Sunday, April 30, 2006

Podcast #23 - Graphic History, The Murder of Abraham Lincoln by Rick Geary

Hello. I continue with my recent interest in using graphic history as part of the curriculum. I recently saw a listing in the Library School Journal magazine about graphic novels and one caught my I so I found a copy of The Murder of Abraham Lincoln by Rick Geary. It is a great book done in the graphic format. Geary has done an amazing job with pen and pencil in telling the story of the one of the most tragic days in American history. The book includes maps, a great bibliography and some great thought provoking questions at the end. I conducted a phone interview with Mr. Geary and asked him about his unique look at the assassination of Lincoln. Geary is an accomplished illustrator who has been working in comics since 1977. His work has been appeared in The National Lampoon, DC Comics, Mad, Spy, Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times. It was also great to discover that he was born in Kansas City. He also has done a graphic history book named "The Fatal Bullet: The Assassination of President James A Garfield". Check out the links below to learn more about Mr. Geary and his work.

Please let me know what you think of today's show by leaving me an e-mail or comment at
speakingofhistory@gmail.com I am also very interested if any history teachers out there have used graphic novels or graphic books in their classroom.

Direct link to Speaking of History Podcast #23: Graphic History, The Murder of Abraham Lincoln by Rick Geary

Show Notes for Podcast #23:

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

NETA 2006 Conference Handouts on Podcasting


Hello. Just a quick post about an upcoming presentation at a conference. I will be presenting a break out session at the NETA (Nebraska Educational Technology Association) Spring Conference on Thursday - April 27th. It will be a general session on podcasting with some material on the required materials, software, ideas for the classroom and information on the Speaking of History podcast. I am a native Nebraskan and have attended this conference for each of the 8 years. It is an amazing conference and I really look forward to it each year - great people, great sessions and I always leave with some great new ideas. I hope to also do some interviews at the conference and I will share ideas on the conference when I return.

I am including links to the PDF files of the handouts I will be handing out at my session. One is the handout sheet and the other is a copy of the presentation notes.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Podcast #22 - Interview with Missouri State Archivist Kenneth Winn


Hello. Today's episode is an interview with the State Archivist for the state of Missouri - Kenneth Winn. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Winn at the Missouri State Social Studies conference in Jefferson City back in March. He was the keynote speaker at the dinner and he happened to be sitting next to me during the meal. His speech was very interesting and I was glad he agreed to conduct a short interview with me. I was very interested in two aspects of the archives: 1) the number of diversity of items housed in the archives and 2) the variety of online resources available to both teachers and the general public. I hope that you find this interview interesting and it encourages you to investigate your state archives.

If you have any questions or comments about the show please feel free to e-mail me at
speakingofhistory@gmail.com

This episode also includes a new intro using background music from James Underberg of PodSafe Audio. I edited it using Audacity and including clips from famous speeches.

Direct Link to Speaking of History Podcast #22 - Interview with Missouri State Archivist Kenneth Winn - MP3 Format (16 minutes)

Show Notes for Podcast #22:

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Podcast #21 - Interview with RJ Cutler from the Shays' Rebellion Episode of 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America


Hello. A couple of weeks ago I interviewed Bill Plympton, the illustrator for the History Channel episode on Shays' Rebellion - part of the 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America series. Today I interviewed RJ Cutler, the director of the episode. Mr. Cutler is an accomplished producer and director. His body of work has earned him an Emmy and a Peadbody award along with an Oscar nomination. You may recognize some of his work on The War Room, American High, the FX series 30 Days, the Discovery Home network's Flip That House and the recently aired Black/White on FX.

The interview includes details on how the Shays' Rebellion episode came about, the differences in doing an animated documentary, the research process and advice for 8th graders who want to enter the film industry.

You are always welcome to leave a comment on the bottom of this blog entry or you can e-mail me at speakingofhistory@gmail.com

Direct Link to Speaking of History Podcast #21 "Interview with RJ Cutler from the Shays' Rebellion Episode of 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America" - MP3 Format - (21 Minutes)

Show Notes For Podcast #21:

Monday, April 17, 2006

Podcast #20 - Interview by Knoxville TV News on School i-Pod Ban in Anderson County

Hello. Just a quick show this time but a very timely topic. On April 13th when I got home from school I found a note from my wife that said I was to call a TV news station in Knoxville, Tennessee about a story on a school banning i-pods. Since I have no connection to Knoxville and had no knowledge of any school banning i-pods I was curious about the intent of the call. It turns out they had learned of my use of "studycasts" in class and wanted a counter point when they did the story on the Anderson County school board banning i-pods on their campus. Check out the links below for a text version of the news story from WATE television news in Knoxville, Tennessee along with a link to view the video of the news story.

What do you think about a school board banning i-pods or MP3 players entirely from school grounds? Leave a comment or e-mail me at speakingofhistory@gmail.com

Direct link to Speaking of History Podcast #20 - Interview by Knoxville TV News on School Board i-Pod Ban in Anderson County - MP3 Format (8 minutes)

Show Notes for Podcast #20:

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Podcast #19 - Review of Classroom Goals for Year and A To Do List for the Spring/Summer 2006

Hello. Welcome to episode #19 of Speaking of History. This show is a review of my classroom technology goals for the 2005 / 2006 school year. I listed these goals in August of last year in episode #5. I have done a pretty good job so far this year of reaching my goals - a little bit yet to be desired. I have not created the local history video show that I would like to show on local cable but that has been due in part to spending so much time podcasting. I also discuss a couple of articles which have appeared lately and the news that I am a finalist for the 2006 Cable's Leaders in Learning Award through Cable in the Classroom. I wrap up with a list of local historical sites that I plan to visit sometime this spring and summer. If this is your first show check out a couple of other ones since the format is always a little different.

If you have any questions or comments please e-mail me at speakingofhistory@gmail.com

Direct link to Speaking of History Podcast #19 - Review of Classroom Goals for the Year and A To Do List for the Spring / Summer of 2006 - MP3 format (26 minutes)

Show Notes for Podcast #19:

Cable's Leaders in Learning Awards
School Library Journal Article - April 2006 "History Teacher 2.0"
10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America - History Channel Series - April 9-13, 2006

Spring/Summer Goal #1 -
Truman Presidential Library - Independence, Missouri
Spring/Summer Goal #2 -
Watkins Mill State Historical Site - Lawson, Missouri
Spring/Summer Goal #3 - Fort Osage National Historic Landmark - Sibley, Missouri
Spring/Summer Goal #4 - Jesse James Farm - Kearney, Missouri
Spring/Summer Goal #5 -
Liberty Memorial - The National World War I Museum - Kansas City, Missouri