2009 State of the Union Bingo Game

Although tonight's speech by President Obama is not officially a "State of the Union Address" it is being treated as such with delivery before a joint session of Congress. Eli Lesser of the National Constitution Center a couple of years ago came up with a great way to engage your students as they watch the State of the Union speech - BINGO! While your students watch the speech they mark off the topics that are mentioned by President Obama. I have not seen a 2009 version at the National Constitution Center site but I was able to find some 2009 cards at the Center for Global Development. You can also create your own cards.

If you don't hand the cards out to your students in advance of the speech you can also use it if you watch the speech later in class.

Thanks to Eli for the awesome idea and to the Center for Global Development for the 2009 cards. Check out Eli's blog : Civic Learning for ideas on teaching tonight's speech and other civics related lesson plans.

Free C-Span White House DVD Available to Teachers

A couple of weeks ago I was channel surfing and ran across the special documentary C-Span did on the White House. It was an amazing look at book the history and the function of the most public private residence in the country. Today on Twitter I saw a tweet from Gina Hartman stating that teachers can get a free copy of the White House on C-Span DVD by registering on their site here.

This was a great program and would be a great addition to an teacher's DVD collection. Thanks to Gina for the tip!

Summer Workshop at Truman Presidential Library and Museum

Just passing along a great teacher opportunity for this summer from the Truman Presidential Library.

Come join us and your fellow teachers this July 20-24 at the Harry S.Truman Library and Museum for the "Between the Wars" teacher conference. Historians from across the nation will present and interact with teachers and teachers will research the Truman archives as they create lesson plans. The conference includes trips to the Truman Home, American Jazz Museum, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the Missouri Valley Room at the Kansas City Public Library.

The summer conference is free to teachers with breakfast and lunch provided. For teachers living further out, hotel accommodations at the Hilton Garden Inn is also provided free of charge. Teachers are responsible for their transportation costs to and from the conference.

Teachers may choose to enroll for two graduate hours in continuing education from the University of Missouri - Kansas City for $75.00 per hour.

For more conference information and the application form, go to:
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/betweenthewars.htm

Podcast #179 - Does the Economic Situation Create a Tipping Point for Online Conferences?

Hello. In tonight's podcast I share some thoughts on how the current economic situation could create a tipping point in which more people are willing to attend an online conference instead of a face to face conference. I also ask about the opportunity to share the sessions from face to face conferences as a paid "subscription".

Here are some questions to think about (and BTW, I would enjoy hearing any of your thoughts in the form of a comment to this blog post):


- If your district, or organization, pays to allow you to attend conferences such as NCSS or NECC - has the current economic situation caused them to tell you "no" yet?


- If you pay for all your own expenses to conferences such as NCSS or NECC - has the current economic situation caused you to decide not to attend?


- Would you be wiling to pay a set fee - $25 for example - to be able to download an audio or video podcast of all the sessions at the upcoming 2009 NECC? What would you pay to have all these sessions available in that format?


- How you feel as a presenter at one of these conferences if they "sold" a subscription so that someone could download your session? Would you ask to be paid for your presentation? Would it impact if you submitted a proposal if you knew you were not being paid and they were making your presentation available.

Please discuss in small groups.....


Direct link to Podcast #179 - Does the Economic Situation Create a Tipping Point for Online Conferences?

Four Score and Seven Reading Event to Celebrate Lincoln's 200th Birthday

I was very excited about the Four Score and Seven Simultaneous Reading Event today to celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday. The only problem - I had my planning period during the scheduled 9:30 AM Central time frame. I asked other teachers in the building if they could spare their class for a couple of minutes and I was very happy that four teachers did bring their classes in to read the Gettysburg Address with thousands of others across the world. We had a total of 48 students at South Valley Jr. High School read today. Now we have to wait and see if we had enough to qualify for the world record.

I took some video with my Flip camera and have posted it above. Thanks to all the teachers who brought down their classes.

Pennsylvania House of Rep Proposes Bill to Ban Cellphones and Other Electronics from Classrooms

If you're a teacher in the state of Pennsylvania and want to use 21st century tools to help your instruction - watch out. Check out the language in this proposed bill :

"The possession by students of telephone paging devices, commonly referred to as beepers, cellular telephones and portable electronic devices that record or play audio or video material shall be prohibited on school grounds, at school sponsored activities and on buses or other vehicles provided by the school district."

There are two exceptions listed in the bill - if your student is a volunteer fireman or needs it due to a medical condition. Check it out for yourself - you can't make this stuff up people! I would assume that a laptop - since they do record and/or play video - would fall under the category of banned portable devices. If you teach in a school with a 1-1 initiative is the only way for your students to have their laptops in class to have them all become volunteer firemen? Have the legislators that proposed this bill been in a classroom in the past 50 years?

I can't imagine this bill has any chance of advancing but just knowing this is a proposed bill should cause teachers who encourage technology in their classrooms to shake their heads at how far we still need to come.

Happy 200th Birthday President Lincoln

Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln. I wonder what Abe would think about all the excitement over his birthday in 2009. Today in class we are talking about Lincoln, trying to help break the world record by reciting the Gettysburg Address with over 200,000 other people and having a birthday party (pictures and video will be added to the blog later).

I have decided to post one of my favorite Lincoln images. I took this picture of a Lincoln statue in Springfield, Illinois in a park right across from the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum when my wife I were on vacation in the summer of 2007. The beautifully restored Springfield Train Depot is in the background. I love this picture because Lincoln seems to be saying "come on down and have a seat, I'd like to visit with you" and he is smiling.

Happy birthday Abe and thanks for all you did and endured to help us live in the country we do today.

Podcast #178 - The Sony ICD-UX70 Digital Voice Recorder

Hello. Today I'm discussing a recent purchase - a Sony Digital Voice Recorder ICD-UX70. I have been using this device for about a month and have been very happy with the quality and ease of use. It is a good option for anyone looking for a portable digital voice recorder under $100 - I bought mine from Amazon for $75 with free shipping.

Check out the podcast for features and a quick review. If you have a favorite portable digital voice recorder please leave a comment on this blog. When I do presentations I am often asked "What digital voice recorder would you recommend we purchase for our media center or for student use?" I would currently recommend this device but would be interested to hear how you would answer the same question based on your experiences.

Direct link to Podcast #178 - Review of the Sony Digital Voice Recorder ICD-UX70

Podcast #177 - Review of Smithsonian's Online Lincoln Conference

Hello. Today I review a conference I recently attended - the Smithsonian's Online Lincoln Conference. Besides the high quality content, the best features of this conference were the cost (free) and location (my desktop computer). In the podcast I discuss my personal experience in attending the sessions, which sessions I enjoyed most and the concept of virtually attending an online conference.

If you were not able to attend the conference on February 4-5, 2009 you can still view any of the nine sessions from the archive. Resources from the sessions and an active discussion board are also available online.

Did you attend any of the sessions? If you did I would enjoy hearing about your experiences. Please add a comment to this blog post.

Direct link to Podcast #177 - Review of Smithsonian's Online Lincoln Conference

Podcast #176 - Celebrate Lincoln and Your Students Could Participate in a World Record

Hello. We continue our list of ways to celebrate Lincoln's birthday with an opportunity for you and your students to make history. Join the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in reading the text of the Gettysburg Address at 9:30 AM Central Time on February 12th, 2009. The Museum is attempting to break the current Guinness Book of World Record total of 223,363.

- Learn more about helping to break the world record by reading the Gettysburg Address

- Learn more about the Give A Lincoln for Lincoln project

To participate please check out this link and sign up your class. You will need to fill out a form with the names of students participating and signed witnesses. The site also contains numerous resources for teaching Lincoln.

Are you in? I am having my classes join in the activity and encouraging other teachers in my building to take part as well.

Direct link to Podcast #176 - Celebrate Lincoln and Your Students Could Set A New World Record

Library of Congress Posts New Set of Lincoln Photos on Flickr

The Library of Congress has created a new photo set to help celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday later this month. The collection of 22 photos includes the earliest known photo of Lincoln in 1846.

Check out the Lincoln photo set on Flickr here.

Check out the Library of Congress blog post about the Lincoln photo collection here.

Isn't it great that the Library of Congress is using Web 2.0 tools to both tell us about this collection and then posting the images where they are available to teachers and students!

How Would Lincoln Have Handled Our Current Economic Troubles?

During our current economic troubles have you ever wondered what President Lincoln might have done? Time magazine tackles the issue and has some interesting thoughts on what our 16th president may have done in a similar situation.

Read the Time magazine article on Lincoln and the Economy

Podcast #175 - Smithsonian Museum of American History Using Web 2.0 to Connect

Hello. I have been spending some time lately checking out the wealth of resources for teachers available online through the Smithsonian. As a history teacher, I always like to see what is happening at the Museum of American History. It has just reopened after a 2 year face lift and I can't wait to see it the next time I'm in Washington DC. The museum has a well organized collection of lesson plans and resources available to teachers but a couple of days ago what really caught my attention was their use of web 2.0 to connect to visitors.

The Museum of American History has a great blog named "O Say Can You See", a Flickr account for behind the scenes pictures, a You Tube channel with a variety of clips, a Facebook page and you can follow them on Twitter. Amazing. The Smithsonian gets it and I've heard the new Smithsonian leadership has a true vision for utilizing web 2.0 as a tool. The Smithsonian recently held a conference to explore the potential of web 2.0. I am very impressed. If you are a history teacher you really should add the O Say Can You See blog to your reader and start following them on Twitter. I can't wait to see what they do next.

Direct link to Podcast #175 - Smithsonian's Museum of American History Using Web 2.0 To Connect

Reminder - Smithsonian Lincoln Conference is February 4 and 5

Just a reminder that the FREE Online Smithsonian Conference on Lincoln in happening today and tomorrow (Feb 4-5, 2009). I attended one this morning describing images from his death bed and now I'm attending a session in which they are describing Lincoln artifacts. If you have ever wanted to sit down with a Smithsonian expert and discuss Lincoln you have to see this. They will be archived for viewing later but the live experience is very cool because you can ask questions, vote on questions that come up, etc.

Please check out the online conference from the Smithsonian here!

Podcast #174 - Lincoln's Crossroads Interactive Online Game from the National Constitution Center

Hello. Today's podcast is our 6th idea for how to celebrate Lincoln's upcoming 200th birthday on February 12, 2009. When one examines the life of Lincoln is difficult to not respect the number of difficult decisions he had to make for the good of the nation. Lincoln's Crossroads Game from the National Constitution Center is an interactive way for your students to learn about the issues of Lincoln's time and then make their own choice. You will compare your decision making skills with Lincoln on 13 issues and learn how many times you made the same choice. Check out the podcast and get a quick preview with the screencast embedded below.

If you have any comments or questions please leave a comment on this blog post or e-mail me at speakingofhistory@gmail.com

Direct link to Podcast #174 - Lincoln's Crossroads Interactive Online Game from the National Constitution Center

Check Out Historical Tweets - Historical Momments in 140 Characters or Less

I love it when technology and history meet. If you are like me - a history teacher who is a regular Twitter user - you need to check out this site - Historical Tweets. Some of these momments in history are a little over the top but this is a great site to browse for a couple of moments. It could also be used as an assignment starter for your students.

Screencast : Smithsonian's Interactive Star Spangled Banner

Hello. We recently researched the Star Spangled Banner as my class studying the War of 1812. I found an excellent site available from the Smithsonian and have previewed it in the following video created using Jing Pro.

One of the coolest things about the site with ability to learn more about the flag which inspired the lyrics to the National Anthem using an interactive tool to zoom in on parts of the historic flag. You can also learn how to submit a video of singing the National Anthem to win a trip to perform in Washington DC on Flag Day 2009.

Link to the Smithsonian's Interactive Site on the Star Spangled Banner

Podcast #173 - Summer 2009 Workshops for Teachers on Lincoln

Hello. Today's podcast is my #5 idea for celebrating Lincoln's upcoming 200th birthday. There is nothing like walking in the steps of the person you are studying or sitting in a historical location. You can learn more about Lincoln by attending one of the three Lincoln workshops discussed in the podcast. A link to each of these opportunities - each of which provides a stipend. I have attended one of these workshops and really enjoyed the experience.

Gilder Lehrman - Lincoln Workshop - July 5-11, 2009 - Applications Due February 15, 2009

Horace Mann Abraham Lincoln Fellowship - June 21-27, 2009 and July 12-18, 2009 - Applications Due February 12, 2009

Landmarks of American History National Endowment for the Humanities Lincoln Workshop - June 14-19, 2009 and July 19-24, 2009 - Applications Due March 16, 2009

If you have attended one of these workshops in the past please leave a comment, we'll enjoy hearing about your experience.

Direct link to Podcast #173 - Summer 2009 Workshops for Teachers on Lincoln - MP3 Audio File

Screencast : Smithsonian's Interactive Gettysburg Address

Hello. Do you teach the Gettysburg Address in your classroom? If you do please check out this screencast featuring an interactive Gettysburg Address from The Smithsonian. This screencast was created wing Jing Pro. If you have any comments on this screencast or ideas on how to use this resource in the classroom, please leave a comment on this blog post.

Direct link to Smithsonian's Interactive Gettysburg Address