How to Take a Basic In-House PD Course and Create a Tsunnami of Interactive and Meaningful Innovation

School administrators usually organize their professional development sessions by grade level or subject. These groupings generally place educators in PD sessions with other educators who teach similar material.

In a break with this traditional arrangement, Yeshivat Noam of Paramus, NJ organized a year-long PD course that combined live Face2Face sessions with online meetings for educators who spanned the spectrum from Judaic studies teachers to general studies instructors, Hebrew specialists, and resource room professionals. Some of the participants had extensive experience in online learning while others were just beginning to get their feet wet in the new technologies and techniques of today's elearning. Participants were grouped according to their familiarity with technology rather than by subject matter.

Students at Yeshivat Noam have access to chrome books and ipad tablets in the classroom, and the school invited teachers to join the course in order to promote strategies and methodologies that would allow them to maximize student learning via 21^st century platforms and tools. Each month a different set of online tools was presented. The course covered audio, video and written tools, with a focus on those most applicable to the chrome book.  

During the course the participants explored the use of Learning Management Systems as a technique which helps students organize their work, stay better connected with the teacher, remain clear on instructions, and work collaboratively with peers. The course facilitator, JETS director Smadar Goldstein, highlighted Haiku LMS as a preferred LMS system and gave examples from her own innovative Contemporary Jewish Issues class that she has been teaching this year at YeshivatKadimah in St. Louis.

The final sessions of the course focused on guided Project-Based Learning models. The participants reviewed and practiced PBL strategies including developing driving questions and maximizing students' voices and choices. This topic was highlighted by two Yeshivat Kadimah students who "joined" one class session – virtually from their school in St. Louis -- to discuss their experiences with their PBL Contemporary Jewish Issues class and display their projects that they created as part of their studies. The participating teachers ended the program by generating driving questions and student based methodologies for a PBL unit that they hope to implement next year.

At the end of the course many teachers shared their impressions of their experience.

"…allows the student to think outside of the box. "

"…made for some excellent class discussions! "

"I think this will be helpful/useful in my class -easy to set up and create. "

"Easy for students to use"

Developing Historical Thinking in Upper Elementary Students

Developing Historical Thinking in Upper Elementary Students 
by JETS co-Director Stan Peerless

Making the Aliyah Story Real -- Shutafut Partnership

When I was 14, I came across Leon Uris's book Exodus and my life was changed forever. I identified with the history, the struggles, and the exhilaration of the people who made their way to the Land of Israel to build the country and work to create the state. I decided then and there that I would live in Israel. 

My aliyah differed significantly from that of the late 19^th century halutzim , even though I was a founding member of a new kibbutz for a while. We did move some rocks and bicker over ideology but we had plenty to eat and comfortable living accommodations. The only thing that I needed from "back home" was tuna fish and chocolate chips (novelty items in Israel in the mid-'80s).

Aliyah isn't a step that everyone can take, but it's still a concept that speaks to the imagination and longing of Jews worldwide. To give youngsters a sense of the magic and feeling of wonderment that aliyah engenders, JETS uses online tools to help them develop an understanding of why so many individuals are prepared to uproot their lives in order to be a part of the Jewish country.

Throughout the year, the TALI Shutafut program has been building towards the highlight of the year – the opportunity for the Israeli and American students to join together in their celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut.

After building up to the aliyah unit with units that examined the ethnic origins of Jews around the world and the challenges facing Diaspora Jewish communities, the May Tali unit is focusing on an overview of the reasons that Jews choose to make aliyah, the challenges that they face, and the aliyah stories of different ethnic groups.

The aliyah unit encourages the American and Israeli partner-classes to join together to examine some of the reasons that Jews make aliyah, despite the difficulties. Special emphasis is placed on the impact of Ethiopian Jewish aliyah, both on Israel and on the Ethiopian Jewish olim themselves. 

The students are also given the opportunity to consider the concerns that making aliyah raises such as moving to a new land with a new language that is far away from family and friends.

The unit concluded with inspiring personal aliyah stories that underscore the unique connection that Jews of all backgrounds, ethnicities, ages and religious affiliations feel for Israel.

Do You Celebrate the Christmas? - No, we're Jewish!

Do You Celebrate the Christmas? - No, we're Jewish!

For students of Hochberg Preparatory Jewish Day School in Miami and the Mabbuim elementary school of Southern Israel, the highlight of their year-long "Friends Across the Sea" school partnership program came last week when the kids were able to "meet" each other via live video chat.

Throughout this past school year, the 5^th and 6^th grade students have been working on shared projects which are facilitated on the MyHaiku Learning Management System.  Each month the classes would explore new subjects that were posted in English and in Hebrew on their shared LMS platform. The curriculum included a wide range of subjects such as Jewish diversity, seeing the world through a Jewish lens, and information about similarities and differences between worldwide Jewish communities. The students were also encouraged to personalize the subject matter as they discussed their own families and their views of Judaism and Israel.

  

Although the communication through the LMS was active and engaging, the students in both classes frequently voiced their desire to develop a more personal relationship with their "friends across the sea."  JETS therefore set up a virtual meeting via  web conferencing software. The students could see each other and connect by chatting, both by SKYPEing on the big screen and using a back channel to type to each other on Today's Meet. In addition to the opportunity to actually meet each other, the format allowed the students to practice their language skills and learn more about their peers' lives.

 A significant amount of the chat centered around the students' shared interest in sports, but other subjects included the weather, families, holiday celebrations and school. The students were enthusiastic about their meeting and have already asked for a second video chat opportunity.

Anat, a teacher at Hochberg Prep, was pleased with the chat results. She wrote:

"I thought it went very well! Students on both sides were asking each other questions and gave answers and sang songs to each other (ours - sang in Hebrew 'Mi Shema'amin Lo Mefached" and theirs - sang in English 'We are the World'). The atmosphere was very friendly and fun! They asked about what we do during Shavuot, our daily schedule, what sport we like, etc. Our students asked someone if they had a Bar Mitzvah, and what they do in the summer and for Lag Baomer... They really enjoyed comparing notes and cheering for each other! It was really fun to watch! Thanks for making this happen! I really felt that it brought the students closer together!  Y'shar Koach!!!"

Temple Emanuel of Pascack Valley Takes their Religious School Online!

Jewish educators have been grappling with the question of how to create a more meaningful and engaging Hebrew School environment for over half a century. Afternoon Hebrew schools have been an important part of transmitting Jewish heritage to young American Jewish youngsters since the 1920s but 100 years later, it's clear that changes are needed in order to more fully engage 21^st century youngsters.

Most Jewish educators agree on several points:

·         Today's Jewish educational model must offer a more meaningful and personalized experience that will provide students with the  knowledge and guidance that they need to integrate Judaism into their lives

·         Experiential Jewish education is a highly effective way of transmitting Jewish heritage on to the next generation

·         When parents are involved with their children's Jewish education, Hebrew school  becomes a more significant experience  for the students. The students are more likely to take their Jewish studies more seriously, and parents may choose to integrate their child's Hebrew school experiences into the home

·         Hebrew schools often send an unspoken message that the "goal" of Hebrew school is to perform or chant for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. This message should be replaced with information and skills that aim to help the children develop into ethical, giving and kind people with an understanding of how their Jewish heritage translates into these values.

To address these issues the Religious School of Temple Emanuel of Pascack Valley, under the leadership of Education Director Rabbi ShelleyKniaz, has partnered with JETS, Jerusalem EdTech Solutions, to present a highly innovative distance learning program for their 7^th grade students. The interactive program meets online, to provide the students with an opportunity to learn about a wide range of Jewish concepts and values via engaging online tools.

The subject matter includes sessions entitled Freedom and Slavery, Pursuing Justice, Redeeming Captives, Accepting Strangers, Remembering and Rebuilding: Holocaust and the State of Israel, and more.  Students log on from their home computer and chat, talk, post, create audios, play online games appropriate to the lesson, break off into teams, view guided multi-media and engage in non-stop activities as they relate ancient texts to modern day dilemmas and consider "what does it mean to be Jewish?"

Parents have responded enthusiastically to the program. One parent noted that "it uses the technology that relates to the children’s interest; it holds their interest longer" while a second parent related to the content, writing that "The topics are rich for learning and discussion. My son sometimes wants to do more research into a topic after school."

A core component of the program is parental involvement. Religious schools often look to involve parents by inviting them to come to the school or synagogue/temple. Conversely, parents try to find time to participate in their children's Hebrew School program. The online program enables parents to participate in their children's Hebrew School experience without ever leaving their home. Parents can join in the class, observe their child's engagement and interactions and even watch the discussions so if they wish, they can follow up later. This has proven to be a successful model, with parents expressing their satisfaction as they watch their children interact with their peers and teachers in the online environment. Some of the parents' comments:

·         "The topics are rich for learning and discussion. My son sometimes wants to do more research into a topic after school."

·         My daughter finds the subject matter very interesting and informative."

·          I like the enriched learning they are receiving. It is very interactive and incorporates technology into the learning."

·         "My son is enjoying the experience immensely. I am happy that my child is enthusiastic about the program and enjoys participating"

·         "My daughter is enjoying it very much!"

Students, parents and Temple Emanuel synagogue staff are enthusiastic about the project which is scheduled to move into its second year in September 2014. Both students and parents note the convenience aspect. Students expressed their heightened engagement in class activities and comprehension of the subject material. Parents commented that the online program holds their children's interest longer even as it presents more challenging subject material and a faster pace which includes multiple interactive activities in each lesson. For the school staff, the ability of the parents to be present and observe their children's Jewish learning is a tremendous benefit of the program, unifying the Hebrew school, parents and children.

Students also weighed in on the new program with comments that expressed their involvement and engagement with the material. 

·         "I have learned so much I will never forget. I really feel a part of something big."

·         “Better than class and you can relate to more of your classmates.”

·         "It is great, a cool way to learn; it’s interactive and fun."

Use of Technology in the Classroom I: Changing Student and Teacher Roles

by Stan Peerless

The use of technology and online learning in the classroom has serious implications regarding the respective roles of teachers and students in the learning process. In general, the learner plays a much more active role and the teacher plays a less central role. The student is actively making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information. Technology use allows many more students to be actively thinking about information, making choices, and executing skills than is typical in teacher-led lessons. Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to support students in performing authentic tasks, the students are in the position of defining their goals, making design decisions, and evaluating their progress. Thus, in a sense, the teacher changes from a repository of knowledge and becomes more of a facilitator of learning. This does not mean that the teacher no longer teaches, but that teaching is defined less as transmitting knowledge and more as guiding students to discover and process information. Within this framework, some of the primary roles of the teacher are to design appropriate learning activities, create a learning community with a culture of collaboration, and monitor student growth and development. In this series of articles, we will focus on each of these three elements.

Designing Appropriate Learning Activities

In order to engage all of the students in computer-supported collaborative learning, teachers must prepare well structured learning activities that exhibit the following characteristics:

Nature of the Assignments

·      Choose assignment topics or tasks that are related to the real world, and can be connected to students’ lives. One example is for students to analyze and solve a current local or international problem, or issues that they commonly encounter in their own lives. Similarly, lessons that do not inherently relate to the immediate world of the students should be personalized whenever possible.

·      Use open-ended questions: Open-ended questions do not suggest an answer, and cannot generate a short answer response. Rather, they require the student to draw on their knowledge base to evaluate or draw conclusions. As such, open-ended questions should lead students to think analytically and critically.

·      Questions and tasks should be challenging, yet within reach – i.e. within what Vigotsky referred to as the students "zone of proximal development" (activities between what the student can do unaided and what the student cannot do) and what Krashen referred to regarding language acquisition as "i+1" or "level + 1.

·      Diversify Activities – There are a number of ways in which learning activities should be diversified. Firstly, it is important not to get stuck with one collaborative learning mold that is used repeatedly. There are avariety of group learning strategies that might be employed.   In addition, learning activities should be multi-interest based and multi-ability based, reflecting Gardner's multiple-intelligence theory as well as including components that reflect different levels of difficulty.

Structuring of Assignments

Collaboration scripts are the most important design elements in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and aim to support learning activities by structuring potentially deficient interactions. Scripts are methods that structure collaborative learning based on the assumption that structured collaboration is more effective than free collaboration. "A script describes the way students have to collaborate: task distribution or roles, turn taking rules, work phases, deliverables, etc. This contract may be conveyed through initial instructions or encompassed in the learning environment." (Dillenbourg and Jermann, 2007). Scripts generally foster interaction by creating "splits" that divide the group with regard to knowledge, roles, skills, or interests, and leads them complete the assigned task with a greater degree of interactivity.

According to For Kollar, Fischer, and Hesse (2006), collaboration scripts consist of at least five components:  learning objectives, type of activities, sequencing, role distribution, and type of representation.

The following are some helpful tips regarding the structuring of computer-supported collaborative assignments:

·      Break a larger assignment into smaller pieces and set multiple deadlines to ensure that students work toward reaching milestones throughout the process rather than pulling it all together at the last minute.

·      Give the students individual roles and responsibilities on a rotating basis. Commonly used roles include: Leader / Facilitator, Recorder, Time Keeper, Learning Material Manager, and Presenter / Reporter.
·      Incorporate peer review at each milestone to encourage self-awareness and to ensure ongoing feedback. Having to listen to, analyze and respond to another's opinion sharpen the student's reasoning powers, imparts precision and clarity into ideas that would otherwise remain vague, and often generates entirely new insights in his understanding of the subject matter.

·      Assignments should require interdependence. Some assignments inherently require interdependence. However, assignments that do not inherently promote interdependence can be presented using techniques that require each student to contribute to the final product, and for students to learn from each other. The jigsaw cooperative learning technique is a classical example. In the jigsaw, each student is assigned to a particular expert group in which the participants master a part of the information needed to complete the assignments. Subsequently, groups consisting of a representative from each expert group are formed, and the students teach each other and complete the assignment together.

Coming up in Part II of this article: Developing Learning Communities 

Introducing Video Tools into Classroom eLearning

A recent professional development session with a group of educators on how to include YouTube and Animoto activities in a classroom has given participating teachers ideas and strategies for introduce these powerful elearning tools into their lesson plans.

A group of New Jersey teachers including both new participants and graduates of the JETS No Teacher Left Behind introductory Professional Development course, requested a conference session with JETS Director Smadar Goldstein on how to implement basic online and video tools into the classroom. The two-part session included help with creating videos on YouTube and Animoto platforms as well as how to embed their own music and videos into Animoto.

Two sample Animnotos can be seen here

Chumash Class

History Class

Rabbi Shelley Kniaz of Temple Emmanuel of Pascack described the first session, which included the use of linoboards in the classroom. "My teachers loved the lino board.  Both have already created two and sent them to their students' families" she said.

Barbara Haber of Beth Haverim Shir Shalom described her experience, including the request from some of her staff for follow-up sessions. "The teachers really enjoyed the professional development workshop – they found Smadar to be wonderfully engaging and were impressed by her wealth of practical, hands-on ideas for implementing new technologies in the classroom!"

The teachers were already familiar with the Linoboards and they enjoyed trying them out and tweeking them during the session.  Ms. Haber noted that the teachers had requested one more in-house training session in which they would be able to trouble-shoot, brainstorm on ideas for expanding the lino boards' use, explore more uses for the Animoto and talk about how to expand all of these tools.

Rabbi Shelley Kniaz, Devorah O'Brien and Chana Zinstein

These additional sessions are scheduled for Ms. Goldstein's February 2014 visit to the States. Ms. Goldstein will be visiting Jewish schools throughout the United States and is available for additional sessions with educators.

The upcoming JETS online No Teacher Left Behind Course, to introduce elearning tools to Jewish day school and complementary school educators, is scheduled to begin on February 19^th. 

Ms Goldstein also directs an eCom community of continuing learning which encompasses dozens of Jewish educators from throughout the world. The 2013-2014 course has begun but new members can join at any time.   

Expanding The World of the Connected Jewish Classroom

Jewish day schools and afternoon school educators are expanding their understanding and skills in elearning as online learning evolves nationwide. Online learning can encompass any subject from Jewish History, Mishna and Talmud to issues which relate to Israel, Hebrew language studies and more. The wealth of opportunities has encouraged Jewish educators to prioritize keeping up with new tools and advances in the field .

One indication of the increased interest in the mechanics of including elearning in Jewish schools could be seen last month when Jerusalem EdTech Solutions (JETS) director, Ms. Smadar Goldstein, traveled to the United States to attend the New Jersey Day School Conference and the Jewish Education Project Conference.

During her visit, Ms. Goldstein was invited to give presentations at several area schools including the Solomon Shechter School of Bergen Field, the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, the Forest Hills Jewish Center, and Yeshivat Noam of Paramus, NJ. Two additional sessions were also given at the Conference itself.  

In addition, she gave two sessions with the Jewish Federations of Northern New Jersey which brought together 50 participants from 25 congregational schools in Northern NJ and a second session with Special Education teachers during which the teachers explored ways in which these tools could be incorporated into special education classrooms. (The unique session with the Special Ed teachers was reviewed in a blogpost at the National Jewish Council for Disabilities' website.)

The staffs' responses emphasized the value that online tools provide in adding more interactive and engaging activities to their existing curriculum. The gatherings examined elearning options, including linoboards and Learning Management Systems, that enable educators to expand collaborative learning and integrate elearning opportunities into their programs.

Rabbi Shelley Kniaz, Devorah O'Brien and Chana Zinstein at the elearning session with the Jewish Federations of Northern NJ 

Mashie Kopelowitz, Israel Educator and Middle School Judaic Studies Teacher of the Solomon Schechter school of Bergen Field, had encouraged her school's administration to invite Ms. Goldstein to give an introduction to the available etools that teachers have at their disposal after her own participation in the JETS "No Teacher Left Behind" professional development course. Mashie reported that the teachers were enthusiastic about the session with Ms. Goldstein and, within days, the entire 7th and 8th grade student body was working on linoboard projects and assignments. Ruth Gafni, Head of School, reported the exciting new tool in her weekly newsletter to the parents. Ms. Gafni plans to present SSBF's elearning activities in an orientation program for parents of next year's prospective students.

In addition to the popular Linoboards, several of Ms. Goldstein's PD sessions concentrated on the opportunities that Learning Management Systems offer to the Jewish classroom.

The Hebrew Academy of Long Beach requested a LMS session as part of their overall plan to increase their collaborative asynchronous learning modules via the Haiku LMS. Session participants received a Google worksheet which provides an example of how the LMS can promote asynchronous evaluation alternatives. One of the HALB participants noted that she plans to use the system to enable the students to share their recordings, which will be used to advance Hebrew reading fluency and conversational Hebrew, with the other teachers.

Stephanie Hausner, head of the SLI, Synagogue Leadership Initiative of the Jewish Federations of Northern New Jersey noted that, “Over the past year the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey has had the opportunity to provide training to our principals, educators and teachers with JETS and Smadar Goldstein. These experiences have been tremendously valuable and have given participants the confidence and skills to integrate technology in the classroom. JETS has been great to work with and we look forward to continue to work together in the future."

These sessions demonstrate that elearning offers an accessible, engaging and highly effective mode of instruction for students of all ages, at all ability levels and for all areas of instruction. All of the schools involved are planning follow-up sessions with Ms. Goldstein during her February 2014 visit to the region. To reserve a session, please contact Smadar@jetsisrael.com.

Parents, Meet Haiku. Haiku, Meet Parents

What do the issues facing the Jewish community of today have in common with those which faced the generations of Jews who lived 2000 years ago?

Plenty, judging by an innovative and highly interactive online course. High school students of Yeshiva Kadima in St. Louis are presently taking the online Jewish Contemporary Issues course via JETS Jerusalem EdTech Solutions and are expanding their understanding of Jewish history as they grapple with the concerns of today's Jewish world.

Kadima students study online, using a Haiku Learning Management system to track their progression as they create video and audio presentations, take polls, consider opinions, compare and contrast opinions and events and post on online bulletin boards. All this allows the students to develop their own way of looking at the contemporary Jewish world in light of the destruction and renewal that took place within the Jewish world of the early years of the Common Era.

In November of 2013 the course facilitator, Smadar Goldstein, JETS director, traveled to St. Louis where she met with her students. Together they presented the course to the administrators, teachers and parents of Kadima students. The presentation allowed the evening's participants to review the core of the program including

·         What do we learn?

·         How do we learn"

·         What are some of the challenges of this style of learning?

·         What are some of the benefits of this style of learning?

  

The students, together with Ms. Goldstein, displayed the Haiku Learning Management System on which the course is based. The Haiku allows each student to progress at his or her own pace while ensuring that all students cover the material. There are multiple types of evaluation options via the Haiku and these were also exhibited at the meeting. The students demonstrated how evaluating a student's progress can actually be, in and of itself, a learning experience as it provides each student with the opportunity to select his or her preferred evaluation strategy.

Participants of the evening presentation enjoyed the opportunity to see how the elearning tools that Yeshiva Kadima students employ are creating a highly effective classroom environment of engaging, innovative and meaningful learning that can promote studies in any subject.  

One attending grandparent commented ""The way you kids are learning is unbelievable. Taking what you're good at - modern technology, chat rooms, discussion forums - and turning it into online educational experiences, is something I never could have done and yet you clearly are learning so much. Kudos to the teacher, Smadar Goldstein, for implementing this and to the school, for encouraging innovative teaching and education."

Online Learning and Evaluation Options

The traditional strategy for evaluating student learning is "the test." Students regurgitate the information that they learned by answering questions, either multiple choice questions or in text form. This provides an easy way for teachers to determine whether the students have acquired the necessary information, for administrators to evaluate classroom performance and for communities and governments to monitor the standing of their schools.

Proponents of traditional testing note that these tests are a fair and objective measure of student achievement but increasingly educators are expressing the worry that the pressure of performing well on tests causes teachers to structure their curriculum according to the test, rather than creating a curriculum that helps students gain real-world knowledge that will help them succeed in life.

Conducting a traditional test online is probably one of the easiest aspects of distance learning. Digital tools quickly record students' answers and "score" the test within minutes. But what about the elearning educator who wants to create a rubric that is actually a part of the learning process?

If the goal of education is to help students learn material, develop the skills to analyze the material and learn how to further use it in a constructive manner, traditional testing seems to defeat that purpose. How many times have we heard our students say "I didn't remember anything after I took the test."? Where's the education here?

The old-fashioned book report, which was probably one of the most engaging types of traditional learner-evaluation rubrics, has been expanded in online learning programs to include interactive opportunities for students to summarize units while adding to their understanding of the subject matter and reinforcing the content of the lesson.

Book reports involve describing a book in the form of a summary, usually as a written report. The student provides enough of an overview of the book so that the teacher can see that the student actually read the book.

Distance learning allows students to use a wide range of online tools to create that same summery, but with the added opportunity to expand on the subject and actually use the evaluation to create an additional learning experience. Using dynamic etools the student can use his own language and understanding of the subject material to demonstrate how a unit progressed and the conclusions that the student took from the information that he acquired.

In a recent JETS history lesson the 10^th grade students of the Kadima school of St. Louis created intriguing summaries of the intensive material that they studied that related to the dilemmas that faced the Jewish community of Jerusalem of the 1^st century C.E.