Saturday, April 04, 2009
TAH Symposium
We had the 4th annual TAH Symposium co-sponsored by H-Net/H-TAH and the OAH in conjunction with the OAH annual meeting in Seattle last week. It went really well. Lots of audience interaction and Sam Wineburg gave a thought-provoking keynote address about how we have to prove to the federal government that we are not a failing program if we want the funding to continue.
We had teachers and curriculum directors talk about what teachers get AND what they contribute. We also had 3 faculty members talk about how the TAH grants have impacted what they are doing. We called that session "The Better Angels of our Nature" and tried to tackle the concept of continuing this interaction even after funding ends. Then, we had 3 people who did not begin life as evaluators talk about how central evaluation is to designing and implementing grants.
Amy at OAH again organized a great Dine Around and all that participated had a great time and great food!
We had teachers and curriculum directors talk about what teachers get AND what they contribute. We also had 3 faculty members talk about how the TAH grants have impacted what they are doing. We called that session "The Better Angels of our Nature" and tried to tackle the concept of continuing this interaction even after funding ends. Then, we had 3 people who did not begin life as evaluators talk about how central evaluation is to designing and implementing grants.
Amy at OAH again organized a great Dine Around and all that participated had a great time and great food!
Labels: H-Net, H-TAH, OAH, Seattle, TAH Symposium, Wineburg
Monday, March 30, 2009
Blogging After the OAH and the TAH Symposium
My colleagues at H-TAH and I along with the outstanding meetings staff at OAH pulled off our 4th annual symposium on the long-term impact of Teaching American History grants. Our attendance mirrored that of the regular OAH meeting - down due both to reduced travel budgets and the geographical location of Seattle. A direct flight from KC actually makes Seattle doable from Kansas, though, so it wasn't a problem for us, including the 5 teachers who were supported by TAH grant funding.
I worked the evening before I left to get my new laptop going - I knew Vista would be fun but also a challenge along with the usual time it takes to switch over to a new computer - getting the anti-virus program running before getting the internet connection going. I'm merging my desktop with my laptop so that I no longer have the unnecessary challenge of an important email or file being on the other computer. I'll be working on that further this week.
I did do some Twittering (also as kellyinkansas) during the first day of the symposium but didn't get back to it with the 2nd day prep, including our keynote speaker Sam Wineburg.
Molly needs to go out so more later.
I worked the evening before I left to get my new laptop going - I knew Vista would be fun but also a challenge along with the usual time it takes to switch over to a new computer - getting the anti-virus program running before getting the internet connection going. I'm merging my desktop with my laptop so that I no longer have the unnecessary challenge of an important email or file being on the other computer. I'll be working on that further this week.
I did do some Twittering (also as kellyinkansas) during the first day of the symposium but didn't get back to it with the 2nd day prep, including our keynote speaker Sam Wineburg.
Molly needs to go out so more later.
Labels: H-TAH, OAH, TAH Symposium
Friday, October 26, 2007
TGIF! . . . and TAH
As I work more to have actual weekends (note the verb) where I can choose what I want to do without feeling overwhelmed by pending/looming deadlines, I'm going to start celebrating Fridays more - a way to compartmentalize my life a bit s that work doesn't control everything else.
The TAH Project Directors conference was the best they ever had along with extensive collaboration time with colleagues both in the hotel and in the Quarter. They separated out the first year grantees which was a great thing for those of us who have had several grants. Meetings that offer engaging content are worth it - those that are introductions to the experienced just frustate everyone involved. Carol Berkin's talk on colonial female spies and Lee Ann Potter's "mystery" were some of the highlights - history and teaching history are great combinations.
Now we're all busy writing up our annual and/or final reports that are due next week. And that's on top of writing our TAH 2008 proposals!
I'm also excited about being asked to join the TWG (Technical Working Group) for the TAH Clearinghouse Project proposed by George Mason University/Stanford University/AHA, among others. This should be another engaging experience and I'm anxious to see more of the inner workings of CHNM. My friend Paula that is there has given me some clues but being involved in the development of a project with such great personnel and resources available to it will be such a fun and engaging experience. The anticipated launch date is February 1, 2008. Thomas Thurston (also of H-TAH with me) and I had a nice chat with Kelly Schrum (someone else who spells their first name correctly ;-) ) in New Orleans about how the existing community can work to enhance the work of this community that will have the technology and manpower to do what we have only dreamed of doing.
TGIF!
The TAH Project Directors conference was the best they ever had along with extensive collaboration time with colleagues both in the hotel and in the Quarter. They separated out the first year grantees which was a great thing for those of us who have had several grants. Meetings that offer engaging content are worth it - those that are introductions to the experienced just frustate everyone involved. Carol Berkin's talk on colonial female spies and Lee Ann Potter's "mystery" were some of the highlights - history and teaching history are great combinations.
Now we're all busy writing up our annual and/or final reports that are due next week. And that's on top of writing our TAH 2008 proposals!
I'm also excited about being asked to join the TWG (Technical Working Group) for the TAH Clearinghouse Project proposed by George Mason University/Stanford University/AHA, among others. This should be another engaging experience and I'm anxious to see more of the inner workings of CHNM. My friend Paula that is there has given me some clues but being involved in the development of a project with such great personnel and resources available to it will be such a fun and engaging experience. The anticipated launch date is February 1, 2008. Thomas Thurston (also of H-TAH with me) and I had a nice chat with Kelly Schrum (someone else who spells their first name correctly ;-) ) in New Orleans about how the existing community can work to enhance the work of this community that will have the technology and manpower to do what we have only dreamed of doing.
TGIF!
Labels: AHA, Berkin, CHNM, clearinghouse, George Mason University, H-TAH, history, Potter, Revolutionary Mothers, Schrum, spies, Stanford, Teaching American History, Thurston
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