Podcast #140 - Meeting President Bush at the Oval Office in the White House

Hello. Today is one of those days that you never forget. One of the amazing opportunities that I've had while serving as the 2007 / 2008 Missouri Teacher of the Year happened today as I met President Bush in the Oval Office of the White House. Of course as a history teacher and political geek that was beyond cool. It also seemed surreal as I had the chance to have my picture taken with the president and then participate in a Teacher of the Year ceremony at the Rose Garden.

I sat down and recorded a podcast before I went to bed for the night - in part so that my 8th grade students back in Liberty could share in the experience in class on Thursday. I have included some pictures that I took during the experience at the White House. I had a great seat on the isle during the ceremony at the White House and can't believe how great the pictures turned out.

Congratulations to our new 2008 National Teacher of the Year - Michael Geisen - a 7th grade science teacher from Oregon. He will be an amazing representative for all teachers across the country and I hope many of you will have the opportunity to see and hear him speak as he travels this year.

Direct link to Podcast #140 - Meeting President Bush at the Oval Office in the White House - MP3 Audio File - 16:30 minutes

Show Notes:

Official White House Press Release on the 2008 National Teacher of the Year Ceremony

Podcast #139 - Speech at 2008 Missouri Daughters of the American Revolution Banquet

Hello. This year as I have the honor of traveling the state to as the Missouri Teacher of the Year at banquets, conferences and conventions I often record the presentation with my portable iRiver MP3 player. I usually don't produce the presentation but at times it does fit into one of the three themes of this podcast - education, history or technology. Today I am podcasting the speech I gave at the 2008 Missouri Daughters of the American Revolution banquet held on April 5 in Columbia, Missouri. It is a great organization that does amazing things to promote American history in our schools through student contests and scholarships.

Direct link to Speaking of History Podcast #139 - Speech at 2008 Missouri Daughters of the American Revolution Banquet - MP3 Audio - 17:20 Minutes

Lois Allen of the Missouri Daughters of the American Revolution and myself at the 2008 state convention in Columbia, Missouri.

Podcast #138 - Questions About National Board Certification

Hello. This podcast is a little different - more of a request for information. I am currently considering starting the process to become a Nationally Board Certified teacher. In the past there was no incentive in my district to become certified but starting next year they will offer a $4000 stipend to each certified teacher. I am currently in the very early stages of checking out the process. I'm aware it is a process that costs roughly $2500, I should expect to spend somewhere around 400 hours on the process and it is very reflective.

Are you a National Board Certified teacher? What advice would you have for a teacher such as myself that is just starting to look at the process?

If you would like to offer advice or share your experiences please leave a comment on the post for all to read and share or send me an e-mail directly at speakingofhistory@gmail.com Thanks.

Direct link to Speaking of History Podcast #138 - Questions About National Board Certification - MP3 Audio File - 4:30 minutes

Podcast #137 - Hardtack to Hard Drives - The Guerrilla Season Book Blog Project - MASL Presentation

Hello. Today's podcast is the audio from a presentation I gave at the MASL (Missouri Association of School Librarians) Conference at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri on April 14, 2008. We have recently completed our Guerrilla Season book blog project - our second book blog project with this book by Pat Hughes in the past two years. I feel this project is one of my more sucessful personal applications of Web 2.0 in my own classroom.

The podcast is the audio of the presentation and is about 50 minutes in length. I do mention a wiki that has all the links to articles, sites mentioned, etc. during the presentation and that URL is listed below. I also show a short video describing the book blog project and that is available to view using the link listed below.

If you have any comments or questions about the presentation please feel free to contact me at speakingofhistory@gmail.com

Direct link to Speaking of History Podcast #137 - Hardtack to Hard Drives - The Guerrilla Season Book Blog Project - MASL Presentation - MP3 Audio Format - 56:00 minutes




Podcast #137 Show Notes:

- The Official 2008 Guerrilla Season Book Blog Project

- Wiki with links mentioned in the Hardtack to Hard Drives Presentation

- PowerPoint presentation for Hardtack to Hard Drives available on SlideShare

- Video describing the Guerrilla Season Book Blog Project

Podcast #136 - Cable in the Classroom Video - A Teacher's Story

Hello. Several months ago my students were featured in a video by Cable in the Classroom that was created to demonstrate some of the ways that teachers can utilize the resources they provide to teachers. Viva Productions came and and transformed our classroom into a studio - lights, microphones, high definition cameras, etc. Eric J Smith shot video for the day and then created a 3 minute video that will be distributed by Cable in the Classroom to teachers throughout the country. The video is available on their web site and will be made available to cable networks across America. You can view the online version of the video here.

It was a very educational experience for myself and my students. One of the most interesting experiences for me was recording the voice over at RSVP Productions - a local sound studio. The podcast gives greater detail about the background of the project and the experience. Special thanks to everyone that made the production possible including Julie Zastrow - Viva Productions, Kat Stewart - Cable in the Classroom, Eric J Smith for shooting the video, RSVP Productions and Joyce Peters of Kansas City Time Warner. A huge thanks to my students who were movie stars and did an awesome job "on the set".

Direct link to Podcast #136 - Cable in the Classroom Video - A Teacher's Story - MP3 Audio File - 7:20 Minutes

Podcast #135 - Please Vote For Me Documentary Video from Independent Lens

This is a great time to be a social studies teacher in terms of teaching about the election process and democracy. Recently while attending the NCSS Conference in San Diego I discovered another great resource to use with students that teaches the election process from a unique angle. Independent Lens has distributed an amazing documentary named "Please Vote For Me" .The 55 minute documentary follows a student monitor election in a Chinese classroom of 8 year olds. I have used it with my 8th graders and they loved it. If you would like a FREE copy of this DVD please listen to the podcast and then use the links provided in the show notes.

Today's podcast is also the first with a new intro and closing. Music used in the background is from Soundzabound - royalty free music for use in K-12 schools. Check it out.

Direct link to Podcast #135 - Please Vote For Me Documentary Video from Independent Lens - MP3 Audio File - 9:20 Minutes

Materials Request Form for materials from Independent Lens - including the DVD "Please Vote For Me"

Submit the materials request form to : outreach@itvs.org

Check Out Our Current Book Blog Project on Guerrilla Season

Hello. Please take a moment to drop by and check out our 2nd annual Guerrilla Season Book Blog Project. For the second year we have over 300 students and parents in Liberty, Missouri reading a historical novel about the Civil War and are joined by students in California, Illinois and Pennsylvania. The author of the book - Pat Hughes, who lives just outside of Philadelphia - is also joining us again to answer student questions and describe the writing process.

The blog includes comments and discussions by participants - using pen names only - along with links to more information, podcast interviews with the author and other interesting facts about the book.

Please stop by and check it out, even join us if you want. We just started. The project is live from March 3, 2008 through April 4, 2008 and the blog will remain up after the project is finished.

Podcast #134 - How I Use Note Packets in My 8th Grade American History Class

Hello. I've been trying to keep up with my e-mail from listeners and people who check out my classroom web page but I've been getting behind as of late. Today I thought I would try to answer one of my most frequently asked questions - How do you use your note packets in class with your students? I have been using something that I call "note packets" as one method of delivering my content to my students. These packets, and the notes we use with them, are available for download and I receive e-mail often from teachers using them in their own classroom. In this podcast I try to answer the most frequently asked questions about the note packets.

Link to download my unit note packets and the unit notes in PowerPoint form

Direct link to Podcast #134 - How I Use Note Packets in My 8th Grade American History Class - MP3 Audio File - 12:30 minutes

NCCE 2008 Presentation in Seattle

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Pictures from Seattle and the NCCE Conference

I'm in Seattle for the 2008 NCCE Conference (Northwest Council for Computer Education). I will present on Friday on the topic of using Microsoft applications such as PhotoStory and MovieMaker along with Web 2.0 tools.

I arrived in Seattle on Wednesday afternoon - after a 2 hour delay from the Kansas City airport due to a part being replaced on the plane prior to takeoff - and headed down to the Pike Place Market. I love this place. I was here once before and the amount of fresh fruit, vegtables, fish, crafts, etc. is just incredible. I took a bunch of pictures, visited the original Starbucks and caught an amazing sunset over the Puget Sound next to the Pike Place Market.

Looking forward to a great day of attending sessions and getting some new ideas from the great people here in the Northwest.