Darim Online Learning Network for Educators – Going Digital: New Media for Jewish Learning
Attention middle school/ high school educators in Jewish congregational or complementary learning settings:
- Are you looking for opportunities to integrate educational technologies and new media like blogs, wikis, and social networking into your work?
- Are you a creative, curious, risk-taking educator in a Jewish congregational or other complementary Jewish educational setting?
- Do you work with middle school and/or high school students?
- Do you have a really great idea for using educational technology that you’ve wanted to test out?
- Are you interested in joining a community of like-minded educators for a year of intensive professional development and collaborative learning?
Darim Online is launching a new membership program, the Learning Network for Educators, made possible by a grant from the Covenant Foundation. In its first year, this program will engage approximately 20 Jewish educators working with middle and high school aged populations in congregational or other complementary educational settings as they integrate new media into their learning settings.
The Learning Network is based on the model of a community of practice, in which members learn from each other through sharing resources and expertise, problem-solving, and developing collective wisdom on an ongoing basis in order to grow professionally and improve their practice.
Benefits of membership in this pilot program include:
- Access to experts and resources through monthly educational events such as webinars, conference calls, and one on one consulting with Darim staff and affiliates
- Opportunities to vision and implement technology-enriched projects into your educational practice in a supportive environment
- Opportunities to develop and share curricular resources and emerging practices that take advantage of new technologies.
- Participation in a supportive community of practice with colleagues who are engaged in similar work and learning
- Professional learning about new media and the potential to transform Jewish learning
Membership activities will include online discussions, sharing ideas and practice, one on one coaching from Darim staff and affiliates, and elearning events with experts in the field.
The Educators Network builds on the success of Darim Online’s original Learning Network for Synagogues. That network, which continues into its third year, is a professional development and knowledge-sharing membership network for staff and lay leaders of synagogues who are integrating new technologies into their work. Funding for the Network for Synagogues is provided by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation with additional support from the Jewish Life Network and membership fees.
Full disclosure about the Darim Oline Learning Networks: it’s a project I am working on.
Details, including the membership application, are available on the Darim Online site.