Podcast #153 - Zune In My Classroom Presentation at 2008 NECC in San Antonio

Microsoft's Kathy Richardson and myself at the Zune section of the Microsoft booth at NECC.

Hello. Today's podcast is the audio from my presentation last week in San Antonio at NECC. I gave my presentation on the second day of the conference at the Microsoft booth and described the Zune pilot I completed with my 8th grade American history students. It was a busy exhibit floor at the time of the presentation and there is a lot of background noise but I think it is still audible.

The Zune pilot I completed at South Valley Junior High School - along with the pilot which took place at Fort Sumner High School in New Mexico - has been featured in an AP story which was picked up by various media outlets including CNN.

Direct link to Speaking of History Podcast #153 - Zune In My Classroom Presentation at 2008 NECC in San Antonio - MP3 Audio - 23:25 Minutes

The presentation is also available in video format thanks to Texas teacher Kyle Stevens of the Final Curve blog who recorded it and posted it to YouTube as two videos. Thanks Kyle for taping and posting the videos. I have embedded the videos below.

Podcast #152 - eLECTIONS Presentation at 2008 NECC in San Antonio

Hello. Today's podcast is the audio from our eLECTIONS presentation last week at NECC in San Antonio. I co-presented this session with Frank Gallagher of Cable in the Classroom. eLECTIONS is a free online simulation in which students can play against each other or the computer and run a presidential campaign. If you teach the 2008 election you need to check out this game for use in your classroom.

The session was well attended - a full house with people standing in the back. Of course it is only the audio so there are some limitations without the visuals but I think it has value if you are interested in using the resource.

If you have any comments please feel free to leave a comment on this blog post or you can e-mail me directly at speakingofhistory@gmail.com Thanks.

Direct link to Speaking of History Podcast #152 - eLECTIONS Presentation at 2008 NECC in San Antonio - MP3 Audio - 60 Minutes

Podcast #150 - Reflections on NECC 2008 - The Value of NECC

Hello. Today on the podcast I discuss the value of attending the 2008 NECC conference. Is it worth the time and money spent to attend the largest educational technology conference in the world with over 11,000 participants? Do we need a conference such as NECC in an era of uStream and podcasts to connect?

Direct link to Speaking of History #150 - Reflections on NECC 2008 - The Value of NECC - MP3 Audio File - 14:45 Minutes

My 2008 NECC Presentations in San Antonio - eLECTIONS and Zune

Hello. This week I'll be in San Antonio for NECC 2008 and will be giving two presentations.

Monday - June 30th - 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM
Grand Hyatt - Crockett A/B
"eLECTIONS - Your Adventure in Politics - A Free, Online Learning Game"

I will be presenting this session with Frank Gallagher of Cable in the Classroom. We will be demonstrating the updated version of the online presidential election game - eLECTIONS - and discussing it's use in the classroom. It is a free online game that has recently been updated for the 2008 election.

Tuesday - July 1 - 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM

Microsoft Booth on the Exhibition Floor

"The Zune in My Classroom"

I will be discussing the recently completed pilot in which 25 of my 8th grade students were given a 4GB Zune to use in class. I was able to give each of my Zune students copies of the notes, audio studycasts and videos via the Zune. I will be discussing how I "beamed" the notes to them using the Zune wireless feature, quickly downloaded video content using the guest feature on the Zune Social and a USB.

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If you are a regular reader of the blog or a regular listener of the podcast please feel free to come to a session and say hello. I will also be podcasting and blogging from San Antonio. Hope to see some of you at NECC.