The video I chose to watch was called “Eager to Learn.” This video clip was about students at Moanalua High School who are participating in a class called Media Communications and Technology Integrated Studies Program. This class combines social studies, English, and multimedia into different projects throughout the program. This class allows students to work on different projects that relate to them and then show these projects to the entire school. The technology that was used in the video was mainly computers, televisions, video cameras, and pretty much everything else needed to produce a video. The technology in this lesson was mainly student-centered. The teachers would be there if the students had any questions, but mostly the students were the ones who were working with the technology. In one of the projects the students were making a documentary on one teachers grading policy in the school. I could see that it was the students’ responsibility to video tape other students and teachers outside of their classroom and then take the video clip back into class to start editing. The teacher was not present when the students were taping, but he was present for help while editing.

I believe technology makes the lesson more engaging. It helps the students to stay focused since it is more of a hands on approach. If the students were just sitting there watching the teacher work with technology then they would most likely get bored. However, technology is something that students could incorporate into their lives outside the classroom as well. This helps to make the lesson more interesting when the students know they will be able to apply it to the real world.

One teacher in the video commented on how she sees the new technology in the classroom as an ‘asset and a challenge.’ I agree with this statement because it will help the students learn more, but it is often challenging to learn the correct ways to use technology. There are many challenges that teachers and students may face when integrating technology into the classroom. Many times students can get easily distracted while on the internet or playing a game on the computer. This could make the process of learning new technology longer and harder if one does not pay close attention. Also, if the student does not know the correct way to use technology then they may not be able to complete the projects that were assigned to them which ultimately may make them fall behind in the course.

Overall, I believe that using technology in learning and teaching has many more advantages than disadvantages. Students are able to feel more like they are in control in a classroom when using technology and a lot less like the class is centered on the teacher. Technology may be difficult to learn and understand at first, but once you feel comfortable with how to use it, it will help expand and enrich one’s learning experience.

website: www.edutopia.org click on video library, then technology integration