VSR37: Design is Everything

Melinda Alford is a teacher who cares about design. From the design of her classroom, to the design of her school, to the design of the work she expects from her students, design plays an important role in the things she does.  In this episode we talk to Melinda about her classroom, her school, her city and a bunch of other things.



Melinda is from Atlanta Georgia in the USA, but teaches at Concordia International School in Shanghai China, where she's lived with her family for the past 7 years. As well as talking about education issues we also chat a little about life in China. We also ask the controversial question, "do teachers who have done things outside of teaching make the best teachers?"

• Melinda's Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/melindaalford
• Concordia International School Shanghai - http://www.ciss.com.cn/
• Learning 2.010 Conference - http://hosted.ciss.com.cn/learning2010/

Also, don't forget that the Virtual Staffroom has been nominated (again!) for an Edublog Award in the Best Educational Podcast division.  If you'd like to cast a vote our way, feel free at http://edublogawards.com/2010awards/best-educational-podcast-2010

PS: In the podcast I accidentally attributed the "Did You Know?" videos to Michael Wesch.  While Michael has made some amazing videos about Digital Ethnography, I should correct myself and say that Karl Fisch is generally considered to be the originator of the "Did you Know" videos.