Faith, Hope, Meaning, and Change: The Story Behind TweetYourPrayers @TheKotel

December 30th, 2009

[cross-posted on JewPoint0]

Fascinating story about community and more, presented by Alon Nir (@TheKotel) at Jeff Pulver’s (@JeffPulver) #140 Characters Conference in Tel Aviv earlier this month:

Read Alon Nir’s blog post about the experience, and learn more about Jeff Pulver and the #140 Conference - see if there is a meet up or conference in your neighborhood…

I just registered for  #140 Characters Conference NYC ‘10 in April -  and in return I received a discount promo to share with my friends - how cool! So, come on and join me, friends!

Chanukah Double Feature: The Nefesh B’Nefesh Flash Mob and the Making Thereof

December 6th, 2009

By now, you may have already seen the ebullient flash mob video produced by Nefesh B’Nefesh:

What is particularly compelling is a) how Nefesh B’Nefesh used the concept of a flash mob to communicate its work and underscore its message - “Make Aliyah in a ‘Flash‘: Join 23,000 Nefesh B’Nefesh Olim celebrating Hanukkah in Israel “  - which also emphasizes aspects of its mission: you are part of a larger community through Nefesh B’Nefesh; you are not alone in your aliyah adventure; individuals join together through the organization to create community; each individual is  essential to the community’s success; and, b) how Nefesh B’Nefesh was able to mobilize volunteers to join in the festivities.

Did you know that invitations to participate went out on Facebook five days before the event  - and the sole rehearsal with the group was held an hour and a half before the flash mob itself?

If you haven’t already seen the back story of the “The Making of the Nefesh B’Nefesh Jerusalem Flash Mob,” be sure to check out this video and enjoy the show:

Alan November, Erica Brown, Lee Shulman, and Jonah Lehrer to Present at Day School Conference

November 30th, 2009

day-school-conferenceThe Jewish Day School Leadership Conference will be held January 17-19, 2010 at the Marriott Glenpointe, Teaneck, New Jersey.  The conference is jointly planned by RAVSAK: The Jewish Community  Day School Network, the Institute for University-School Partnership at Yeshiva University, the Solomon Schechter Day School Association, and PARDeS: The Progressive Association of Reform Day Schools.

On the star-studded line up: Alan November of November Learning and a frequent speaker at ed tech conferences; Erica Brown, Director for Adult Education at The Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning; Lee Shulman, president emeritus of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (and an educator’s educator); and, Jonah Lehrer, contributing editor at Wired and author.  And of course, the hundreds of other participants who make up the heart and soul of such conferences.

Session topics include technology in the classroom, social media, and lots, lots more!

Early bird registration is available until December 18, 2009.  Give a holler if you’ll be there - let’s meet up!

Jewish Communities Around the World: Social Media Style

November 29th, 2009

Years ago, at one point in my tenure at JESNA, I was the director of the National Educational Resource Center (yes, NERC), a forerunner of today’s Sosland Resource Center at JESNA.  NERC housed published and teacher-made curricular resources which we made available or provided citations for, as appropriate. We regularly received requests from central organizations of Jewish education and others for resources.  One of the most popular topics was “Jews Around the World.”

I was reminded about how different things can be these days while reading the post,  “Information Literacy…Authentic Conversation..Globalize Curriculum…” by educator and  blogger, Silvia Tolisana, aka Langwitches.

Inspired by Alan November, Silvia designed a collaborative “Jewish Communities Around the World” project with her sixth graders, their social studies and Hebrew teachers.  Instead of using the Internet to collect information, they are taking advantage of the social value of global online opportunities to connect with other Jews in more personal ways, sharing stories, making connections, and becoming connoisseurs of new media as they learn and create together.

Rather than go to a centralized resource center, Silvia took advantage of her personal learning network (PLN) to tap into partners and resources.  Personal learning networks and understanding the culture around them are key to how we function as learners and professionals today.  PLNs serve as our own customized resource centers … and they are so much more.  I, for one, am thankful for my PLN.  Stay tuned for more thoughts on PLNs…!  Meanwhile, be sure to read Silvia’s post.  But why stop there?

Get Your Crowdsourcing On: Lookstein’s Chanukah Resources - 27 And Counting!

November 27th, 2009

Crowdsourcing is a way of collecting knowledge by leveraging the expertise of networks of individuals.  Tom Barrett uses it to great effect in his “Interesting Ways” series - definitely a must see resource for educators.  As we mentioned in an earlier post, Tom taps into his extensive and generous professional learning network of educators to solicit tips and techniques on using social media for learning.

The Lookstein Center is compiling fun and creative Chanukah resources for the classroom.  As of now, they have gathered together 27 ideas that represent different aspects of the festival.  What are some of your favorite activities? Let’s see how many our collective wisdom can share - submit them to Chana at Lookstein for possible inclusion!

Chag Sameach!

Winter Semester MOFET Institute’s Online Academy: Registration Now Open

November 27th, 2009

Looking for professional development opportunities in Jewish education? Check out MOFET’s Online Academy winter 2010 semester of online educational offerings … The Online Academy offers four tracks:

Courses include The Internet and Multimedia as Tools for Developing Oral and Written Expression, Teaching the Holocaust through NarrativeTeaching Mishnah - Goals and Skills, and more.  These classes are targeted toward educators, lay leaders, and students of higher learning.

Registration is open now for the semester, which begins February 2010.  Tuition is $250 per course, with adjusted fees for multiple course enrollments.

Dream with Darim: Darim Educator Fellows Winter/Spring Cohort – Applications Open

November 25th, 2009

[cross-posted from JewPoint0]

Got a Big Idea for Jewish learning and new media? Are you an educator in a North American congregational / complementary Jewish setting?  What are you waiting for? Apply now to the Darim Educator Fellows program!

Darim will work with up to 3 individuals through coaching and mentoring over a six month Fellowship.  Check out details and the link to the application form here: http://bit.ly/defspring.

Meet our current Fellows:

  • Joshua Altman, Temple Sholom, Greenwich, CT – Josh is creating an online collaborative newspaper / blog with his religious school students.
  • Lynne Lieberman, Friedman Commission for Jewish Education, West Palm Beach, FL – Lynne is developing an online professional development course on differentiated learning for synagogue educators.
  • Rachel Sesser, Temple Sholom of West Essex, Cedar Grove, NJ – Rachel is creating an online community resource for students and their families to engage in classroom and extracurricular activities.
  • Viki Shayna, Temple Beth Emeth, Ann Arbor, MI – Viki is developing an extension of a community collaborative project that will bring together American and Israeli families online.

Get your creative juices flowing this holiday weekend!  Applications are due Friday, December 4, 2009.  Questions? Give us a shout at learningnetwork@darimonline.org.

Helpful hint: we posted a preview of the application on the Fellows information page so you can prepare your longer responses in advance and cut and paste them into the online application form.

The Darim Educator Fellows program is made possible by a generous grant from the Covenant Foundation.