JEDCHAT

Re-posted from Principal’s Post

One of my pet peeves is when people think that Differentiation Instruction and 21st Century Skills are something new and that now teachers need to do something different.  I think if would ask most teachers if it is important that they meet the needs of their students or that their students can communicate, think critically, and be creative, I would think most teachers would say YES no matter if they taught 25 years ago or are teaching today. Therefore I claim that D.I. and 21st Century skills are just good teaching and learning practices. This will be the topic of my presentation at the upcoming Martin Institute Conference in June. (http://www.eventbee.com/v/misumcon12)

Then over the weekend I read this article by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks “The Necessity of Asking Questions”

(http://chiefrabbi.org/UploadedFiles/Articals/Bo_5772.pdf)

In this Article Rabbi Sacks point out the importance of asking questions. He states that in the middle of the climax of the story of the Jews leaving Egypt the Torah ( Bible) tells us the twice that our children will ask us questions

    “And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the     Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” (Ex. 12: 26-27)
In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Ex. 13: 14)”

Rabbi Sacks maintains that is more than just asking questions but that Teachers and Parents need to encourage their children and students to ask questions. He shares the following story:

“Isadore Rabi, winner of a Nobel Prize in physics, was once asked why he became a scientist. He replied, “My mother made me a scientist without ever knowing it. Every other child would come back from school and be asked, ‘What did you learn today?’ But my mother used to ask: ‘Izzy, did you ask a good question today?’ That made the difference. Asking good questions made me a scientist.”

He  goes on to say “Encourage your children to ask, question, probe, investigate, analyze, explore….The one essential, though, is to know and to teach this to our children, that not every question has an answer we can immediately understand.”

I don’t know about you but to me it would seem to me that the Torah ( Bible) itself is teaching us the importance  of asking questions which by the way would today be described as a 21st Century Skill.

Therefore lets not get caught up with names or titles but rather  just focus on helping our children and students learn so that they reach their potential and be productive and successful in the world in which we live in

My Thoughts

Akevy

The true power of a community (or “community”, depending on how far you feel we have come) such as Jedchat is not in the ability to create one hour speed-dating-like conversations that focus around a given topic in education.  Nor is it in its ability to bring together educators from across the country, and sometimes the world, on a regular basis whereas previously we could only meet at the occasional conference.

No, for me the true power of Jedchat is when it becomes the springboard to further and more substantive communication and collaboration.  For all of the wonder of twitter chats, the fact is that we communicate in that forum in mere soundbites; and while many of us have become quite skilled in saying a lot in 140 characters or less, there is clearly so much more we can say when given fuller forums.

I have had the privilege of taking advantage of this aspect of Jedchat twice in the past few weeks.  A recent Jedchat focused on the issue of Project-Based Learning (PBL), a topic that I have recently become very interested in in my own teaching, and thus a topic that I had much to comment about during the Jedchat.  I signed off of the chat feeling both exhausted from the usual breakneck pace of the chat and exhilarated from being able to have such a substantive dialogue with my colleagues about something that I was deeply involved with in my day-to-day teaching life.  However, that was only the beginning.

A few days after the chat, Debby Jacoby, a wonderful educator in San Francisco and a super-avid tweep, contacted me wanting to speak in more detail about PBL.  And so it was that Debby and I found time to Skype from one coast to the other to discuss the various benefits, challenges, and possibilities that are involved in PBL.

Around the same time, Dr. Moshe Krakowski of Yeshiva University got in touch.  In addition to serving as a professor in YU’s Azrieli graduate school of Jewish Education, Dr. Krakowski also moderates a CoP (community of practice) of educators who hold a monthly phone conference on the topic of PBL.  Dr. Krakowski asked if I would join the CoP and if I would lead the next discussion, relating my experiences and future plans with this approach to teaching.  I happily agreed and this past Thursday I had the privilege of speaking with roughly ten educators from across the country in a very spirited dialogue about PBL.

To my mind, this is the true power of the Jedchat community – when the once-weekly “meetings” become a time to lay the ground work for future conversations.  I have already had encounters with colleagues from Jedchat where our live conversations have simply picked up from where the Jedchat discussion left off, and the chance to parlay Jedchat discussions into live meetings, conferences, and skype sessions is indicative of the fact that Jedchat is becoming a significant tool in the creation of a cohesive and coherent network of Jewish educators.

(cross-posted on jewishedd.blogspot.com)

Well, we hit the big time today.

In a matter of speaking.

The Washington Post had an article  in their Saturday edition, entitled “Teachers take to Twitter to improve craft and commiserate,” and it was all about how more and more teachers are turning to Twitter to connect with other educators for resource sharing, camaraderie, and support through tough times. In particular, educators are discovering a “community of mentors offering inspiration, commiseration and classroom-tested lesson plans,” through weekly twitter chats on a variety of education topics, the granddaddy of them all being #edchat.

And then, in the middle of the article, #jedchat got a shout out. This amazing community, a group that has only been chatting regularly on Wednesday night’s at 9 EST for a little over 3 months, made it into the Washington Post.

Now, we could all stop here, content that we as a community (and perhaps the larger Jewish educational community) got our 15 minutes of fame, and move on.

But I think there is more at play here, and it bears some reflecting.

A network is a powerful tool. In the age of the internet and social media, it has become something that is infinitely more far reaching and stronger than before. Starting with little more than an idea of “hey, we can do this too!” a group of Jewish educators came together on Twitter to have a conversation. And all of a sudden, it became a “thing,” something real, a destination.

It became a network.

With this transformation, ideas were shared, and people were inspired to bring these new ideas back to their own classrooms and schools. To me, this all culminated with the tweeting frenzy that took place during the North American Jewish Day School Conference last week in Atlanta, GA. Through Twitter, educators and other educational stakeholders were extending the ideas and messages of the conference beyond the walls of the hotel, with the #jedchat hashtag being one of the primary ones used to spread the knowledge (alongside #NAJDS & #NAJDSconf, of course!).

The people in our network are truly wonderful and inspiring educators. They are the ones, in the words of the Washington Post article, who “tend to be creative, motivated people with high standards for their own performance — the type who would rather try something new than pull out the yellowed lesson plans they’ve been using for years.” And when all these people come together through the internet, the network goes on hyperdrive.

I am reminded of a famous TED talk by Chris Anderson, entitled “How Web Videos Power Global Innovation.”

In this talk, Anderson notes how YouTube has revolutionized the development of dance worldwide, as dancers now find themselves with a global audience. He quotes Jon Chu, a movie director: “Dancers have created a whole global laboratory online. Kids in Japan are taking moves from a YouTube video created in Detroit, building on it within days and releasing a new video, while dancers in California are taking the Japanese video and remixing it to create a whole new dance cycle”

Chu actually harnessed this increased power of the network to put together an all-world troupe known as the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. These performers were all recruited through YouTube, and the result is, well, “Extraordinary.”

The idea is that, through the power of the internet and the talented people that participate in the global sharing process, dance innovation moves at a much faster pace, as new moves and techniques are spread, copied, and improved upon at lightning speed.

Is it any wonder you end up with amazing feats like this?

This is what technology is doing to networks in all sorts of fields. Education, and specifically Jewish education, is no exception. #JEDCHAT is one of the ways that we, as Jewish education stakeholders, are capitalizing on the incredible talent and power of connectivity that Twitter affords, in spreading innovation in our field.

How many Jewish educators are in situations not so different to Nineteen-year educator Ron Peck, who, as profiled in the Washington Post piece, “teaches in a small public high school tucked up against the rugged Klamath mountains in southern Oregon, hours from the nearest big city. Resources in his district are limited, he said, and innovation is slow. He said Twitter has been a lifeline to the larger world, infusing his classroom with new ideas and technologies that he wouldn’t otherwise know about.”

So at the end of the day, it is wonderfully exciting for #jedchat to be included in an article by the mainstream press, especially in a publication as respected as the Washington Post. But to me, and to many others in our growing community, the real excitement lies in who will learn about #jedchat through this and other articles and references, and in turn, help the network grow and create even stronger connections. Because as much as we look around and see a network of educators looking to share and learn from others online, we must remember that we are still the minority. Within the world of Jewish education, most educators do not even know what a hashtag is, let alone know that something like #jedchat exists.

Kol hakavod to all of you who have brought us to this point, participating in the weekly chats and sharing resources throughout the week.

What you are witnessing is the network “at work,” and it is indeed a beautiful thing.

(cross posted on dovemerson.wordpress.com)

As my red eye flight crosses the Mason-Dixon line (at least according to Jet Blu’s in flight TV monitor [note: As a first time flyer of Jet Blu I was excited to be able to watch TV on a continental us flight- Until they informed us that there’s a $2 charge for headphones and $5.99 for a movie- Hence my alternative activity which is more cost effective and lets me actually engage my brain!]) I can’t help but think back to last night when the Washington Post featured an article about educators using Twitter- and listed #Jedchat as one of the Twitter education groups! My first reaction was “o.k. it is a pretty big deal that out of the tens of thousands (millions?) of hashtags in the Twitter-verse the Washington Post included #Jedchat in it’s list.

Then I reviewed the article and thought to myself- this is what the influence of social media is all about. This is what #Jedchat is all about. Yet why does #Jedchat work? Why do Jewish educators and education stakeholders feel comfortable participating in #Jedchat? What makes #Jedchat unique? Does it have to do with pluralism or equality or all persuasions of Judaism coming together in harmony for the perfect educational symphony? Not necessarily- Though these are all offshoots and sub-goals of what #Jedchat provides.

When Akevy, Dov and I had our first Google Hangout our vision was very simple: we wanted to create a platform whose driving question (partial-plug for project based learning) for all genuine professional educators was universal; namely-  “How can we provide our students with deep authentic learning experiences.”

That’s ‘all’ it took to launch #Jedchat on Twitter. (And yes Israel- we will eventually have a chat in your time-zone!)

Twitter for edcuators is a unique learning experience. Yes at first it is intimidating because you feel like you are thrown into Midtown-Manhattan where everyone is bumping into you and you don’t know how long to walk, how long to stop, who to ask a question to, who to listen to…(do I sound like I am gearing up for The City!)

Soon you begin to follow a small group of colleagues you recognize and you slowly see the plethora of knowledge flying your way. You click on one the education links and start reading an article on something relevant to what you are doing in your school. You start reading and reflecting other tweets more carefully asking yourself if you agree or disagree or why. You slowly begin honing in and refining your real-time education techniques in ways that you may not have wanted to do before. You are making the learning happen for you without being pushed and it feels good that way. You get into a comfort zone. Then you start tweeting yourself, first by re-tweeting other people’s ideas you like and want to share and finally adding your own original thoughts and links.

Then you want to empower others as you’ve empowered yourself so you start showing your colleagues how Twitter works. At first most of them may not take you seriously. “but isn’t Twitter for celebrities” and all the usual stuff that becomes along with first time Twitter newbies. But be persistent and consistent with them and they will come to thank you the way you have thanked the people who showed you Twitter and #Jedchat. And keep up your great tweeting on #Jedchat!

If you have been following the #jedchat stream you would have noticed that #jedchat was mentioned in a Washington Post article.

This is both a honor as well as very humbling. #jedchat is not just about the founders but what makes #jedchat unique and so special are all of you that contribute to it each week. I also think that #jedchat is unique in that  we have  reached out an attracted Jewish Educators and stakeholders  from a wide spectrum.

So Kol Hakavod and Yasher Koach to all of you for making #jedchat so special and for putting it on the national scene in just a few months

Here is the link to the article

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teachers-take-to-twitter-to-improve-craft-and-commiserate/2012/01/19/gIQAGv8UGQ_story.html?tid=sm_btn_tw

Originally posted on Principal’s Post blog 

This past Wednesday night’s #JEDCHAT was devoted to takeaways from the recent #NAJDS Conference. 

One of main ideas shared was the importance of meeting people sharing ideas and seeing what is done in other schools and just networking with other educators. 

While nothing can replace face to face interaction but i believe the sharing of ideas, learning from others and just developing a Network or in other words a PLN could be developed through ones interactions and use of Twitter. 

Recently Lyn Hilt, an amazing Educational leader and a personal inspiration to me wrote the following blog post;Battling skepticism.At the end she asked the following question;”So what I’m looking for in the comments section below are ways that administrators who are new to social media and professional learning networks can get started. Help their fears subside… help them battle the skepticism and preconceived notions they may have about the tools and the connections made.

Here is an part of the comment I left on the blog; 

“Lyn,

After reading the recent post by @RabbiWex and a tweet where he mentioned the experience below I decided to re-post that experience here on the #jedchat blog

This was orgianlly posted on my Beyond The Classtoom walls blog in November. 

Yesterday myself and Rabbi Shira Leibowitz were invited by Mr. Brett Clark to skype with his class about Judaism.

I want to thank Mr. Clark for the opportunity as well as his students at the  Lodge Community School in Evansville Indiana.

I also want to thank Rabbi Leibowitz for sharing the stage with me and adding a lot her special and unique insights to  the conversation.

Below you will find links to the press coverage of this event.

However I want to share with you my major Take Aways from this experience:

1. Not only did the students learn but it was an engaging and learning experience for me as the presenter ( I would assume Rabbi Leibowitz feels the same way)

2. With not very much technology ( a video camera and mic) the possibilities are endless and we can as the title suggests move “Way Beyond the Classroom Walls” .

3. I was very impressed by the question the students asked and when given the opportunity to think critically, ask questions, and make learning real you will be amazed what our students are truly capable of.

Again thank you to Mr. Clark and his students

As we say in Hebrew Kol Hakavod!!

Lodge Elementary Students Use Video-Chat in Class: EVANSVILLE- Seventh graders at Lodge Elementary School are traveling to New York and to Memphis without any luggage.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/oct/05/no-headline—ev_lodge/

They visit on my facebook newsfeed – playful, thoughtful, thriving – middle and high school friends with whom I have little contact beyond their status updates, but who were once an integral part of my daily life. While I have not reconnected with my teachers, I still often think of them and of my principal, Mr. S. Hirsch Jacobson (May His Memory Be a Blessing). They guided and nurtured me through my adolescent years, ultimately serving as role models for the career I would later embrace. In tribute to them, I choose to write this post not primarily in my capacity as a rabbi, a Ph.D. in Jewish education, or even as Lower School Principal of Schechter Westchester, but rather as a graduate of aSchechterDay School– shaped by an exemplary education for which I am profoundly grateful.

 I’ve been associated with Schechter schools for slightly more than three decades, having begun my journey at the then Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, nowGoldaOchAcademy, as an eleven year old sixth grader. Golda Och herself (May Her Memory Be a Blessing) was my high school Jewish history teacher and her impact, like that of so many other teachers in my life, was profound. She, together with Mr. Jacobson, offered me perspective that has enabled me to experience the ebbs and flows of recent American Jewish history at least in part through the lens of our schools. 

The age of Soviet, Jewish emigration in the late 1970’s, when I was in middle school, began my experience of connectedness to Jewish history in the making. My school opened its doors wide to embrace new émigrés fortunate enough to have been able to gain the then coveted permission to leave their native land. While I would later become a student leader within the Soviet Jewry Movement, at the time I felt blessed to get to know my Russian classmates who to me seemed like pioneers, part of something that mattered.

Then came the growth years of the early 1980’s when I was in high school and believed all things were possible. Our own school saw the move to a new, larger building needed to accommodate our burgeoning numbers. We experienced the introduction of computers into our school and felt the hope of expansive possibility. We were exuberant to be part of something that mattered. 

Soon recognition within the Jewish community of dwindling numbers of Jews and declining Jewish commitment brought the charge to produce talented Jewish educators able to infuse passion and knowledge into the next generation. As a young rabbinical student, my destiny became intertwined with that of the day school movement. I was actively recruited to complete a doctorate in Jewish Education and courted to embark on a career leading Schechter schools. Education was at the time one of the primary communal answers to growing concerns about apathy and assimilation in the Jewish community. Armed with my ordination and my Ph.D., I was sent out into the trenches of the day schools to participate in work that mattered. 

With the onset of the twenty-first century came the beginnings of disillusionment, but by no means despair. Day schools were falling from communal favor for a range of reasons and our work, once extolled, felt to me almost at times marginalized. Sometimes lonely, yet committed to our students and our mission, day school educators reached out to connect with the broader world of education in search of insight. Our schools became stronger educationally, reaching ever higher levels of accomplishment while remaining grounded in our enduring Jewish values and tradition. Although at times at least some of us felt underappreciated, we remained part of something that mattered.

Finally, came 2008 and an economic downturn that has impacted not only Jewish day schools, but most schools – parochial, independent and public. The affordability crisis so often pointed to in the news is not merely a day school challenge, but an education challenge. And what have we found? Amidst challenge stems creativity. Lean budgets have by no means limited educational innovation as we have felt the responsibility to continue to strengthen the quality of our schools while managing our costs. And, despite all the challenges, so many of our schools continue to thrive. More than ever, we know we are part of something that matters.

Cross-Posted on United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism Highlights blog

Rabbi Shira Leibowitz, Ph.D is Lower School Principal at Schechter Westchester. You can follow her on twitter @shiraleibowitz or on her blog sharingourblessings.wordpress.com

Re-posted with permission from Peter Eckstein ( @redmenace56 )

 http://jcastnetwork.org/5thchild/asking-the-right-question.html

It’s that time of year when lists seem to abound: Best Music of 2011; Most Trending Topic of 2011; Person of the Year; Top Movies of 2011 and on and on and on. This prompted me to think about what were the past year’s most influential ideas in Jewish education. When I asked colleagues what they thought, all I got were blank stares and deafening silences. That’s when I realized that I was asking the wrong question. As I began to develop my own list, I came to understand that  probably the most important trend in the 2011 world of Jewish education is that the definition of Jewish education itself is in transition.

The year began with Jewish education conferences (North American Jewish Dayschool Conference as well as in the Reform NATE and Conservative JEA) focusing on the topic of  integrating technology into educational settings.  People were no longer asking, “Should edtech be incorporated into schools?” They were now asking, “How do we bring 21^st technology into our classrooms?” During the premier conference on education technology: ISTE 2011, a large organized group of  Jewish educators came together to reflect on the impact of edtech in Jewish education and community building.  In the past year we collectively embraced the possibilities offered  that can be found in the digital world.

Along with this transformation, networking as a tool for Jewish professional engagement became more widespread.  Live tweeting conferences and events (such as  #nateseattle, #jea2011, #jewishfutures, #judaism2030 and more) became de rigueur, empowering  those absent from program venues to be able to participate from afar.  #jed21  was augmented by #jedchat, a conversation of mostly dayschool educators,  discussing new modes of teaching and engaging students. Added to this networking mix, Google unveiled Google+ and the powerful video conferencing “Hangout” tool. A cadre of Jewish “professionals” (another term that is being redefined), dubbing itself “JewProNet”, has begun to regularly “hangout”, exploring  the art of networking as a tool to redefine the nature of Jewish education and professional life.   Along with the hangouts, the group interacts via a facebook group and twitter at #jewpronet. This conversation is taking place throughout the cloud, reflecting the reality of Jewish life:  Learning and teaching can take place on a myriad of platforms.

The process by which we adopt new digital tools informs how we reframe Jewish education within the context of 21^st century skills and literacies.  The concepts of collaboration, network awareness, and ownership of knowledge creation is being incorporated into Jewish milieus. Two trending topics in the Jewish twitterverse, for instance, have been “blended learning” and the “flipped classroom”.  These methods, borrowed from the world of secular education, exemplify the new convention that learning can take place in more than one place, not just in the classroom; and can be enhanced by a veritable mashup  of tools, encompassing all forms of technology.  The idea of prosumerism – of turning the traditional dynamic between teacher, student and community on its head – is forcing us to question what Jewish education really is.  This is why my original question was irrelevant. We no longer are talking about just teaching and learning.  We are talking about something much bigger and more significant.

This past year we came to terms with a new reality: Traditional educational structures and roles no longer are relevant to the many. We are witnessing and participating in the creation of new paradigms for Jewish engagement.  I’m beginning to think that in 2011 we stepped through a door. We are beginning to understand the necessity of transforming existing networks of the Jewishly disenfranchised  into deliberately conceived communities that create Jewish futures that they can call their own.  The role of the Jewish educator is evolving into that of guide, of connector, of network weaver.  Jewish education is not just about providing knowledge; it’s the process by which the learner  explores and enhances his or her own relationship with an ever expanding tradition.

Last night at around 6:30PST and 9:30EST something unique and exciting happened. I had the opportunity to lead a PD session with a cohort of Religious School educators from area congregational schools in San Francisco. You may be asking yourself “did he really fly all the way to the West Coast just to turn around and fly back in time to deliver finals to his classes in South Florida 9 hours later?” Not exactly. But with a little pre-thought and pre-planning, tools like Skype and iwork enabled me to deliver a 2 hour presentation on project based learning in a Religious School setting. And the entire endeavor resulted directly from my Personal Learning Network.

On a recent #jedchat conversation on Twitter @debbyj18 (Her real name is Debby Jacoby, a recent co-classmate graduate from our YU-IUSP Ed. Tech. program, whose role in the Bureau of Jewish Education in San Fran. is Director of the Center for Educational Leadership and NESS) posted she was looking for an educator to lead a presentation for religious school educators. In San Fransico. California. I’ve been really gung-ho this year on expanding my PLN while at the same time giving back to my PLN. With a simple Skype connection and a few other ‘tools’ it was technically possible to run a trans-continental PD session. When I told Debby I couldn’t make it in person but would be happy to Skype in she didn’t even flinch; she was very excited for the endeavor. That was a little over 5 weeks ago ago.

Between then and last night I worked on a keynote slide show with embedded live links to videos and  websites uploaded to the web with access links sent to Debby (just in case our connection was severed during the session.) I also e-mailed a PDF of the slides which would be used as copies for the educators and sent a few links of materials for the educators to view prior to the PD session. That was the ‘easy’ part. One of my biggest challenges would be connecting to educators who were attending a PD session at night and after school. Couple that with the fact that I needed to develop a connection with them via a Skype screen. And finally- remember the 3 hour time differential! My presentation wouldn’t start until 9:30pm EST- after a full days work! How would it all play out?

The night of the presentation my adrenalin was pumping full force and energized me. We tested the Skype connection (pictured above) and the screen sharing feature and everything was working smoothly. There was a little static at my end at first but it dissipated after a few minutes.

I tried to make the presentation as interactive as possible with the educators, ‘switching gears’ every 7 minutes or so. Off the bat Debby did a great job making the introductions and setting the mood/tone for the evening. PD sessions are notoriously challenging for educators and I opened my presentation as I do with all my PD presentation- explaining to the educators that they matter and that I value them and their time (I realy do). It was only slightly weird delivering a presentation through a computer screen and I tried to act as naturally as possible. For me it was nice to see how professional everyone was acting in the room- like they had been skyping with other presenters for years.

Starting with my opening piece, a KWL chart exercise, to the actual slide show (kudos to bie.orgwhose materials were used for my presentation) and different activities in between like creating anopen ended driving question, (see picture below to see how the ideas were discussed, developed and then proposed on the board- Thank you Debby for writing them on the board!) the educators seemed engaged and were actively participating in their learning. Educators directed challenging questions to me and addressed me like I was there in person.

Looking back the time really flew to the point where we had to hasten the end of the session to allow for educators to reflect and articulate their takeaways from the presentation. Their responses were positive. Debby and I touched base after the sessions and we both felt like the experiment had been a success (full disclosure- we’re actually skyping tomorrow to further think through and reflect on the experience and tweak as seen fit moving forward.)

Not 12 hours later did I receive an e-mail that one of the educators who attended was already thinking about how to apply what she learned for her upcoming classes! I am still thinking through the entire experience but it seems with today’s technologies coupled with a PLN and a little pro-activeness, well, 21st Century learning is truly limitless.

Cross-posted from Rabbiwex.blogspot.com