New York State History Day News

September 2009

Volume 4 - Issue 1

Greetings from the State Coordinator

Greetings!

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a fun and restful summer. John and I spent our summer vacation developing new teacher workshops, revamping our online presence, and getting ready for the new History Day theme: Innovation and History: Actions and Legacies.

We are pleased to share that we will be traveling across the state all autumn conducting History Day teacher workshops. The best place to see if we are coming to your area is the Events box on our Facebook Page. Click the icon to the right to visit us. (You don't have to have a Facebook account to see our Page.)

We've also created a new New York State History Day blog. Both John and I will post there, as well as "guest bloggers" who are academics, museum curators, research librarians and the like. It's a great place to learn History Day research and project tips, as well as hear what is going on in the state and with the National History Day office. Follow our blog at http://nyshd.blogspot.com.

Lastly, our program web site, www.nyshistoryday.org has been updated with the new theme information. We have a list of potential New York State topics there as well. For teachers, we are sending out our annual curriculum packet this week. If you'd like to receive the packet, send me an email with your address: t.voigt@nysha.org. (If you've received the packet in past years, don't worry. You're on our list to get it again this year.)

I am looking forward to a great History Day year. As always, I am here to help answer all your questions.

Best wishes,

Tobi Voigt

Website Category Changes for 2010

For the 2009-2010 school year, National History Day is debuting a new process for the web site category. In the past, students used whatever web-authoring software they had available (iWeb, PowerPoint, etc.) to create their entries. This year, all students' projects must be created using an online web site creator developed by Weebly.com for the History Day program.

The online web site creator allows visitors to create their own web site using a safe live internet connection. The student-created web sites will be saved on the web site creator's server, and not on a personal computer hard drive.

NHD has a dedicated portal to their secure web site creator on their home page. All students who create a web site project must create it using the portal. Students will be able to use the site to create their projects and then enter only the URL for the competition. Students will no long need to send CD copies of their projects to the contests by the registration deadline.

National History Day believes that this new process will make everything from creating the websites to entering them into competition easier. For more information on the new web site category requirements, see the 2009-2010 contest rule book or read Tobi's blog post at http://nyshd.blogspot.com

Teaching with Primary Sources: Workshops and Mini-Grants

The New York State Historical Association is a proud recipient of a 2009 Teaching with Primary Sources grant from the Library of Congress. The funding is will help History Day students and teachers learn how to access quality primary source materials for History Day research and projects. The grant has two components: workshops and mini-grants. We need teachers who are willing to take advantage of these amazing opportunties!

Teacher Workshops:

All are FREE and will be held 9:30am to 2:30pm at DCMO BOCES Support Services Center in Norwich, New York. Pre-registration is required. Contact John Buchinger at j.buchinger@nysha.org for more information:

September 21, 2009-Creating a History Day Exhibit: Learn about the National History Day program, discover tips and gain graphic organizers that help students prepare and conduct historical research, and team up with other teachers to create a History Day exhibit
October 22, 2009-Using American Memory in the Classroom: Learn about the online teacher resources at the Library of Congress website, participate in hands-on training on the American Memory project, and seek and find quality primary sources on History Day topics using Library of Congress resources
November 17, 2009-Library of Congress Make It and Take It: Participate in a Library of Congress videoconference program called Make It and Take It, learn how to transform digital versions of primary source documents into real objects, incorporate Library of Congress sources into History Day exhibits, web sites, and documentaries.

Mini-Grants:

Teachers who partcipate the the History Day program can apply for up to $300 in funding to help cover expenses such as traveling to research libraries or archives, contest registration fees, digital cameras, student exhibit boards, project supplies, and more. Funding is limited to one project per school. Visit http://www.nyshistoryday.org/TPSGrant2009.htm to learn more and to download an application. Submission deadline is October 31, so apply today!

October Conference for Teachers