I have read some articles about changes in teaching kids nowadays, such as school of environmental studies or school which incorporates a business element in everything from art to English…and in this video, another interesting project based learning _ through digital media. It seems to me that this is really a good idea. Firstly, it helps students approach technology and practice technology skills which are very necessary for young generations nowadays. Secondly, students can have great changes to do what they like with technology such as web design, video editing or film making… they themselves can produce movies, that is extremely awesome. And finally, this project can also help students build up confidence and social or life skills through working in groups, through practicing in making films…specially, one student helps each other’s video. I hope that this kind of project can be introduced and adopted in my country.

I found this video to be wonderful. The program not only showed the students how to use their voices through multimedia, but kept them off the streets as well. I enjoyed taking a look at the lab they were working in and getting specific details about the program from the students and Torres. Torres did an outstanding job with these students. He gave them a chance to build self-esteem and have a sense of power. It was incredible how each student took responsibilty for their own part of the project. They all had roles and worked together to form a final project. The detail they put into their projects was tremendous. Torres set goals for the class and each student new what was expected. The program stuck to the curriculum the students were learning and allowed them to build on it. These students were able to discover so much more through multimedia. The video on sweatshops was great. It is astounding to see what one person can do. This student felt passionate about this and brought it to the world. It really goes to show what one voice can really do. Torres should be very proud. I work in a diverse community. I am a Kindergarten teacher and would love to get my students involved with multimedia. Most of my students have never had the chance. I am planning on incorporating a writing/multimedia station in my classroom. I know it will not be on the level of these students because mine are in Kindergarten. However, if we get them started at an early age their voices can be heard. Our students have a lot to say and sometimes they never get the chance. Right now I have some websites for my students to use, and I am hoping to do some podcasts with my students. If anyone has some ideas to share I am all ears. This is my second year teaching and there is so much to learn!

Hi Adam. SFETT is still up and running. Due to bureaucracy at the school, we were forced out of San Fernando High School about a year ago. I'm one of the former students that benefited tremendously from this program. A few of us former SFETT students have formed a professional development and media production company, Alas Media (www.alasmedia.net) and meet with students at our studio. We're currently in the process of forming a non-profit so that students can still have access to the amazing resources that we had while we were in SFETT. We'll be more of a community center where anyone from the area can come learn skills that will help them successfully make it through higher education and life.

SFETT was and will continue to be a great organization in our community and will continue to transform lives.

Incorporating student relevance into the classroom is an exceedingly important aspect of training students to be productive young adults who are able to critically analyze and improve the world. By allowing students to create meaningful content that relates to the topic area you are teaching, you foster a stronger connection between the material in class and students experiences. Additionally by acknowledging students life experiences and allowing them to share these experiences with each other and a general audience it creates a sense of trust and importance that you, as the teacher, recognize students experiences. Furthermore with proper guidance the students are able to tailor their understanding of the world into academically valid experiences.

I was disappointed to see the note under this video stating that the San Fernando Educational Technology Team is no longer functioning. This was, based on the video, a great organization.

I cannot explain how much I love the idea of this project. For students to have the opportunity to lend their voice to a cause they are passionate about through a multimedia resource is incredible. I am motivated by the joy these students seem to experience, from not only driving their education, but helping others. It provides students with the ability to focus their energy into an area of their interest and it provides teachers with an alternative assessment option. I wish the funding were available for this sort of project in my school; however, I would be lying to say I would not worry about the situations my students might get into while covering their stories. I would imagine that, in order to use this in my school (and probably others), clear boundaries would have to be drawn and projects would need to seek teacher approval before being started.

I thought this video was really good for two reasons. One being that this teacher's program was keeping kids off the streets. The second reason being that the teacher wanted to really make an impression on his students more than just using a text book. Instead he was giving them real life experience with using technology.

I thought this video was great. It gave me information from the teacher's point of view. It gave me his goals and plans for this class. He listed his reasons for offering this class. He is right when we says that we remember the projects we do because they are tangible and have an end to them. I also like how they gace the students point of view as well. It showed how happy they are and how proud they are of what they are doing. I think the kids in the video are excited about going to school and being able to work on their projects. It gives them something to work on rather than getting into trouble on the streets.

This video was really awesome because it did not just show you what the teacher's goals were and what his motivation was but it showed the students as well. The students are so proud of the work they have done and the fact that what the teacher was saying that the end result it tangible it is something the students can carry with them for the rest of their lives. Technology is an great way to spread meaning and messages and it really showed, especially with the sweatshop video which was created by a high schooler yet shown at a national convention in India.

Can't say anything more than what's been said, well done.