Speaking of History...

Vlog #29 - Show Notes and Links2017 Project Archaeology Workshop Kansas City - Flyer (PDF)Project Archaeology Contact Eric with any questions or comments Subscribe to the History Geek Teacher Vlog on YouTube to see new episodes when published

I can't wait to try this out - augmented reality brings Kansas City's Union Station to live.  Beginning today (October 31, 2014) visitors to Union Station can make history come live with their smart phone using augmented reality. Here is an article which describes the project but I also suggest watching the video below to get a grasp of how awesome this will be at Union Station.

Hello from snowy Liberty, Missouri.  Last week we had about 8 inches of snow and last night we added about another foot on top.  The recent snowstorms have resulted in additional snow days and canceled a couple of conferences that I was scheduled to present sessions at this past week.  Tomorrow I was scheduled to present a couple of sessions at the 2013 KCPT Education Conference but mother nature had other plans.   My presentations were ready to go so I thought I would use some of my "snowday time" to create a screencast of the presentation and post it online using Screencast-O-Matic. The presentation I decided to record is the "Great Sites and Apps for Teachers" - a 50 minute run through 50 great sites and apps that teachers might find helpful.  I have a site with links to all of the apps and sites listed in the presentation. You can check out the site for the presentation at www.ericlanghorst.com/bestsites and watch the presentation in it's entirety here.  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments! 

I have several friends who have attended a Google Teacher Academy and become Certified Google Teachers.  Every single one them have said the same thing - it was the best professional development they have ever experienced.  They are very passionate as they talk about their experience and what they learned at the academy.  This is the reason that I have decided to apply for the next Google Teacher Academy which will take place in New York on October 3-4, 2012.   The application includes a text portion completed online using a Google Form and a contributed video.  The video is the portion of the application which generally causes the most stress among applicants.  Besides the one minute time limit, you have the pressure of submitting a video for an organization which is generally considered one of the most creative in the world.  If you want to see some innovative videos check out YouTube and search for the hashtag #GTANY on Twitter. I attempted to describe some of the ways that we use technology in our classroom and why it is important.  I used some images and the Photo Table iPad app to tell my story.  My submitted video can be viewed below: I hope to be one of the fifty teachers selected to attend the Google Teacher Academy this October in New York.  I think it would be a great experience and an opportunity to learn from some amazing teachers.  We'll know the answer by the end of the day August 8th.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Today's podcast is sort of a rambling (consider yourself warned) about how I watched my Twitter feed about the State of the Union Address last night before I listened to it on my own.  Viewing events like debates, speeches and sporting events is definitely different when you are commenting and watching it live on Twitter.  What does this say about us socially?  Do you watch live events with your phone or i-Pad in one hand commenting to Twitter?  Please listen to the podcast and then leave a quick comment. Direct link : Speaking of History Podcast #215 "Watching the State of the Union Address Through the Eyes of Twitter" - MP3 file (9 minutes)

Hello.  Today's podcast is part do-it-yourself, part technology.  I discuss how in a couple of minutes we took our family antique cabinet radio from the 1930's and soon had it playing Glenn Miller big ban music and reports from D-Day.   Direct link : Speaking of History Podcast #214 - Antique Radio Time Machine - MP3 Links from podcast: Old World Radio - great site to download original music, comedy shows and dramas Montgomery Ward Airline 62-215 Radio - 1935

Hello. It has been 535 days since my last podcast but I'm back.  I really enjoy podcasting and it is my hope to rejuvenate the post here in 2012.  I have been busy the past 2 years working on my doctorate and that time that I used to spend on the podcast has largely been consumed by doctorate work.  I am now finished with my course work and am writing my dissertation.  Today's podcast is a short recap of what has been happening in the past two years and my desire to get back on track.  Thanks for listening. Direct link : Speaking of History Podcast #213 - I'm Back (10:00 minutes)

This is the sixth in a series of blog posts describing my experiences as part of the 2011 Keizai Koho Center Fellowship Program. Okonomiyaki at a Hiroshima restaurant  Okonomiyaki mid process on a hot plate Our KKC group making Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima  One Japanese food dish from the my recent trip to Japan deserves its own blog post – Okonomiyaki.  Wikipedia describes okonomiyaki as “a Japanese savory pancake containing a variety of ingredients and is derived from the word ‘okonomi’ : what you want and ‘yaki’ : grilled”.  My host family prepared it for me during my home stay and then we visited a restaurant as a group where we prepared one for ourselves on a hot plate which sat in front of us. The okonomiyaki is a mixture of batter, cabbage, pork and optional items including squid, octopus and cheese.  On top of this combination are placed noodles, a fried egg, okonomiyaki sauce and mayo.  My host family also sprinkled the finished plate with dried tuna shavings and dried seaweed.  The dish is most popular in the Kansai and Hiroshima areas.  Different regions have different proportions of ingredients. The mixture is fried on a hot plate and turned over several times like a pancake with spatulas.  It was relatively easy to eat with chopsticks and has so many ingredients it is easy to find something that everyone likes.

This is the fifth in a series of blog posts describing my experiences as part of the 2011 Keizai Koho Center Fellowship Program. My new favorite Japanese Baseball playerPoster promoting the game we attended One of the things I hoped to have an opportunity to do while in Japan was watch a major league Japanese baseball game.  This ultimately was a reality because of the generosity of my host family.  A week prior to visiting Japan my host family contacted me to see what I would like to do during my homestay in Japan.  I replied to Noriko, my host, and explained that if possible I would love to attend a game.  She said it would be possible to attend a game on July 3rd at Osaka.  Noriko, Mizuki (Noriko’s niece) and I took a combination of subways and trains from Kyoto to Osaka to watch the Osaka Orix Buffaloes and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks play at the Kyocera Osaka Dome.  The teams in Japan are sponsored by companies and the corporate names are included in the name of the team – Orix sponsors the Osaka team and SoftBank sponsors the Fukuoka team.  The Osaka Orix Buffaloes are the team Ichiro Suzuki played for in Japan before coming to the United States to become an All-Star with the Seattle Marines.  Ichiro is one of my favorite players to watch and there were a ton of advertisements in the stadium featuring him promoting a Japanese brand of beer. I met these super fans for the Osaka team prior to the game The couple which sold us our tickets to the game We arrived at the Osaka Dome looking to get tickets for the game.  We wanted to get some cheap tickets so we went to the area of the stadium where the general admission seats are sold for the game.  We were just walking up to the ticket booth to buy some tickets, which cost about 1,500 yen each, when a family approached us and asked if we were looking to buy tickets.  Noriko explained that we did want to buy some tickets.  The family explained they had some extra tickets since their friend was unable to make it today.  He offered to sell us two tickets for 1,000 yen – about $8 in U.S. currency.  We agreed and then when he saw we needed a total of three tickets he gave us the third one for free and then handed me the jersey the team was giving away that day.  I was so thrilled to get the tickets and the free jersey that I told him thanks in Japanese repeatedly and asked to take a picture with his family.  We were in! Enjoying the game with my host family We entered the stadium and found it to be very much like any domed stadium in the United States – fans milling around, concession stands and places to buy souvenirs.  I went to the souvenir stand to get some items to take home.  I saw many fans walking around with a large towel they wore around their neck which had the team name and featured the name and number of their favorite player.  I decided I needed one of these so I bought one with the name of my new adopted favorite player in Japan – #9 Tomotaka Sakaguchi of the Osaka Buffaloes.  I also found a team autographed baseball with Sakaguchi’s signature.  I also picked up a couple of game programs for free.  The programs were really cool and even gave directions for specific team songs and chants as well as directions for waving your towel in a certain manner. Shopping for souvenirs at the game View from our seats in the upper deck, slightly right field The concourse was full of food options included a hot dog stand, traditional Japanese cuisine (including octopus and sushi), a Kentucky Fried Chicken and a McDonald’s.  I had not yet tried a burger at a McDonald’s in Japan and the other options didn’t appeal to me so I decided this was the time to do a taste comparison.  I got a Big Mac, fries and a Coke.  The Big Mac tasted pretty close the same as in the states with the exception of maybe a little more pepper on the patty.  My hosts also g

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts describing my experiences as part of the 2011 Keizai Koho Center Fellowship Program. View of Tokyo from 45 floor of Ritz-Carlton in midtown Tokyo  I must admit that I was astounded by the sheer number of people in the city of Tokyo.  Those of you who know me well know that I grew up in Howells, Nebraska - a small farming village in northeast Nebraska with an official 2000 census population of 632 people.  We stayed in Tokyo on this fellowship for a total of four nights.  Tokyo is the world's most populated metropolitan area with a total of 35 million people.   View of Tokyo from 40th floor of Tokyo Dome Hotel  It was hard for me to get a grasp of what 35 million people look like until I open the window to my hotel room at the Tokyo Dome Hotel.  My room was on the 20th floor (the hotel has an observation lounge on the 45th floor).  It was about 11:00 PM at night when we got into our hotel room and when I opened the window I could see nothing but lights from skyscrapers in every direction.  The site was amazing and even more so considering that many buildings in the Tokyo area are not fully lit at night due to the efforts to conserve energy following the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in the 3/11/11 earthquake.  The next morning I looked out over the city in the dawn of the morning light and it was even more impressive than the evening before.  It was now daylight and in every direction not only could I see buildings, but skyscrapers in every direction going on forever on the horizon.  It was very impressive. I took some pictures of the Tokyo skyline from my hotel window but also ventured to higher locations including the 45th floor of the Tokyo Ritz-Carlton hotel and the 40th floor of the Tokyo Dome Hotel and took pictures and video from these locations. Video of Tokyo from 45th floor of Ritz-Carlton hotel  The sheer number of people of in Tokyo is almost too much to comprehend.  The urban core of Tokyo has 2,700 square miles with a population density of 12, 296 people per square mile.  I was impressed. Me looking out over Tokyo from the 40th floor of the Tokyo Dome Hotel

This is the second in a series of blog posts describing my experiences as part of the 2011 Keizai Koho Center Fellowship Program. Subway in Osaka My journey to Japan literally included a variety of trains, planes and automobiles (in addition to subways, buses and ferries).  The first leg of my journey was delayed when my flight from San Francisco to Osaka was canceled due to mechanical issues.  I was put up in a hotel in San Francisco for the night and my new flight plan now included flying to Tokyo instead and then a connecting flight into Osaka.  This new itinerary concerned me a little since I would be flying into one of the world’s largest airports where I did speak the language, had to clear customs immigration and customs within an hour to make my connecting flight.  I was more relieved when I discovered that one of the other teachers in our group would be on the same flight and we would be attempting to make this connection together.  Our flight sat at the gate an extra hour and a half at San Francisco with an issue loading the luggage so it really made it difficult once we landed in Tokyo.  Our connecting flight to Osaka from Tokyo was on Japan Airlines and the staff at the airport did an amazing job of helping us get through immigration, collecting our luggage, clearing customs and then finally making our flight with about 2 minutes to spare.  We did have to run through the airport but we made it.  The flight on Japan Airlines was smooth and uneventful.  The most memorable aspect of the flight was how clean the airline was and the way the flight attendants checked on us about 5 times during the hour long flight. During our excursions in the city we often traveled by a chartered bus but we also used taxis.  Several times while traveling in taxis I sat in the front seat on the left side, opposite of how we drive in the United States.  I sometimes caught myself catching my breath as we made some quick turns in traffic unto what appeared to be the wrong lane. Riding the subway in Kyoto with Mizuki, a member of my host family The subways in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo were always clean and on time.  Tokyo had the busiest subways by far but nothing that we couldn’t handle and everyone was very respectful when the cars became full.  Whenever we had a question about which train to take the individuals we asked were always very gracious and helpful.  The program gave us a credit card preloaded with enough yen so we could use it throughout our stay and not worry about buying individual tickets each time.  All we had to do was hold it up to the sensor and then pass through the gate – very smooth. Enjoying my first trip on the Bullet Train in Japan My favorite mode of transportation in Japan was by far the bullet train – or as it is called in Japan, the “Shinkansen”. I knew we would be traveling on the bullet train because it appeared on our initial itinerary and it was one of the things I was most excited about experiencing while in Japan.  I can remember reading about the bullet train when I was a kid growing up and thinking it would be an awesome way to travel.  We rode the bullet train twice – one from Kyoto to Hiroshima and then later from Hiroshima to Tokyo. Inside the "Green Car" on the Bullet Train The first trip – Kyoto to Hiroshima – was about 2 hours long.  It was still light when I started so we could see cities and the countryside as we zoomed along at roughly 170 miles per hour.  The tour organizer had arranged an upgrade for us to the first class car, known as the “green car”.  The seats were spacious and comfortable.  Each seat had its own power outlet to accommodate a laptop.  Attendants came through the car offering to sell beverages or snacks.  It was a very comfortable trip. The Bullet Train arrives to take us to Tokyo The second trip – from Hiroshima to Tokyo – was roughly 4 hours.  Again, w

This is the first in a series of blog posts describing my experiences as part of the 2011 Keizai Koho Center Fellowship Program. Waseda Junior High Students welcoming us to their school This year I celebrated July 4th outside of the United States for the first time in my life.  This year on July 4th I woke up on the 16th floor of a hotel in Hiroshima, Japan while participating in a study tour of Japan from the Keizai  Koho Center.  I was welcomed to the sight of a bustling Japanese city when I opened the windows of my hotel room in the morning.  We had arrived late the night before via the bullet train from Kyoto.  On the taxi ride from the train station to the hotel the night before my first impression was the dramatic comparison from Kyoto.  The buildings in Hiroshima were much newer and the city looked distinctively modern in comparison to Kyoto.  Then the reason for the stark contrast in cities dramatically struck me - this was a relatively new city because on August 6, 1945 an atomic bomb was dropped from the B-29 Bomber Enola Gay and in a matter of minutes had destroyed much of the city.In the previous 24 hours several of us in the group had mentioned in casual conversation that it was it was somewhat unusual that we were celebrating July 4th in a Japanese city with this unfortunate link to our own history.  Would the people we would meet in Hiroshima show any resentment toward Americans?  So far on our study group we had been the recipients of extraordinary hospitality from the people of Japan but would Hiroshima be different? After breakfast our group set out for the two scheduled appointments on our itinerary.  First we were visiting Waseda Jr. High School in Hiroshima.  In the afternoon we were visiting the site where the atomic bomb was dropped and the accompanying world peace park and museum.  It was a full day, and just as we did for every day on this study tour, we looked forward to the adventure and the exploration. Our bus pulled up to the front of Waseda Jr. High School.  We removed our shoes and were asked to follow the principal. It was quiet in the hallway. As we approached the gym, we noticed signs created by the students welcoming us to their school which featured American flags.  We entered the gymnasium to see a sight which surprised many in the group.  The entire student body of Waseda Junior High was assembled in the gym - absolutely quiet and standing in meticulously straight rows.  As we entered the gym, the students were smiling and offered a thunderous round of applause which continued until all of us were seated in designated chairs lined up on the baseline at the far end of the gym. Sign welcoming Keizai Koho Fellows to Waseda Jr. High School on July 4th The response from the students was moving to say the least.  The students had prepared a welcoming program for us which including greetings, a traditional drum performance and signing.  They told us they wanted to help us celebrate the 4th of July since it was an important day for us.  I was moved to the brink of tears.  Just an hour before at breakfast I had a sense of uncertainty concerning how Americans would be treated in Hiroshima.  The actions of the students at Waseda Junior High answered my question and this spirit of hospitality and friendliness was repeated consistently over the course of the next couple of days. Students perform for us at opening ceremony at Waseda Jr. High School The remainder of our school visit was a wonderful experience and our time at the peace park was excellent as well.  Each of these visits warrant their own specific blog entry so I will not expand on it at this time. I will also defer discussion on the politics and circumstances which resulted in the atomic bomb being dropped over 65 years ago - all great discussions for a different blog entry. But what I felt in that gym on the morning of July 4th wa

Link to download a PDF version of the presentation Link to Diigo list of resources collection on Standards Based Grading