Podcast #133 - Celebrate George Washington's Birthday with a David McCullough Video Presentation on Washington

Happy Birthday Mr. Washington! Today is George Washington's birthday - he was born on February 22, 1732 and today he would be 276 years old. I have always thought George Washington was a great man but an event a couple of years ago spurred a natural interest in his life and I discuss that in today's podcast.

Direct link to Speaking of History #133 - Celebrate George Washington's Birthday with a David McCullough Presentation on Washington from ConSource - MP3 audio file - 9:20 minutes



After you listen to the podcast I would encourage you to watch a special presentation about George Washington from ConSource. The presentation is available through UStream and is a fascinating lecture on Washington by my all time favorite historian - David McCullough. (As long time listeners to the podcast know, Mr. McCullough is the one individual I would enjoy to sit down and visit with more than any other person on the planet.) This presentation to me is a shining example of what is good about the combination of teaching history and modern technology. The presentation took place on February 13, 2008 and students were able to ask questions via the chat feature on UStream. I was not aware of it at the time and found it later. I am so glad that it is archived and I can view it today. As of this blog entry the presentation had been downloaded 10,000 times - incredible. Check it out. It is an incredible presentation describing one of the greatest men in our nation's history and a great way to celebrate Washington's birthday.

Click here to view the David McCullough presentation on UStream.

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.

2008 TechNet Presentation

View Upload your own

Podcast #132 - The Student Zune Pilot Project at South Valley Jr. High

Hello. In today's podcast I'll be discussing an exciting new project that will take place in my classroom this semester - a student Zune pilot. Microsoft is providing each of my 25 students in my 3rd period 8th grade American History classroom a 4GB Zune to use during the spring semester. Microsoft donated these Zunes to my school district to test out this program. Our project will start on Tuesday with a parent / student meeting where the students will be given their Zunes.

I have been using different types of digital audio content in my classroom for several years. Three years ago I started to incorporate what I call "StudyCasts" - an audio review that I create and save as an MP3 file that is then posted on the Internet so that students can listen to the review in preparing for an upcoming unit test by listening at home on the Internet, downloading the file to their MP3 player or asking me to burn it to a CD for them. The introduction of the studycast has been successful but I cannot always insure that my students have 100% access to the content. In this Zune project I know that my students will not only have the MP3 device they will also leave my classroom with the content using the Zune social feature which allows me to "beam" content - in the form of audio or pictures - to their players before the leave for the day. The Zune will allow students to listen to content, view images and view video.

Listen to the podcast to learn more about how the pilot will opperate, how we will measure outcomes and how the Zune will be incorporated into the curriculum. I will also be keeping everyone updated on the progress of the Zune pilot throughout the pilot.

Please feel free to leave a comment on the blog post or e-mail directly at speakingofhistory@gmail.com I would be interested in your experiences with a Zune or if you have used the Zune in your classroom with students.

Direct link to Podcast #132 - The Student Zune Pilot at South Valley Jr. High - MP3 audio file - 9:24 minutes

METC 2008 Presentation - Why Is My Classroom Web 2.0

| View | Upload your own

METC 2008 Presentation - Hardtack to Hard Drives, A Book Blog Project

View Upload your own

Report from Day Three of the National Teacher of the Year Conference in Dallas

Hello. Today we had a great day discussing national education issues. We have an incredible group of over 50 teachers with great passion and a love for teaching. As we get to know each other we find great diversity but many shared ideas as well. After a great morning and afternoon of discussion we were treated to a special dinner at the Dallas World Aquarium - Mundo Maya. As we walked in the door and entered the rainforest we were greated by several Aztec warriors. The meal was amazing with great discussion. This week has been a truly amazing experience and we are making connections and friends that will last for years. I've added a few pictures from the evening below. I'll blog later about some of the topics of discussion from today. Right now my head is swimming with ideas and thoughts.

Greeted at the door of the Dallas World Aquarium.

Enjoying dinner with Mary Beth Blegen - 1996 National Teacher of the Year.

Montana Teacher of the Year Steve Gardiner, myself and Minnesota Teacher of the Year Michael Smart

Podcast #131 - Report from Day Two at the National Teacher of the Year Conference in Dallas

Hello. Today's podcast is similar to yesterday's episode - a little different than my usual podcasts. I'm reporting back to my 8th grade American history students in Liberty, Missouri. Today we had an incredible day as we learned more about the potential of the Smart technology that we will be given as state teachers of the year. I will soon have a Smart Board, AirLiner and Senteo products set up in my classroom and today was a chance to discover what we can do with these tools. I'm excited about use these tools and letting my students get their hands on these tools as well.

Today I have added a few pictures - one the view from the window of my hotel room and the second a picture of myself with Raymond Voley - the Alaska Teacher of the Year. He teaches technology and social studies so we have plenty in common.

Direct link to Podcast #131 - Report from Day Two of the National Teacher of the Year Conference in Dallas - MP3 format - 5:05 minutes

Podcast #130 - Report from Day One in Dallas at Teacher of the Year Conference

Hello. Today's podcast is a report from the national Teacher of the Year Conference in Dallas for my students back in Liberty, Missouri. We landed this afternoon - after flying into a 100 MPH headwind. I took a picture looking out the window of the plane since it looked really cool. I had a dinner tonight with all the teachers of the year from various parts of the country. It was great to meet a few other teachers tonight and over the next four or five days we'll all get to visit. Please listen to the podcast for a recap of Day 1.

Direct link to Podcast #130 - Report from Day in Dallas at Teacher of the Year Conference - MP3 Format - 7:00 minutes

State of the Union Bingo Lesson Plan

Here is a great lesson plan that you can incorporate into your classroom when teaching about the State of Union address by President Bush. It comes from Eli Lesser - Director of Teacher Education and Civic Outreach for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Eli mentioned this over the summer when I attended a workshop at the National Constitution Center and I was thinking of it this morning just as it came across my e-mail.

You can download a PDF of the lesson plan and Bingo board so your students can play along. Great also to adapt to other events.

Thanks Eli!