#jedchat is coming – and you are it! The first #jedchat synchronous twitter chat for Jewish educators will be held Wednesday, October 26 at 9pmET.

What is #jedchat? In short, it’s professional learning and networking at your fingertips, brought to you by the collaborative team of Akevy Greenblatt (@Akevy613), Dov Emerson (@dovemerson), and Rabbi Meir Wexler (@RabbiWex) via Twitter.

#jedchat is modeled after the successful #edchat collaborative discussions that have taken place on Twitter since 2009.  Edchat brings together educators and those interested in education from around the world every Tuesday at 12pmET and 7pmET.   Many Jewish educators are active participants in Edchat and the network that has developed around the synchronous conversations.

Inspired by Edchat, #jedchat was created to foster connections and support professional learning for Jewish educators by Jewish educators. Akevy Greenblatt explains:

“We wanted to give Judaic teachers from all backgrounds an open and safe forum to share ideas and learn from each other.”

So put on your thinking kippot and join the inaugural conversation which will center on: What do you want to gain from jedchat? How can we develop a Judaic pln (professional learning network).

Join in the Learning :

• Get ready to participate – got a twitter account? Follow the conversation here.   Better yet, add your voice to the conversation by tweeting your ideas.  Remember to include #jedchat in your tweet.  And don’t forget to save #jedchat under your “Searches” for easy reference. You can also use a filtering tool to better follow the stream of tweets like Tweetdeck (see the #Edchat tutorial here).
• Don’t have a twitter account yet? Set one up – it’ll only take a few minutes. The hardest part will probably be figuring out your Twitter name! Here’s a how-to from Twitter.
• Set your clock for  the real time #jedchat on Wednesdays at 9pm ET (you can figure out your local time for the first chat by clicking on the link).
• No need to set your clock. Participants are using the #jedchat tag to extend the conversation and share resources and ideas at any time, as applicable. Think of it as a perpetual global cocktail party.
• Join the jedchat wiki and connect – add your name and twitter name to the participants section, share your ideas for upcoming topics!
• Take a gander at PEJE’s tutorial for tips and techniques for becoming a Twitter power user: You Can Speak the Language of Twitter
• Check out Shelly Terrell’s (@ShellTerrell) tips for participating in a twitter chat based on her experiences with #edchat
• Want more Jewish education goodness?  Follow#jed21 and join the conversations!

Most importantly, have fun learning and connecting! #jedchat is all about the people who make the conversation! Will we see you there? What topics would you like to engage with on #jedchat? Take the #jedchat hashtag out for a spin and tweet out your ideas!

Special thanks to Akevy Greenblatt (@Akevy613), Dov Emerson (@dovemerson), and Rabbi Meir Wexler (@RabbiWex)!

photo credit: misspixels on flickr

We had representation from Canada, Israel, and the United States including: ACAJE/JOP, Philadelphia, PA; Agudas Achim, Attleboro, MA; AMHSI   Philadelphia, PA; Association of Jewish Libraries; AVI CHAI Foundation; Bais Yaakov School for Girls, Baltimore, MD; Beth El, Alexandria, VA; Beth Tfiloh Dahan, Baltimore, MD; Bialik High School     Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Bi-Cultural Day School, Stamford, CT; BJELA, Los Angeles, CA; Causil; Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Rockville, MD; Chicago Jewish Day School, Chicago, IL; Congregation Albert, Albuquerque, NM; Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Boca Raton, FL; DRS-HALB High School, Woodmere, NY; etheoreal / Darim Online    /jlearn20; Frisch School,  Paramus, NJ;  Gray Academy, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Greenfield Hebrew Academy, Atlanta, GA; Hasten Hebrew Academy, Indianapolis, IN; Hebrew Academy Chabad, Huntington Beach, CA; Hillel Day School, Farmington Hills, MI; Jewish Community High School of the Bay, San Francisco, CA;  Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; Leo Baeck Temple, Los Angeles, CA; Lesley University, Cambridge, MA; New Community Jewish High School, Los Angeles, CA; Ohr Chadash Academy, Baltimore, MD; PELIE, New York, NY; Perelman Jewish Day School, Greater Philadelphia, PA; Ramaz Lower School, New York, NY; Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, Elkins Park, PA; SAR Academy, Riverdale, NY; Sinai Akiba, Los Angeles, CA; Solomon Schechter / Lakeside Congregation, Northfield, IL; South Peninsula Hebrew Day School   Sunnyvale, CA; Southern California Yeshiva High, San Diego, CA; SpeedSkin, Los Angeles, CA; Temple Beth David, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Temple Beth Torah, Melville, NY; Temple Beth Torah, Wellington, FL; Temple Solel, Cardiff-By-The-Sea (San Diego), CA; The Jewish Education Project, White Plains, NY, New York, NY; The Jewish Week, New York, NY; University of Maryland, College Park, MD; Yavneh Academy, Paramus, NJ; Yeshiva University New York, NY.

Staying Connected

In addition to the Jewish Educators Network Google group and Chai Tech wiki, we now have a Jewish Educators Network Facebook group for those who would like to connect that way.  Please join us, whether you have attended our network or not! The focus of our discussions is primarily on Jewish education and technology.

A list of attendees can be found here.

Session Summary

There were many themes and areas of interest that emerged out of our discussions:

• assistive technologies
• complementary education
• curriculum integration
• ebooks
• global learning and collaboration
• Hebrew language
• iPads
• Judaic apps
• laptops
• mobile learning
• online learning
• problem based learning
• professional development for educators
• SMARTBoards, interactive whiteboards
• special needs
• systemic change
• teacher buy in
• technology integration
• videoconferencing
• virtual environments

Phil Liff-Grieff facilitated our small group discussions.  We divided into 5 groups to discuss and share challenges that we face and to  suggest solutions. Two groups recorded their conversations which are shared below.

Many thanks to the following for their input into the session planning: Gloria Becker, Rebecca Egolf, Jodi Mishkin, Phil Liff-Grieff, Adena Raub, Elana Rivel, Phil Warmflash, and Dave Weinberg.

Also check out the recent article by Julie Wiener in The Jewish Week, “Jewish Day Schools Look for Online Savings”

Notes from the Discussion Groups

Challenges and Responses – Recorded by Sara Ravid

Budget

• Much of what is presented is free
• Get computers donated
• Nonprofits can tap into TechSoup for computer and software deals
• Find someone in federal government procurement (they turn over every three years and will donate to schools

Determine strategic approaches that will be most beneficial; there’s no consensus on what successful Jewish education is

• we need a consensus before knowing what technology is needed
• need to that before we get the technology
• see the endpoint and then work backwards
• Phil Liff-Grieff’s delicious bookmarks: http://www.delicious.com/pliffgrieff; find the best and cull down

Funders

• lack of highway between all the organizations
• how to share with them
• no one-stop way to disseminate
• no great way to share beyond 1
• Legacy Heritage – SMART resources site, posting Jewish lessons for SMARTBoards
• tech companies, angel investors
• all day schools in a region meet and collaboratively purchase, etc. (e.g., Atlanta)
• Fundraising is not a major problem or answer – get day schools to work together for government funding (hardware, software); use is limited by purpose

Period of Time

• want students to create knowledge but we need to do that too

Crowd sourcing

• nings all over the place
• osmosis going on; that’s one of the answers (twitter, etc. as intermediary)

What collaboration tools should we use?

• use of social media
• body of knowledge, information
• wisdom of field generated / spread naturally

Not marketing technology

• Facebook is going crazy because there is a reason to go back
• Contests, etc.
• Marketing towards what? Different facets of education, different target populations; how to motivate them

Marketing Jewish education using social media

• 1/99 ratio: 90% lurker, 9% somewhat active, 1% active
• issue for Jewish organizations: know metrics trying to hit friends of friends
• not pulled in on Facebook “please like/share” if do it
• schools trying to do fundraising initiatives. Social media needs strategy to succeed.
• scale: small social network as pilot for engagement

Experimenting with new things

• history of start/stop too much
• risk averse culture re: finances, time

Challenges and Responses – Recorded by Jodi Mishkin

Funding

• in Philly a law firm upgrading donated all their laptops

In supplemental schools

• getting teachers to go for additional technology training

Technology that is out that used to connect everyone (other communities)

• connecting with a school in Israel to bring Hebrew to life
• Skyping
• understanding Hebrew through prayer and understanding it as a real language
• Rosetta Stone possibility

Technology in Hebrew / programs in Hebrew not readily available

• Davka Writer
• is there an on line program to teach Hebrew

How do I know and use the tools that are out there?

• how do I import Hebrew into comics
• how do I use the tools that are available to teach curriculum
• Google has good Hebrew Support (full Hebrew Support) [note: you can copy and past tests]
• put Hebrew into Google presentations

Tons of Judaic resources on line

• Israel Ministry of Education
• Lexicon.cet.ac.il
• Galim (www.galim.org.il)

Khan learn at home, homework in classroom (“flipped classroom”)

How do we connect funders, educators, and technology creators?

• we are always trying to catch up to society
• what are our goals
• we are teaching different “things” now
• creating Jewish identity
• how do you address all the needs and learning levels in a 3 hour block or less
• the key is not to give information but it is to give them the fire:  teach how to learn; teach them to want to learn

Where you at ISTE? What are your take-aways? What will try out in the coming year? Share your ideas with us!

When: Monday, June 27
Where: PACC 202A

Please check the ISTE program for any changes.

Be prepared to schmooze and network.  All are welcome! We look forward to seeing you there!

We’re also trying an experiment, inspired by Tom Barrett’s crowd sourced Interesting Ways… series.  Have a great idea or project you are working one? Share your idea or project here – in 1 slide.

Have a challenge you are noodling over regarding the integration of educational technology or social media into your work? Think you might have some expertise to share? Here’s a google doc to experiment with – feel free to play with it and share your challenges and/ or suggestions to help a fellow educator.

You don’t have to be at the conference to contribute – let’s see what we come up with!

We’ll also be updating our group wiki: ChaiTech.  Feel free to add information there.

This year’s ISTE Conference theme is “Unlocking Potential.”  Here are a few tips on how to unlock the potential of the conference itself!

Pre-Conference Packing

• Dress for comfort.   And do what your mother always told you – take a sweater or a ight jacket.  Climate control in rooms may vary.
• Wear comfortable shoes – there’s usually a huge conference center and a ginormous exhibit hall.
• Take a stack of business cards (or your favorite way to share your contact information) and be prepared to network
• One of my favorite technologies is Post-It Flags.  I use them to tag pages in the print program. Highlighters can also be helpful
• Don’t forget to bring the power cords along with your electronic devices.  Oh, and this is definitely one of those conferences where people are encouraged to flip open their laptop or tablet.  The conference offers free Internet access in public spaces and meeting rooms at the convention center, except in the Expo
• Want to make new friends fast? Bring a power strip.  It’ll come in handy!
• Set up a social bookmarking account like Delicious or Diigo if you don’t already have one, to save resources online easily during sessions

Sustenance

• Aspirin, energy bars, and water.  You shouldn’t go hungry – or headachy.  Lots of stimulus, irregular eating, and dry air might give you a slight ache in the noggin (leave alone all the ideas you’ll be absorbing!).  Be sure to stay hydrated.  Water is generally available in session rooms, but it’s a good idea to bring your own bottle. Throw a couple of energy bars in your bag as a periodic pick-me-up.  Remember, chocolate is a basic food group.

Planning Your Time

• Be planful – create a conference “personal learning plan”  BUT also leave room for serendipity. Be open to meeting new people and dropping in on sessions that might not appear to have a direct impact on what you are doing – but could be chock full of mind-blowing ideas. Sometimes the best experiences are the most unexpected ones.
• Put those Post-Its and highlighters to use and mark up your print program with sessions of interest.   Check out the online ISTE Conference program planner. Sync the planner to your personal calendar by clicking on the Export Planner link.  Don’t forget to take a look at the Expo exhibitors.
• Get to popular sessions early; they tend to fill up quickly.
• Some sessions will be available through video on demand;  look for the VOD icon next to program listings to see if you can catch them later in case you are torn between several different sessions
• Take advantage of the Bloggers Cafe, Playgrounds, Poster Sessions, and Lounges.  You’ll meet great people and walk away with some great ideas!
• HAVE FUN! And don’t forget to get some fresh air (yep, Mom is right again!)

Share, Share, Share; Learn, Learn, Learn

• Record your notes using Google Docs and share them with your colleagues. Create short videos or podcasts and interview other educators. A great way to reflect on and digest the conference is to think out loud and share your impressions and ideas with the rest of the world.
• Want to tweet? The ISTE conference hashtag is #iste11.  Feel free to also use #jed21 to be included in a larger ongoing conversation on Jewish education.
• Blogging? ISTE is collecting the urls of conference bloggers here. Be sure to add your name and blog info to the list.
• Even if you don’t tweet or blog yourself, check out what your colleagues are saying!

What’s are your ISTE Conference tips?

This new initiative provides the opportunity for up to 15 North American day school and yeshiva high schools to work collaboratively to document their work, share resources, and tap into expertise regarding the adoption and integration of online courses.

Details, including Network structures, school eligibility and expectations, and a link to the application can be found here.

The deadline for applications is June 17, 2011 and recipients will be announced on or around June 30.

What are you waiting for – apply now!

Not quite ready but want to learn more about online learning? Check out the DigitalJLearning website.