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Almost every year as an 8th grade US History teacher, I have students focus on developing and improving skills and knowledge. Some of these skills include memorization, compare/contrast, writing, creativity, collaboration, and oral speaking skills. One of the passages I have had students memorize each year is the Gettysburg Address. We all remember having to do that, right? While remembering what was said is important, the skill of being able to memorize things is more of what I'm after with students. Now we are in an age of technology and short, engaging videos are the thing. Cue reels on instagram or videos on TikTok in your mind. The successful ones utilize our emotions to engage us and make an impact. This year, I'd like my students creating engaging videos, working in groups (collaboration skill) for the Gettysburg Address. They will learn how to implement meaningful music, obtain great video clips where they are reciting various assigned parts of the Gettysburg Address (still developing our memorization skill) and put everything together in a powerful video using a variety of editing skills they will learn to create masterpieces using the iMovie technology and editing abilities. While this is simply ONE example of how I plan to use this technology, the Student Council has weekly videos and short public service announcements they will create to put out on the morning announcements and onto social media, too. This technology will aid them in that endeavor. I've seen firsthand what they can do with technology and it is amazing! Implementing this technology into my classroom will help students engage more with history and create content that is far more meaningful and memorable than other assignments I have created.
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