To temporarily stop mail from being delivered, send listserv@listserv.illinois.edu the following message:
set PROJECTS-L nomail
To undo this command, send listserv@listserv.illinois.edu the following message:
set PROJECTS-L mail
DIGEST: You will receive only ONE message per day from PROJECTS-L which includes ALL of the day's postings collected together. Digests are nice if you don't like wading through lots of separate messages, but it's harder to reply to any one specific posting.
To start receiving mail in digest form, send listserv@listserv.illinois.edu the following message:
set PROJECTS-L digest
To undo this command, send listserv@listserv.illinois.edu the following message:
set PROJECTS-L mail
Message Options
- Acknowledgement:
- ACK (Acknowledgement)
- NOACK (No acknowledgement)
- Reproduction:
- REPRO (See own message)
- NOREPRO (Don't see own message)
Acknowledgement setting
The Acknowledgement setting tells the Listserv computer whether or not to send you an acknowledgement whenever you send a message to the list. The setting options are ACK and NOACK. For instance, if you send a message with subject line "General Information", you can automatically get a message back from the Listserv computer that is something like: Your message dated XXX with subject "General Information" was successfully distributed to the XXX list.
Acknowledgement: To receive an automatic acknowledgement from the Listserv computer whenever you post a message to the list, send listserv@listserv.illinois.edu the following message:
set PROJECTS-L ackNo acknowledgement: If you do not want to receive an acknowledgement, send listserv@listserv.illinois.edu the following message:
set PROJECTS-L noack
Reproduction setting
The Reproduction setting tells the Listserv computer whether or not you want to see your own message posted to the list. The setting options are REPRO and NOREPRO.
See own message: If you want to see your own message posted to the list, send listserv@listserv.illinois.edu the following message:
set PROJECTS-L repro
Don't see
own message: If you do not want to see your own message posted to the list, send listserv@listserv.illinois.edu the following message:
set PROJECTS-L norepro
It is a good idea to set one of these options "on" (i.e., ACK or REPRO) so that you can know that your own posting has been received by the list. There are default settings for these options for each Listserv list. Each list may have different default settings.
Unsubscribe
If you unsubscribe from the listserv, you will remove yourself from the list completely and will no longer receive messages or digests.
To unsubscribe from PROJECTS-L, all you need to do is send a one-line e-mail message to listserv@listserv.illinois.edu that reads:
signoff PROJECTS-L
Feel free to contact the list administrator have problems getting signed off:
listadmn@ecap-mailserver.crc.uiuc.edu
Note that there is no reason to include a subject, your name, or your e-mail address. Your message to LISTSERV should not include a "signature" if at all possible. The computer will try to interpret the lines of your signature as commands. You should receive a note confirming your signoff within a few minutes (although sometimes it can take and hour or two).
Questions
If you have any technical questions about the list (problems subscribing, unsubscribing, setting list digests, etc.), please contact the list administrator at: listadmn@ecap-mailserver.crc.uiuc.edu
If you have any other questions, contact the list owner:
Bernard Cesarone
ECAP, University of Illinois
Children's Research Center
51 Gerty Drive
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone:
(217) 333-1386
Fax: (217) 244-7732
E-mail: cesarone@uiuc.edu
Sylvia Chard
Associate Professor of Education
Department of Elementary Education
551 Education Building South
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G5
Phone: (403) 492-0549
E-mail: sylvia.chard@ualberta.
ca