David Warlick Educational Technology Workshop from UMKC

Hello. I am currently sitting in a David Warlick presentation at Union Station in Kansas City - sponsored by UMKC. I was even asked to introduce him at the start of the day - WOW! Talk about a thrill. I heard David about 10 years ago and read his book Raw Materials for the Mind and that is what started my journey through educational technology. He is my technology mentor and when I heard him speak for the first time he changed the way I have taught my students from that time on.

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and Missouri Commissioner of Education Kent King Visit Classroom

Images from National Council of the Social Studies Conference in San Diego

Here are some images from the National Council of the Social Studies Conference that took place in San Diego.

National Council of the Social Studies Conference - San Diego, California

Hello. Today I did my individual presentation at the NCSS conference in San Diego. I was really pleased with the turn out - almost a full room and I thought the presentation went well. The presentation that I did is one that I have given several times in the past couple of months and is really a survey of the ways that I'm using a variety of tools with my students.

I did record the presentation with my i-River MP3 and had intended on posted it as a podcast but something really cool happened at rigth before the session started. Matt Montagne, of the Middle School Blog, asked if he could Ustream the presentation with his i-Book. I thought that was a great idea and so Matt did record the presentation. How cool is that! Click here to wach the entire presentation via Ustream. Five gold stars to Matt for recording the session - I owe you one.

If you have any comments on the presentation please leave a comment or e-mail me.

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Liberty Breakfast of Champions - Liberty, Missouri

This morning I attended a special breakfast that celebrates and honors the business community in Liberty. A representative from AT&T presented a check for the AT&T Grant that I helped write with the Clay County Historical Society and Downtown Liberty organization. We are created a self guided history tour of Liberty that people will be able to access with cell phones.

Christmas Tree Lighting at Zona Rosa

Teacher of the Year Banquet

Student Trip to Truman Library for Presentation by Governor Holden and Representative Skelton

South Valley Jr. High School students with Bob Holden at the Truman Library

Today is Veterans Day and today I was able to commemorate this special day with some of my students at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. We attended a presentation of the Holden Public Policy Forum on Issues for the 21st Century. Speakers included former Governor of Missouri Bob Holden and current United States Rep. Ike Skelton. Mr. Skelton is the current Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and he spoke primarily on the current War on Terror. Several of my 8th grade students from South Valley Jr. High asked questions about the current state of the U. S. military to Rep. Skelton and the hour long presentation was also broadcast live to a global audience on the Internet. The Holden Public Policy Forum is sponsored by Webster University.

Former Governor Bob Holden and I at the Truman Library

The students were able to tour and visit the Truman Library prior to the speech. The twenty-one students I was able to take with me to the presentation were well behaved throughout the day and I was very proud of the manner in which they conducted themselves during the presentation and while asking questions.

Check out a story about the presentation which appeared in The Examiner newspaper on November 13, 2007.

Read an online story about the presentation from the Missouri School Board Association web site.

Thanks to Mr. Holden and Joel Denney, Associate Executive Director of the Missouri School Board Association for an enjoyable day.

South Valley Jr. High 8th grade students at the Truman Presidential Library

2007 Missouri Academy Educator Appreciation Banquet

Tonight I had the pleasure of speaking at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri at the Missouri Academy Educator Appreciation Banquet. The Missouri Academy is an amazing program in which high school students take college courses on the campus of Northwest University and graduate with a high school diploma as well as an associates degree.

The Educator Appreciation Banquet is an opportunity for the students attending the Academy to say thanks and formally recognize a teacher who has made an impact on their life. After eating a delicious meal and learning more about the program from several students, I gave a presentation on the use of technology in today's classrooms using Web 2.0 tools.

It was a great evening and I enjoyed my first visit to the campus of the Northwest. Special thanks to Robert Bryant Jr. and Dee Dino of Northwest.

Liberty School District Foundation Honoring Our Own

The Liberty School District is very fortunate to have an organization that helps teachers obtain the extra resources they need to bring extra projects to life - The Liberty School District Foundation. Each year teachers can apply for grants for classroom projects funded by the foundation - Learning Enrichment Grants. The foundation also hosts the student H.O.P.E. (Honoring Outstanding Personal Effort) Awards and an evening program entitled Honoring Our Own which recognizes Liberty Public School Alumni who have been successful in their profession. For the past two years the Foundation has also recognized the Liberty School District Teacher of the Year in addition to the accomplished alumni.

This year's honorees included Brigadier General Jack Capps, Dr. Vicki Johnson, Captain Jacqueline Rychnovsky and Juarenne Hester. It was an honor to be recognized with these outstanding individuals.

I was also very surprised to learn that I am the recipient of a Major Saver classroom grant worth $1,000. I plan to use this funding to implement a family oral history project with my students in the spring of 2008.

Thanks to the Liberty School District Foundation and Major Saver for an amazing evening.

2007 Missouri Instructional Technology Conference

Even though it was arranged before being named the Missouri Teacher of the Year, I thought I would include my participation at the 2007 MOREnet Instructional Technology Conference at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach.

On Sunday night I gave a workshop on creating podcasts. I enjoy giving preconference workshops because it was 2 hours of hands on practice. Monday morning I gave the keynote address to start the conference and spoke about using Web 2.0 in the classroom. It was great to share some ideas with a large audience and the feedback was extremely positive for the rest of the conference. Later on Monday I gave breakout sessions on podcasting and the Guerrilla Season book blog project. I would have loved to stay for the sessions on Tuesday but I needed to return to my classroom and since my wife and I are expecting the birth of our second child soon it was important to be closer to home.

2007 Missouri Humanities Council Governor Award

My mom, Pat Langhorst, and I outside of the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City. (Photo by Brad Armstrong)

2007 Governor's Humanities Award Winners at the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City

Today I was honored to receive the Governor's Humanities Award from the Missouri Humanities Council. I was nominated by several individuals from Liberty for my work with the local historical museum and organizations. The event was held at the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City.

I was especially happy to have my mom, Pat Langhorst, in attendance as she drove down from Nebraska at attend. Also attending were my principals - Dr. Brad Armstrong and Dr. Julie Gawerecki. Other friends making the trip were Mr. and Mrs. John Ricker and Mr. and Mrs. Jim Berkley.

It was an enjoyable evening and a great opportunity to met and learn about some great projects taking place across the state in the field of history and the humanities. Special thanks also to Michael Bouman and Beth Felice. Learn more about the Missouri Humanities Council and check out their blog.

Accepting the Governor's Humanitarian Award

Dr. Julie Gawerecki - South Valley Jr. High Assistant Principal, Eric Langhorst, Dr. Brad Armstrong - Principal South Valley Jr. High School



Accepting the Governor's Humanitarian Award

City of Liberty Proclamation - "Eric Langhorst Day" October 9, 2007

2007/2008 Missouri Teacher of the Year Eric Langhorst and Liberty Mayor Robert T. Steinkamp at the October 8th Liberty City Council Meeting. Photo courtesy of Sara Cooke, Public Relations Coorindator for City of Liberty.

This week I was honored at the Liberty City Council meeting with an official proclamation. Liberty Mayor Robert T. Steinkamp declared October 9, 2007 to be "Eric Langhorst Day" in the city of Liberty. Talk about feeling like a celebrity!

Thanks to the Liberty City Council and all of their work on helping to create a community that strongly values the role of schools and education in planning for the future.

Blue Bell Ice Cream Day at South Valley Jr. High

South Valley Jr. High students enjoying Blue Bell ice cream on October 5th at lunch.

On Friday, October 5th - we had a special treat at school as Blue Bell Ice Cream provided all of the students and staff at South Valley Junior High with ice cream in honor of the Teacher of the Year recognition. Blue Bell representatives on hand included Lisa Chism, Glenn Silvis and Lauren Anderson.

During lunch each student was given a cup of Blue Bell ice cream and they also were gracious enough to provide me with a gallon of my favorite Blue Bell ice cream - Rocky Road. My wife and I are huge ice cream fans - we actually first met when I asked her out for come ice cream while taking a graduate class - so it was a big hit with my family.

Lauren Anderson and Glenn Silvis of Blue Bell help Eric Langhorst hand out ice cream to South Valley Jr. High students at lunch on October 5.

Thanks to Blue Bell Ice Cream for taking the time and effort to support the Missouri Teacher of the Year program. It is great appreciated and provided the school with a treat to celebrate the end of another great week here at SVJH.

Missouri Council for History Education State Conference - St. Louis

Joan Musbach, President of the Missouri Council for History Education, offered me an invitation to attend their annual conference on September 28-29, 2007 in St. Louis. I had little knowledge of the organization before attended but had a wonderful time listening to presentations and meeting history teachers from across the state. At the opening session I was introduced by Bill Gerling - Social Studies Coordinator for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Also recognized at the opening session was the 2007 Missouri Gilder Lehrman "Preserve America" History Teacher of the Year - Lana Dicus, a 4th grade teacher at Lipton Elementary School (Moniteau County). Congratulations to Lana on all the great methods she is using to incorporate primary sources in her classroom.

Bill Gerling - Social Studies Coordinator Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Eric Langhorst - 2007/2008 Missouri Teacher of the Year and Joan Musbach, President of the Missouri Council for History Education at the 2007 MoCHE State Conference on September 28, 2007.

The conference was held at the Missouri History Museum at Forest Park in St. Louis. This was my first opportunity to visit the Missouri History Museum and it is an amazing facility. The site had ample rooms for breakout sessions and it offered us the opportunity to visit the permanent exhibit on Charles Lindbergh and the stunning Jefferson Memorial statue in the grand hall.

Missouri History Museum at Forest Park, St. Louis - site of the 2007 MoCHE State Conference.

I enjoyed the conference and encourage history teachers from across the state to join the organization and make plans to attend the 2008 Missouri Council for History Education State Conference on September 26-27 in Blue Springs, Missouri. It will be a joint conference with the Kansas Council for History Education organization. A call for proposals to present at the 2008 conference is now open through March 15, 2008. For more information about the organization or the conference please contact Joan Musbach via e-mail or at (314) 821-0678.

Thomas Jefferson statue in the Missouri History Museum at Forest Park, St. Louis.

Clay County Resolution

On September 17, 2007 I was honored by the Clay County Commissioners at the old county courthouse during a monthly meeting. They passed a resolution in honor of the Teacher of the Year selection to celebrate the occasion. It was a very nice recognition and it was noted that Clay County is the home to the last two Missouri Teachers of the Year. The 2006-2007 Missouri Teacher of the Year was Darryl Johnson, a Communication Arts teacher at Smithville High School - another excellent school district in Clay County.

ABOVE : Craig Porter - Eastern Commissioner of Clay County, Ed Quick - Presiding Clay County Commissioner, Eric Langhorst - 2007/2008 Missouri Teacher of the Year and Larry Larson - Western Commissioner of Clay County at Clay County Commissioner Meeting held on September 17, 2007.