Podcast #159 - Online Resources for Teaching the 2008 Election

Hello. A week from tonight we will elect a new president and many teachers across the nation are implementing online resources to explain the process to their students. I recently wrote an article which was published in School Library Journal magazine (September 2008 issue) describing a variety of resources. The article is available in print or you can view the entire article online here.

In today's podcast I discuss the resources listed below. If you use an additional online resource to teach the election please share it by adding a comment to this blog post.

Budget Hero

CNN Student News

Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonist Index

eLECTIONS Online Game

The Living Room Candidate

Select A Candidate

270 To Win

Direct link to Podcast #159 - Online Resources for Teaching the 2008 Election - MP3 Audio File

Classroom Zune Pilot Project Featured in Newspaper

Our 8th grade classroom Zune Pilot (see the Speaking of History Podcast #132 from February 18, 2008 for more details) was featured in our local newspaper this week - The Liberty Tribune here in Liberty, Missouri.

You can check out the article online here. Thanks to Natalie Shelton for contacting me to write the story and Anna Faltermier for the great photographs.

USA Today Article on Podcasting Mentions "Speaking of History"

Hello. A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed by reporter Maria Puente about the Speaking of History podcast and today - March 16, 2007 - it appeared in the print edition of the USA Today. Very exciting. It is a great article about some of the "offbeat" podcasts currently available.

Here is a quick take from the article:

Some education podcasts are produced by high school and middle school teachers reaching out to other teachers on ways to connect with less-than-engaged students. Eric Langhorst, a junior high history teacher in Liberty, Mo., uses his podcast, Speaking of History, to hook students who dislike history but love their iPods.

"(The dislike) comes from the way history is traditionally presented in classrooms," Langhorst says. "Students like history when they see a program on TV or go to a museum or hear a story. Once you get them hooked, the story of American history is very engaging."

You can read the entire article online here at the USA Today site. If you are a first time visitor as a result of the article welcome to Speaking of History where the topics are generally a combination of technology, education and history. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast please e-mail me at speakingofhistory@gmail.com or leave a comment to the this blog post.

Thanks and talk to you again soon.