Saving Money for Jewish Day Schools

Twelve months ago, if you would have told me that digital learning was a cost-effective educational model, I wouldn't have believed it.

After having entered the world of online education I've come to see and appreciate the advantages that distance learning offers, including financial savings.

The debate over whether to include elearning in the Jewish classroom seems to have passed. It's not a subject of discussion anymore -- in all but the most Ultra-Orthodox schools, computer online learning has found its niche.

Digital learning opportunities allow students to explore information highways that they may not have been able to access otherwise. Students who are at different levels can work on the same material, each at his or her own level. Families can take vacations during the school year as the children keep current with the material via Internet access.

Interestingly enough, the technology also allows Jewish day schools to help control their costs while not only maintaining their status quo but actually improving the education.

Technology allows schools to enhance their programs while keeping their eye on the bottom financial line.  The savings in teaching staff, support staff, administrative staff and hard copy books and other materials may be modest but they add up, preventing tuition in many elearning schools from rising.

In addition, many educators note that the schools' technology doesn't only prepare the students for the future, it meets them "where they're at," since even elementary school children today are extremely technologically adept and expect that their classroom experience will engage them in a challenging and interactive manner that meets their needs and expectations.

In his report Steering your Jewish Day School Toward FinancialSustainability in an Unstable Economy Sacha Litman of Measuring Success, in partnership with PEJE, gives another reason that Jewish day schools should increase the elearning component of the curriculum. "Have a clear understanding about how your school's value is perceived by current and prospective parents" Litman writes. Today's parents expect that their child's education will consist of all possible tools that will ensure the child's ultimate scholastic success. If a parent feels that the school is "behind the times" or isn't keeping up with the educational advances of the 21^st century, that parent might very well not enroll the child or remove the child from the school, taking that tuition with him.  

In today's world of Jewish day school education, making a school cost-effective involves thinking "outside of the box." Digital learning is one such alternative. 

Flip It -- Flipping in Jewish Schools

There is, as of yet, no empirical research that indicates, one way or another, the success of the flipped classroom. However, anecdotal evidence of teacher, administration and student satisfaction with the unique new learning model is causing traditional educators to sit up and take notice.

Flipped classrooms, to quote a recent New York Times article, use technology to humanize the classroom. Teachers film a short video that presents a lesson, much as a teacher would present a frontal lesson in the classroom. Students are expected to watch the lesson at home to prepare for the class -- the format enables students to watch the video as many times as they want to fully understand the new material.

The students then work on the follow-up "homework" when they come into class which enables the teacher to circle the room and help the students as they grapple with the material hands-on.

It's hard to imagine why a flipped classroom wouldn't work. All of the elements of a traditional classroom are still there -- they're just....flipped. The teacher has the student's attention as he presents the material in a frontal presentation. The student doesn't have to worry about raising her hand or asking a "dumb" question if she doesn't comprehend -- she can just watch the presentation over and over again until she understands what is being taught, or at least understands enough to know what questions she needs to ask.

The teacher-student interaction is still there, but instead of one teacher trying to re=explain subject material to individual students while the rest of the students become bored or agitated, she can allow the faster students to work at their own pace as she helps the students who need extra assistance.

How does this work for Jewish subjects in a Jewish classroom? Video presentations of the text of Chumash, Gemorah or other textual studies allow the student to mull over the material before the class begins to analyze the material together. If the teacher spends a little time creating an engaging visual presentation of the material it may further spark the students' interest and curiosity, especially if the instructor applies the ancient texts to modern applications using technological tools.

The class then meets to tackle the follow-up activities, as monitored by the instructor, offering additional opportunities to strengthen the students' comprehension and involvement in the subject material.  

"Veteran" flipped classroom teachers (the model has only been in use for the last few years) caution that the frontal educational videos should not be more than five or six minutes to allow the students to absorb the material and, if they wish, to replay the video over and over as they "meet" the new information.

While the flipped  Jewish classroom might be automatically associated with a day school environment, afternoon schools are also experimenting with the concept. The Adat Ari El Jewish Learning Center for grades K-6 began to incorporate the flipped classroom model in their center's activities last year as a way to encourage the students to explore and create. Adat Ari El sees the flipped classroom as a way to allow the school to share important content with the students and their families outside of class.

The flipped classroom has a ways to go before it's perfected but for now it's an exciting educational opportunity that will add significantly to Jewish day and afternoon school frameworks.

  

    

No Teacher Left Behind -- Sample Lessons

JETS' No Teacher Left Behind reconvened last night after a month-long hiatus for the holidays.

The course is geared towards Jewish educators who want to become involved in bringing online education into their classrooms, schools and communities.

During the first four weeks of the class the course facilitator, JETS director Smadar Goldstein, introduced the group to the Elluminate online blackboard which allows classes to be conducted in which participants from around the world can see, simultaneously, the same documents, presentations and videos while communicating with each other. The format is especially useful for distance learning situations in which students are scattered in different locations because the students can collaborate while seeing and hearing the instructor and each other.

Smadar also presented a variety of other online tools to the students and allowed them to explore and experiment during the first four classes. Some of these tools include mind-mapping, voxopops, scribbler, linoboards, creating videos, voki, woodles, google docs and more.

This month started out with participants' lesson plans. Over the course of October's four classes each participant will present a sample lesson plan in which they incorporate  some of the tools to which they have have been introduced.

Leah started the first sample lesson with an ice-breaker. She posted a google doc with some questions that allow each participant to tell a little about him/herself. 

Leah then moved into her lesson, describing how she introduced the concept of "slicha" -- sorry -- to a class of American schoolboys. Leah prepared a linoboard that was aimed to bring the boys' attention to the word "slicha" for the Ten Days of Repentence that fall between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

She explained how she involved the boys by asking them "why is it so hard to ask "sorry" and "what does it mean when we say "I'm sorry."

She further personalized the lesson by asking them "What's harder -- to ask forgiveness from a friend or to ask forgiveness of yourself ?" A picture collage that showed people behaving badly was presented and the question was asked "did you do any of these things and if so, how did you ask for forgiveness?

Leah ended her unit with a printout of the Adon HaSlichot -- a prayer from the Yom Kippur service. After the boys read the prayer she asked them "how do the piyutium of adon haslichot relate to actions that we need to ask forgiveness for?  Were there things that spoke specifically to you? (the student)

In feedback the participants of No Teacher Left Behind agreed that the unit was a highly engaging and interactive one. One participant asked Leah to explain her heavy use of Google docs and she explained that her class is conducted on Skype, limiting her ability to use many of the tools that are available to other online teachers.

Michal's class involved a presentation of Hip Hop Hebraics that she's presently doing with her JconnecT class. Before the class starts Michal introduces the Hebrew version of the 5 Ws, which for Hebrew Speakers is the Mems -- Mi, Mah, Matai, Maduah and Afoh (Who, What, When, Why and Where) .

Michal introduced Hebrew by discussing the origins of the Hebrew language. She showed her class a picture of aleph and a ox head and participants discussed the connection? In its raw form the ox's head was similar to an aleph and it's possible to see how it could have evolved into the present day aleph, but it takes some thought and is probably a fun exercise for a group of pre-teens. Michal went on to say that an ox is a wild animal. To train an animal is to לאלף -- to train -- is the connection is.

The lesson continued with other graphic examples of changing letters and connections. Michal explained that in the early days, a letter was supposed to remind you of the word for which it stood. She showed examples of how some Hebrew letters may have evolved.

The class then listed to Ehud Banai's Hebrew Man video and answered related questions on a google doc, reinforcing the lesson with the four Mems for language acquisition skills.

Questions included?

·         What is the message of the song

·         Who sings the song

·         Why do they sing the song in English

Students were then asked to look at the other students' comments, choose one other person's comment and comment on their comment

Michal ended her lesson by showing the contrasting people who speak Hebrew including the dignified Golda Meir and the rap artist Subliminal. Students were to consider the discrepancy in Hebrew as a holy, important language and as a language used in everyday communication by ...everybody.

The review of Michal's class was complementary. Participants felt that, as is important for an online class, the students were active and involved in the learning process. 

Crowdsourcing and eLearning

Crowdsourcing has always been a component of classroom activity but it wasn't always called "crowdsourcing" and it wasn't always very active. It used to be called "asking the class" and students could express their opinion by raising their hand.   Many teachers shied away from such exercises because they were afraid of losing control of the class or giving up some of their authority. When they did ask the kids for their opinions, students were given "yes" or "no" options and, in the end, the teacher decided what she wanted to do anyway.

Today's technology has brought crowdsourcing to a new level. Teachers can using a variety of crowdsourcing tools to get feedback on lessons, garner ideas, solicit information that may increase the students' interest and participation and create an open atmosphere that raises the students' interest and involvement in the course.

Each Learning Management System (LMS) has its own crowdsourcing tools and elearning teachers would be well advised to acquaint themselves with the available opportunities. Crowdsourcing can be used to promote inquiry-based learning, to help students clear the way for critical thinking, to create a growth mindset for students and to perk the students' interest in a new topic.  

Some concrete ideas for crowdsourcing in the classroom include:

• Have your students create their own unit overviews. Assign the students to work in pairs to create lists of subtopics for a specific unit. Then, let the pairs choose a subtopic that is of particular interest to them and allow them to investigate their chosen topic. The evaluation of the unit may include a presentation by each pair of their particular subtopic. This approach covers the high points of the topic through crowdsourcing as it engages students and fosters collaboration, research and presentation skills.
• Allow students to develop the tools that will be used to assess their work through crowdsourcing. Students should decide what they want to accomplish by creating their own rubric. Involving students in creating the tools for their assessment allows them to buy-into the project and assess themselves, often more rigorously than would occur otherwise.  
• Ask the students to help plan the class, what they want to learn, what project ideas they have, what components of the course they have most/least enjoyed, etc. This helps each student feel responsible for his own learning and develop metacognitive skills that will help him become a lifelong learner.
  

JETS class at the Kadima school in St. Louis makes ample use of crowdsourcing tools via the Haiku LMS. In addition to polls and LMS interactive surveys, the students took the time to consider the learning process in which they are involved. Some of their responses include:

"I'm really enjoying this class and the pace it is moving at- I don't feel behind or rushed but we are definetly covering alot of material in class. (Please don't move faster! :) My favorite part 0f this class is the writing and ability to express my opinion and have a response to everything. I also really like the connection of Tanach to modern issues- this is FANTASTIC!
thank you!" 

"I like polls because it shows me how everyone else feels about ideas and it's fun to see how many people I agree or disagree with. I like the discussion forums as well because I feel I can clearly express my ideas (views) and see what other peoples might be. I also like them because sometimes I'll read someone else's response and it will make me think of a new idea or make me rethink what I've said. I love images because they help me remember the topic. If I see a picture in connection to what we're learning, I can remember the picture, which leads me to remember the topic. One thing that wasn't on the poll was videos which I also enjoy for a similar reason. Lastly, I like it when we have links to other places like google docs - which I see someone put in other - because that seems to be where we do small bits of reading which is different from the short blurbs/ideas on haiku. Overall I like what we've done so far this year."

Hip Hop Hebraics at Yeshivat Noam

A lively class of boys set the stage for an engaging online lesson of Hip Hop Hebraics this week.

Four students from the Yeshivat Noam school, Josh, Yisrael, Boaz and Naftali meet with their Israeli teacher, Leah, to learn Hebrew words, concepts and the history of the language.

The boys' class this week dealt with the origins of Hebrew. How old is Hebrew? Are there other languages that are just as old? Which ones still exist today?

The class progressed as the boys dived into the subject, using a linoboard and sticky notes to explore the subject and submit their answers.

Leah played Ehud Banai's well-known Israeli song, "Hebrewman" which proved to be popular with the class which sang along with the video and continued to hum the refrain long after the song had ended. The class reviewed the song's lyrics and discussed the song's theme, including the question of how the song relates to the earlier issue of the 4000-year endurance of the Hebrew language.  

The lesson became more challenging when Leah presented the group with the lyrics to the song -- all in Hebrew. "Pick out two words from the song that are new to you" Leah instructed the boys. Despite the challenging text the boys were up to the task and quickly identified new words that they could translate.  

   

Hip Hop Hebraics involves high level subject material but the Noam students are a unique group that is able to tackle the challenge. At the present pace it seems that the class will be moving quickly through challenging material that takes most classes much longer.

Yasher Koach to Yeshivat Noam!  

Jewish Online Experiential Learning

Few educators will argue that informal learning is assuming an expanding new centrality in contemporary life. Such learning alternatives can take the form of any of numerous models including day camps, elearning, home schooling, group activities and enrichment programs. According to Dr. Barry Chazan in his recent article "The Philosophy of Informal Jewish Education, "Throughout the ages, the Jewish community has devoted much energy to the establishment and maintenance of a rich educational network. There is little doubt of the link between a strong commitment to education and perpetuation of Jewish literacy, lifestyle, and peoplehood."

Finding informal education opportunities for young learners in the Jewish world is not always simple. Via day schools and congregational afternoon/Sunday Schools Jewish education has, for many, become highly regimented and regulated. Increasing numbers of Jewish schools are, however, beginning to include experiential education in their curriculum as a vehicle for integrating informal education into their formal school framework.

David Bryfman, founder and facilitator of the iCenter and recognized expert on Israel education, experiential Jewish education and technology, summarizes experiential education as combining three elements -- recreation, socialization and challenge. When these elements operate together students can learn, develop and grow through their experiences.

Increasingly, Jewish online educators are examining the challenge of how to integrate elearning tools with Jewish content to provide students with a high quality Jewish experiential learning experience. Regardless of whether a student is learning at home or in her classroom, experiential Jewish learning can expand existing opportunities to provide her with numerous interactive opportunities to explore material in ways which are new and exciting.

Internet classes can take the form of a webinar, in which the students listen to an instructor and follow the instructor's directions as they collaborate on projects and activities.

Even more exciting, however, are today's online learning management systems which provide learning frameworks that match Bryfman's parameters precisely for experiential learning. Educators can (and do) discuss their preferences for such systems which may include WIKIspaces, Moodles, Haikus and other LMS options.

Regardless of the LMS system used, these systems offer the facilitator the opportunity to present material, solicit opinions, create discussion sheets, take polls, request feedback and engage the students with a variety of online tools that meet the definition and concept of experiential education for online learners. In addition the online format enables students from different locations to join together for interactive blended, synchronous or asynchronous learning.

Some other advantages of online experiential learning via a LMS include:

·         The learning is centralized. All content is available to students 24/7 in any location. Multiple students can access the material, which is consistent in delivery and evaluation, at any given point in time.  

·         Delivery and evaluation are consistent. The facilitator can easily design and deploy customized modules and can track the students' progress.   Varied learning strategies can be managed according to each student's unique learning needs via the LMS's power to manipulate the learning pace.

·         Content is easily upgraded, changed, and edited as needed. Students can interact with one another as they explore the material and complete assignments.

·         It's easy to use a LMS which centralizes the course's documentation and administration and records all new uploads instantly.

·         eLearning is a cost-effective alternative for many schools which wish to expand the experiential learning components of their frameworks in an affordable manner.

   

Keeping on Top of Things

During the recent JEDLAB-JETS online gathering, participants discussed the need for a centralized web presence where Jewish educators will be able to reference the available tools that make online education interactive and engaging.

JEDLAB was created in April 2013 to serve as a network for Jewish educators. JEDLAB members "meet" virtually on the JEDLAB Facebook page to discuss, debate, trade information and exchange ideas to make Jewish education a more challenging and engaging environment for teachers and students.

Throughout the years various Internet websites, forums and web presences representing brick-and-mortar centers have been established. These online spaces were designed to provide teachers with relevant teaching materials to improve their online classroom. A quick perusal of these sources, however, indicates that the sites were built years ago. The information was collected by a center staff member who posted the links and then forgot about the webpage. These resources haven't been updated in years has results in broken links and outdated information.

More distressing, even, these sites don't include the options for Learning Management Systems, virtual blackboards, Wikis and other web tools that form the core of today's elearning classroom. The world of online education is changing almost weekly and the existing lists of resources -- even those that were posted three, four or five years ago, haven't kept up.

When JEDLAB and JETS met on September 16^th 2013 to discuss the continuing evolution of Jewish elearning, participants foremost expressed their desire for a centralized inventory of Internet tools which would provide teachers with the guidance that they need to access relevant, state-of-the-art etools. In keeping with the interactive nature of Web 2.0, the registry was envisioned as a collaborative effort. Group members will work together to create such a catalog and will then meet in webinars and PD encounter sessions. During these sessions participants will learn to use new tools and crowdsource on ways in which the tools can be used effectively in the Jewish classroom.     

Tikva Wiener of the Frisch Real School volunteered to begin to collect the information and create a realtime web presence on the RealSchool website. In conjunction with this list Jerusalem EdTech Solutions will be running a series of webinars as well as a year-long course of collaborative interactive design which will help Jewish educators facilitate the use of these tools in their classrooms. Presenters and moderators for these sessions include some of the most important and vibrant voices in the field of 21^st century Jewish elearning including Tikvah Wiener of RealSchool and Smadar Goldstein of JETS.

Both the year-long PD course and the webinars are scheduled to begin in November 2013. Signup is via each course's webpage.