| Believe it or not, there’s something good about a 48-mile (one way) commute. It may not offset the hit on the wallet from gas prices or the hit on the schedule from a 10 hour a week part time job driving, but it does provide one tangible benefit, it provides more time to learn. |  |
My dad commuted from East Brunswick to West Orange, New Jersey for more then twenty years, and he could only listen to what AM and FM radio had to offer. Nothing but pop music or news stations and talk show pabulum punctuated by almost constant commercials. He had found an obscure station that broadcast only classical music (WNCN), which was a rarity in the seventies. With the new age of information, not only can I listen to exactly what I want, but I can “attend” the most prestigious universities and professional conferences in the world.
I can listen Charles Dziuban talk about the University of Central Florida’s Information Fluency initiative at the 2006 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, or catch up on the latest web tools from the folks at EdtechTalk. Educause has hundreds of audio files from conferences and EdtechTalk has an archive of four main programs from its grassroots community of education professionals.
If I’m in a introspective mood I can listen to Harvard Psychologist Dan Gilbert explain his concept of “synthetic happiness” in 21 minutes at the TED Conference. If I want to follow that path a little further, I’ll listen to Peter Kreeft, a professor of philosophy at Boston College, whose Catholic wedge of philosophy takes more than a couple listens to sink in.
Preparation for AP European and AP US classes this year would not have been complete without attending a class at UC Berkley on the way to school. Thomas W. Laqueur’s European Civilization and Jennifer Burns US History, both provided the insight of a different perspective and the synthesis of a survey course. On specific events and issues, Melvyn Bragg from BBC 4’s In Our Time are just now escaping the Read Audio straightjacket and offering MP3 downloads of their shows. And Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History is well written and well produced.
It is not uncommon to find lists of educational audio, here are my suggestions for the best chance for an intellectual drive to work:
EdTechTalk –Simply the best place to start, a must for every teacher who wants to remain relevant.
TED – Ideas worth Spreading – the best thinkers and doers across the spectrum of disciplines and industries, yet all have to make their point in under twenty minutes
Educause –
Conference Coverage – You may not get the frequent flyer miles, but you can attend a conference every day with this audio archive.
Pocket Edition –Hosted by the “Click and Clack” of instructional technology, this is a catalog of quick explanations of tech tools and web sites. Even if you already make podcasts and use wiki’s and blogs in the classroom, you never know when you’ll find another ingenious way to use them.
K12 online conference – A catalog of great presentations ranging from the latest in professional development, to strategies to overcome obstacles in your school.
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce -Sort of like TED, but the presentations are much longer and inquiry much deeper, several panel discussions spanning a range of subjects, most involving current affairs.
WGBH – just good stuff
American Radioworks –I’ve found at least half a dozen lesson plans here, from a AP Euro lesson that focuses on the destalinization speech of Nikita Khrushchev to an APUS lesson on presidential tapes.
UC Berkeley – Why not have the students get their content from UC Berkeley, your class becomes a seminar. Don’t forget to check the previous semesters for other courses.
Although it sometimes seems that I spend my life on Route 78, it is not at all time lost, it is just another opportunity for lifelong learning.