I am enclosing an article for your newsletter and/or website concerning a unique event whcih will take place at the Oral History Association's conference in Oakland, California: A national video conference.

Please let me know that you received this email. I look forward to seeing you in Oakland.

Thank you for your assistance!

Barry Lanman, Director
The Martha Ross Center for Oral History
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
443-226-3209

Video Conference on Oral History Education Will Expand Audience at OHA Annual Conference at Oakland

Barry A. Lanman and Laura M. Wendling

Oral history educators have always combined cutting-edge technology with interactive instruction to deliver unique curricular offerings. In this spirit of innovation, the Oral History Association conference in Oakland will expand its audience via a video conference entitled “Connecting Oral History Educators through Video Conferencing – A Model Instructional Approach for the Future.”

The primary purpose of the video conference is to share best practices of oral history education and to explore oral history curricula that apply to community history, diversity, historical empathy and building cultural bridges. While these are assertive topics in their own right, the secondary purpose of the video conference is to demonstrate how video conferencing can build a core of individuals who “attend” an oral history conference even if it is only by a virtual connection. For K-12 as well as university level educators with limited travel budgets, this approach offers a cost-effective form of professional development.

University settings such as the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Cleveland State University will connect with the Professional Development Center, California State University, East Bay (across the street from the Oakland Marriott) to share new instructional strategies and to demonstrate how a new segment of membership can be built for oral history organizations. To make this unique opportunity a reality, the following sources generously contributed a significant amount of time and funding:

The Oral History Association

The Consortium of Oral History Educators

Preparing the Next Generation of Oral History
Educators: An Anthology of Oral History Education
Cleveland State University Teaching American
History Project Consortiums
The Center for History Education, University of
Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore County Public Schools

Because of the funding obtained, there will be no charge to attend this Saturday morning (October 27, 2007) session. Thus, OHA’s Education Committee and the Consortium of Oral History Educators invite oral historians, aficionados of technology and oral history educators to participate in this interactive endeavor. The video conference promises to expand horizons.