Podcast #172 - Preview of Smithsonian's Free Online Conference About Lincoln - February 4-5, 2009

Hello. Today's podcast is my fourth in a series of ten - "Ways You Can Celebrate the 200th Birthday of Abraham Lincoln". I briefly mentioned this at the end of an earlier podcast ( Podcast #166 - Using the Smithsonian's "In Your Classroom" to Teach Lincoln )discussing several excellent lesson plans on Lincoln featured in Smithsonian In Your Classroom, but I wanted to provide some more detail about this incredible opportunity for teachers to attend a free, online conference with some of the Smithsonian's experts on Lincoln. Attend in person or come back later and view the archives. I hope to attend several in person and then view the rest later.

Check out the podcast for the schedule, then go visit the Smithsonian's Official Site for the Lincoln Online Conference. If you're early introduce yourself on the discussions page and then come back on the day of the workshop. You can also check to see if your computer has all the needed applications to participate in the workshop live. If you have any comments, or if you are planning to attend, please leave a comment on this blog post.

Direct link to Podcast #162 - Preview of Smithsonian's Free Online Conference About Lincoln - February 4-5, 2009 - MP3 Audio File

Podcast #171 - Teaching Lincoln with Political Cartoons of His Time

Hello. As we get closer to the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln in several weeks, we look at another resource you can use in your classroom to teach about Lincoln. Today we discuss two books that I have used in the past to give students an understanding that Lincoln was viewed in a different light during his own time. There were many during his presidency that did agree with his policies and depicted this view through political cartoons. In today's podcast I discuss two excellent books you can use with students. A link to both of these books are listed below.

- The Political Cartoons of the Whispering Gallery by the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

- The Lines are Drawn - Political Cartoons of the Civil War edited by Kristen M. Smith

If you have used these books in your classroom or would like to comment on this podcast please leave a comment on this blog post. We would love to hear how other teachers are using political cartoons to teach Lincoln.

Direct link to Podcast #171 - Teaching Lincoln Through Political Cartoons of His Time - MP3 Audio File

Satellite Image of the Inauguration

Check out this incredible image of the Mall in Washington DC during the inauguration.

Wordle of President Obama's Inaugural Address

I created a Wordle tonight from the text of President Obama's Inaugural Address yesterday. I love Wordle. Great tool to bring text to life for visual learners.

Anyone Teaching A Lesson About Children Living in the White House?

I recently received an e-mail from a media contact looking for a classroom that is currently using the concept of children in the White House - specifically Sasha and Malia Obama - as a teachable moment.

If you, or one of your colleges, is doing a lesson focusing on children living in the White House please e-mail me at speakingofhistory@gmail.com and I will pass it long. Thanks.

President Obama Taking the Oath of Office

A quick picture of my classroom today during the oath by President Obama. My class was absolutely silent for the oath and the speech - not common in an 8th grade class.

Podcast #170 - Resources to Teach the Inauguration In Your Classroom

Hello. Classrooms across the country on January 20th will be focused on the inauguration of our next president - Barack Obama. Today I would like to share just a couple of resources that you can use in your classroom with your students. There are many, many sites to help you teach the inauguration, those listed below are just a few.

The New York Times has created a rich and interactive site to provide perspective on the inaugural speeches of every president in United States history - see the full text of each speech, a PDF of the New York Times the following day and a word cloud which demonstrates the number of times each word was used. The Times also has an excellent interactive page showing the route Mr. Obama will take during the day, ala Google Earth style. The third site is a link to a cool visual Obama mosaic created from the front pages of over 600 newspapers from the day after the election in November.

- New York Times - Inaugural Words : 1789 to Present

- New York Times - Inauguration Day and Parade Route

- Obama Mosaic of 600 Newspapers From Day After Election

If you have any comments about the podcast or would like to share what your classroom did on Inauguration Day please leave a comment on this blog post.


Direct link to Podcast #170 - Resources to Teach the Inauguration in Your Classroom - MP3 Audio File

Podcast #169 - My Five Podcast and Technology Goals for 2009

Hello. In today's podcast I discuss my goals for 2009 in relation to the podcast and technology. It is a rather ambitious list and I hope by putting it on "paper" and in the podcast it will hopefully give me more motivation to succeed. Listen to the podcast to learn more about each of the goals.

1. Create and publish 100 podcasts this year

2. Finish and publish my book on teaching American History with technology

3. Launch my comprehensive website with resources for American history teachers and with access to all of my notes and presentations

4. Use technology to enhance the Clay County Historical Society Museum - web site, audio guide by cell tours, video content, etc.

5. Interview Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough

If you have any comments or would like to share some of your goals for 2009, please feel free to leave a comment on this blog post. Good luck with all your goals for 2009!

Direct link to Podcast #169 - My Five Podcast and Technology Goals for 2009 - MP3 Audio File

Podcast #168 - Review of Abraham Lincoln : Great American Historians On Our Sixteenth President

Hello. As we near the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, I am discussing 10 great things you can do to celebrate the life of this amazing president. I started last week with a great lesson plan and online webinar resource from the Smithsonian ( check out Speaking of History Podcast #166 ). Today I am suggesting a great book I purchased just a couple of weeks ago - Abraham Lincoln : Great American Historians On Our Sixteenth President edited by Brian Lamb and Susan Swain. This is a C-Span book so you know it high quality content and a great way to reflect on a wide range of topics relating to Lincoln. Check out the podcast and listen to what I think of the book.




In addition to reading the book, I encourage you to check out the online content from C-Span on Lincoln as we celebrate throughout 2009. The C-Span site has many additional resources and amazing full length video content with authors and historians on Lincoln. You can view hours of discussion on Lincoln for free from this site - incredible.

If you have a comment you would like to share about the podcast, please leave a comment on this blog entry or e-mail directly at speakingofhistory@gmail.com


UPDATE:

The day after posting the podcast I was excited to recieve the following e-mail from Susan Swain, editor of the book:

Mr. Langhorst

Just listened to your podcast about our Abraham Lincoln book...thanks so much for telling other teachers about the book. We're all about education at C-SPAN and an endorsement from Missouri's teacher of the year is about as exciting as it gets.

Best regards, Susan Swain

Thanks again to Susan and everyone at C-Span for their work in creating resources teachers can use in the classroom.


Direct link to Podcast #168 - Review of Abraham Lincoln : Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President - MP3 Audio File

Podcast #167 - Twitter, Social Media and the Reporting of the US Airways Plane Landing in the Hudson

Hello. Tonight I just wanted to share some thoughts on how I "watched" the coverage of today's top story - the US Airways plane landing in the Hudson River - on both mainstream media and my Twitter network. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the term "citizen journalist" but I couldn't help but be amazed as I saw stunning first photos of the rescue - see picture above taken by Janis Krums while on a ferry coming to help the passengers. He used TwitPic to post the picture immediately and it is now being viewed around the globe.

I think this has some powerful implications for education and how our students obtain information. What do you think? Who controls the flow of information today? Is it as reliable as it was 15 years ago? Is it better or worse? Just some thoughts on a Thursday night before I head to bed.


Direct link to Podcast #167 - Twitter, Social Media and the Reporting of the US Airways Plane Landing in the Hudson River" to Teach Lincoln - MP3 Audio File