50 Years Later...

50 Years today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his most replicated speeches "I Have A Dream". It's hard to imagine the progress of this country without the boldness of Dr. King. Students today take for granted the freedom to socialize on their precious networks,naively believing the this is the way it has always been. To keep the nation in a state of gratitude, we need to keep reminding our young people from whence we came. Problem, students speak in a different language today. So how do we continue to teach them the past and keep them interested? As we continue to meet students where they are audio and video mashups are a great way to impart historical wisdom and impress upon today's students. Using simple tools like audacity or Garageband on a Mac, students can take exerts from Dr. King's speeches and put them to music. This is so easy to do, but can have a great impact. Students learn a great deal about the power of words from a great man, while infusing relevant media that keeps them engaged. Students can also take video clips of recorded speeches and still images to create a video mashup put to music. iMovie and MovieMaker can be used to accomplish this task. It's vital that we keep history alive, especially when it comes to teaching our students about the impact of Great people such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We just have to meet them where they are to do so.