AVI CHAI Educational Technology

Examples of EdTech at the MHA

2012-01-24T10:18:00.001-05:00

As a co-facilitator in Michael Minno's mini-keynote on 21st Century Learning Environments at last week's NAJDS Conference, I was asked to collect samples of various ways in which we are using new "environments" for learning in our school. I tried to so from all of our divisions - Early Childhood, Elementary School, Middle School, and High School - and from all of our subjects, General Studies and Judaic. I posted them to this site and hope to continue to update it with new examples as they emerge from our classrooms.

Let us know what you think and be sure to let us know what you are doing in your schools so that we can all continue to learn from each other!

#JEDCHAT: The NetWork At-Work - Thoughts on the Washington Post Article

2012-01-23T15:28:00.001-05:00

(cross-posted on the #JEDCHAT blog, jedchat.edublogs.org)

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.

My new Favorite tool...

2011-12-13T11:00:00.003-05:00

With thanks to AVI CHAI for the ISTE experience, Adam Simon for first mentioning using phones in class, and Tech Rav for his post about using polleverywhere.com as a ticket to exit. I confiscated a phone from a kid a few weeks ago and decided that I needed to start using phones in class as a tool. The result is chronicled in last week's E-tone, Beth Tfiloh's weekly newsletter.

http://www.bethtfiloh.com/podium/push/Log.aspx?s=230&snd=aafcb6f6-f470-477c-86be-cc3d5c3919b9&url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.bethtfiloh.com%2fpodium%2fdefault.aspx%3ft%3d204%26amp%3bnid%3d745592%26amp%3brc%3d1&lbl=+See+how+Mrs.+Krestt+is+using+technology+to+teach+Torah.&bl=%2fpodium%2fpush%2fdefault.aspx%3fs%3d230%26i%3d31252%26snd%3daafcb6f6-f470-477c-86be-cc3d5c3919b9

And, if you haven't glogged yet - try it! It was a lot of fun and I got some really interesting projects from my students.

Is it time for a Jewish Education Technology Conference?

2011-11-30T08:19:00.004-05:00

I recently returned from the Virtual School Symposium Conference in Indianapolis. AVI CHAI sponsored the conference and accommodations for a number of key players who occupy space in the area of technology within the day school movement in North America . Since we are planning for the next version of Gemara Berura to be web-based, this was a great opportunity to learn what else is happening out there in the on-line and blended learning school environments.

One of the more valuable benefits of participating in the conference was the fact that the sponsored invitees had the opportunity to network and schmooze. Using the (catered) report-back sessions (that were scheduled and sponsored by AVI CHAI) as a springboard, the discussions invariably lead to how Jewish day schools could/would/should adopt some of the learning modalities discussed at the conference.

At one of these sessions I raised the idea that it is time to organize a conference dedicated to servicing and furthering the cause Jewish Educational Technology (JET). For the sake of full disclosure I need to reveal my bias. I have been involved in JET for a long time . I believe passionately that we as a community need to ensure the provision of quality JET, and I directed and organized the First International JET conference in Israel back in 1999.

The Gemara Berura related work I do in dozens of schools across N. America allows me a unique insight into how school utilize technology for the furthering of Jewish education. This includes hardware, software, depth of use, teacher readiness, administration readiness, etc. Some of the issues that keep coming up include: the MAC vs. PC debate, especially as it relates to Hebrew and Hebrew software support, should there be computers in every classroom? should student be allowed/encouraged to bring laptops/tablets to school? are interactive whiteboards a necessity for every classroom? what are considered minimal levels of computer competence that teachers (and principals) should be expected to demonstrate in their work in the classroom and administration? etc. And as we move into the online/blended environment models raised at the VSS conference, the issue of how Jewish schools could benefit from these models is also a serious topic that needs to be addressed.

At the network session in which I raised this idea, one of the other participants objected quite strongly, suggesting that in the current economic environment, other venues could be utilized for such JET-related topics to be addressed, such as the National Jewish Day School Conference. We as a small niche community, it was suggested, could not afford or support a separate conference just for JET.

Notwithstanding my learned colleague's opinion, here is why I think we urgently do need a dedicated JET Conference. Technology is not simply a tool. It represents a cultural transformation with its own language, a language that today’s students speak. The level of success regarding the adoption of technology in our schools has overarching implications on the image our schools portray to the community it wishes to serve. Our ability to successfully adapt to these new cultural norms and language will impact on our ability to: recruit and retain our students, teach them effectively, and harness the new opportunities that technology affords to make Jewish schools more sustainable. We need get this one right. I believe that today we aren’t. An annual national Jewish day school conference needs to cater to all issues on the Jewish Education agenda. Attempting to peg on a kind of sub-conference to the main one will not do sufficient justice to the cause. A dedicated JET conference will be held once in a few years, with on-going, online initiatives in-between. We urgently need to begin a collaborative process with a view to develop shared dynamic protocols for many of the types of issues mentioned above. We need to get technology heads together, we to bring school principals together to understand the options, to have educated discussions with the technology department. We need Jewish Studies teachers to adapt to the emerging technologies and learn how to integrate them into their teaching practice. Most importantly we need schools to develop a coherent strategic approach to technology as opposed to the somewhat cumbersome and haphazard approach so many schools still unwittingly adopt.

The question of who should organize and fund such a conference still needs to be addressed.

Thanks again to AVI CHAI for providing us with the opportunity to attend this conference, and to network with such a high quality group of like-minded colleagues.

Meir

Rabbi Meir Fachler
Director
Gemara Berura (www.gemaraberura.com )
Phone (US and Israel) (917) 779 8056
Israel cell ++ (972) 52 385 8455
meir@jet-start.com

Making it personal..

2011-11-18T15:53:00.000-05:00

Making it personal

I come to the world of ed/tech from a decidedly bricks and mortar background. For close to 25years, my presence in my students’ lives has been built within classroom spaces that I helped create. Is it possible to bring the intimacy and community that can be created within the walls of a classroom into the world of online/blended teaching?

One of the encouraging answers I got from attending the recent INACOL sessions was a decidedly strong “yes,” with the caveat that presence is only achievable if it becomes an explicit curricular goal.

Kristin Kipp, a noted teacher from Jeffo Virtual Academy in Colorado, shared many of the ways in which she accomplished presence in her online teaching. Her blog www.educationfrontier.org offers a practical ‘nuts and bolts’ look at the life of an online teacher and the constant challenges and opportunities presented by online teaching.

She offered three guiding principals that must be addressed in planning effective online/blended learning:

- connection to content

- connection to other students

- connection to teacher

Some examples of application:

- connection to content

§ If one wants to promote critical thinking, assignments must be ‘non-googleable’

- connection to other students

§ Having students facilitate discussion board

§ peer review

§ collaborative learning projects

§ cyber café spaces on your LMS

- connection to teacher

§ providing thoughtful, in depth feedback

§ maintaining contact outside of ‘school hours’

· as an example, what follows is an excerpt from her December 2010 blog:

My biggest “aha” moment lately has been from a really simple strategy I started using about a month ago, the “Touch base email.” Basically, I send five types of regular emails during the week:

Attendance emails: Sent to students with 3+ days of absences and no recent contact

Reminder email: Send to all students to remind them of the weekly due date

Touch base email: Sent to students in the B, C, and D range. Just touch base and make sure they’re doing ok. I pick about 6 students per week to get this email.

Way to go email: Sent to students whose grade has gone up by 8% or more in the past week

Weekly email: Sent to all students at the beginning of a new week to remind them to get started on the next week’s work

§ Useful tools for enhancing connection to teacher

· Voice Thread (http://voicethread.com ) was suggested as a very powerful tool.

· Google Moderator (Kristin used this during our session as well) http://www.google.com/moderator

¨ This is a useful tool that invites students to ask questions, vote on a topic of debate, or make comments during a synchronous lesson.

In a traditional school environment, these three realms of connecting often emerge organically from the physical presence of teacher and students ‘living’ together in the same space. In online teaching, whether synchronous or asynchronous, it is also possible to keep the educational process “personal.” However, it will not happen without the teacher’s continuous conscious effort to do so.

Susan Yammer

Educational Coordinator, Lookstein LIVE

Lookstein Center, Bar Ilan University

National Online Teacher of the Year, Kristen Kipp, confirmed as a Keynote at North American Jewish Day School Conference 2012

2011-11-18T12:54:00.003-05:00

January 15th-17th 2012, is the upcoming North American Jewish Day School Conference in Atlanta, GA. Click here for up to date information on the conference a,nd registration information. However, the current line up of keynotes (including Michael Mino, David Streight, Joy Anderson, and Larry Rosenstock), panels and workshops makes it clear why this is the premiere conference for any and all involved in Jewish education. Today, the most recent confirmed Keynote speaker, only highlight this.

Kristen Kipp, the National Online K-12 Teacher of the Year, will be on of the Monday keynote speakers at the conference. I had the privilege of taking a workshop with her at the recent Virtual School Symposium 2011 and to say she is fantastic would be an understatement. She is a master teacher that embodies everything that is positive about online learning. I learned much about how to teach a successful online course and what I learned was easily applicable to online Jewish education. Feel free to click here and read a previous post here highlighting that session.

To learn more about Kristen, here is a press release by the Southern Regional Education Board of Kristen receiving this prestigious award:

"Kristin Kipp of Evergreen, Colorado, an online English teacher at Jefferson County’s 21st Century Virtual Academy, was named 2011 National Online Teacher of the Year for K-12 education last night by the two nonprofit organizations that founded the program, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL).

The 2011 SREB/iNACOL National Online Teacher of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding online teacher for exceptional contributions to online K-12 education. The judging committee selected Kipp and four other finalists from 65 nominations of online educators in public schools and state virtual schools in 25 states.

The award winner and four finalists were recognized at the Excellence Dinner during the SREB Educational Technology Cooperative Teaching and Learning Symposium, March 10-11 in Atlanta.

For the past three years, Kipp has been an online English teacher at Jefferson County’s 21st Century Virtual Academy, which is based in Golden and serves high school students throughout Colorado. A nine-year teacher and resident of Evergreen, she teaches 11th- and 12th-graders and is instructional leader for the English department. Called an "extraordinary practitioner," Kipp also serves as a course reviewer/reviser and part-time adjunct English teacher with Colorado Online Learning.

Her director has noted that Kipp "has particular expertise in the art of teaching writing; however, her skills have impact beyond daily instruction." Kipp "uses her expertise to empower students, parents and fellow faculty toward the highest academic standards," and she "creates innovative and engaging" methods that she evaluates constantly in order to maximize the academic potential of her students."

Allison Powell of iNACOL, award winner Kristin Kipp and Myk Garn of SREB

Kipp has noted that she loves online teaching because it often reaches kids that were untouched by the traditional classroom. "I teach at-risk students, gifted and talented students, elite student athletes, pregnant teens, and teen moms. For all of these students, online education opens up opportunities that would otherwise not exist."

Kipp said in accepting the award that it was "the bells and whistles" of online learning that first attracted her to the field. "What has kept me there are the kids," she said. "Some students, without online education, would not be able to graduate from high school." Kipp spoke of several students who have inspired her, including a girl who nearly dropped out after an illness in ninth-grade and now will graduate at the top of her high school class – or another who was pregnant and would have struggled to finish school otherwise. "I can never give up on a kid, no matter how far they fall behind," she said, adding that all students deserve access to high-quality online teachers.

As the National Online Teacher of the Year, she received a crystal Flame of Excellence and will spend a day with Karen Cator, the director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education. Kipp also gets an all-expenses-paid trip to iNACOL’s Virtual School Symposium this November in Indianapolis and will be featured on the SREB and iNACOL websites. The finalists received award certificates and other honors. Sponsors of the award include Connections Academy LLC, Blackboard Collaborate!, Florida Virtual School, Pearson Foundation, SAS, and emantras.

Additional finalists include: Thomas Landon from Virtual Virginia, Dianna Miller from Florida Virtual School, Emily Parrish from North Carolina Virtual Public School and Andrew Vanden Heuvel from Michigan Virtual School.

"Online learning is the leading edge of American public education. SREB and iNACOL are proud to honor Kristin Kipp and the four other finalists for their excellence and creativity in teaching our growing number of online students," said Myk Garn, the director of the Cooperative.

"Online teaching is a demanding profession with high levels of student interaction, feedback and communication. Research shows that effective online teaching requires exceptional verbal, writing and motivational skills for inspiring today’s students to perform at their highest levels. The online teachers who are national finalists are shining stars with the quality attributes students value most in learning online," said Susan Patrick, President and CEO of iNACOL."

Cross posted in yuelearning.org and yu20.org

It's all about the money - or is it?

2011-11-16T09:18:00.005-05:00

Last week, along with nine other Jewish educators, I spent two great days at the iNACOL 2011 Virtual School Symposium. In addition to the unique opportunity (thank you Avi Chai Foundation) for collaboration with other Jewish educators, this meeting gave me the opportunity to sit with dedicated and innovative educators from all over the world and discuss how online learning and the blended classroom can impact on and improve all our schools.

Not surprisingly, a much raised topic at the VSS, in addition to online education itself, was the financial aspect of virtual schooling. Most Jewish day schools populations are examining the online and blended classrooms models particularly because they think they may bring financial savings. And, this is also one of reasons that the public school system first considered this type of learning - read more about it here and here.

Why should online learning cost less than the classical classroom? It seems that the greatest savings are in the teacher-student ratio. The nature of the technology allows an online teacher to work with many more students without compromising the teacher-student relationship.

Many of the presenters at VSS were talking about the blended or hybrid classroom. Many educators feel that this model can lower costs (more students per teacher) without compromising learning and it is already being implemented around the world. The blended classroom offers the flexibility of learning online, the ongoing support from a teacher and the comfort of the brick-and-mortar setting.

From discussions I had with others at iNACOL, it seems clear that the need for financial savings encouraged research and innovation in the field of online learning. At first the public school system embraced the virtual classroom because they thought it would solve a number of their problems including financial ones, but they then began to see that this would only be a viable alternative if the online options were at least as good -- or better -- than the bricks and mortar school. Funds were poured into this technology because of the long-term implications and the educators involved saw an opportunity to use these funds to design a the 21^st century classroom.

Blended-learning classrooms are more interactive; the students “do and learn” rather than “sit and listen”; these classrooms free the teacher from the ‘housekeeping’ of teaching and allow them to focus on what they love and do best– teach.

Online learning is not just about saving money and it’s not about letting computers teach our children. It’s about letting the students learn as far and as fast as they can. It’s about allowing each student to move safely at her/his own rate. Online and blended learning increases competency-based learning provides students with increased opportunities for real-time feedback (assessment), personalized learning, and experiential-based learning opportunities. Blended learning is about designing platforms that let great teachers have the best tools to teach our children.

It's all about the toys

2011-11-15T13:16:00.007-05:00

I definitely want to chime in with my colleagues and agree that my biggest takeaway from the Virtual School Symposium last week in Indianapolis was about the importance of passionate, talented teachers who have control over how and what they offer in their online courses.

That said, it can't be denied that great teachers know how to make use of great resources.
I thought it could be useful to share some of the fun and interesting technologies that I learned about at the VSS. I believe that, used wisely, these tools add value to online learning with their potential for creativity and collaboration:

Kristin Kipp, National Online Teacher of the Year (mentioned in several previous posts on this blog), has her students use wikis to create collaborative pages on the literature they are reading (she used Hamlet as her example). As she spoke, I was struck by the notion of dozens of Jewish Day School students nationwide collaborating on creating a wiki on, say, Sefer Shoftim (The Book of Judges);

Tara Park, a teacher at the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School, demonstrated several online tools that her students use to create fun, interactive materials with which to share what they have learned. Her wikispace demonstrates several of these services, and itself is a great example of cool things that can be done online- tarapark.wikispaces.com

Glogster - creates online, interactive posters that are great for arranging research, incorporating video and audio into a visually attractive but simple presentation format- Tara Park's wiki space is actually a Glogster poster. I was skeptical as to the value of this service until she showed us a Glogster made by a student that turned a science report into a visually engaging, warmly personal online presentation;

Blabberize - I just noticed this one on her site- a goofy but sort of fun service that takes a still photo and turns it into a talking head, using audio that you upload or record directly into the site;

Wordle - creates a word cloud from any text- a nice visual representation of key themes in an article, essay or web page. This could be used as a creative addition to a written assignment, or maybe a way to launch discussion on an established text. Here is a Wordle I made on Genesis, chapter 1 (JPS 1917 edition!) ;

Voicethread was actually suggested to me by Esther Feldman from Lookstein. This fantastic service takes an image and lets users create what is basically an audio daf gemara, adding their voices or text as commentary on the photo. This is a wonderful tool for collaborative projects- many people can add their comments to the core "text," creating a vibrant online conversation.

This is a short list of the services and tools that caught my intention- I encourage readers to add to the list by commenting, and to share your experiences with these tools as well-- both good and bad.

Shimshon Stu Siegel is director of Impact Boston, a residential service learning program for Jewish teens. He also coordinates online learning for the Brandeis Office of High School Programs.

follow shimstu!

Hebrew, Hummus and the Value of Virtual Learning

2011-11-14T09:52:00.003-05:00

Last week, I was fortunate to be part of the group of Jewish educators at iNACOL’s Virtual School Symposium (VSS) thanks to the generosity of The AVI CHAI Foundation. Overall, the ~~conference~~ symposium was an interesting experience; a mixed bag of panels, presentations and plenaries, punctuated by engrossing conversations with educators in the field, seasoned vendors and successful social entrepreneurs all of whom are creating a new and exciting landscape of learning. Here are few of my reflections:

Online and Blended Learning are Here

Florida Virtual School (FLVS) currently serves over 120,000 students while the Utah State Legislature just passed a law enabling state funding to pay for up to two online or blended learning courses per student per year.  By many accounts, the prediction made by Clayton Christiensen in “Distrupting Class” that 50% of all high school courses will be online or blended by 2019 is accurate.  Online and Blended learning aren't the future, they are the present.    

The Field of Online and Blended Learning is Still Very Young

While many of the presenters at VSS were veteran educators, many had only recently started working in the field of Online and Blended Learning.  Throughout the symposium, programs in their first year of existence were vaulted as hallmarks of excellence and many of the key reports in the field have been funded by industry.  This all points to a field of education that is still very much in an early stage of development.  Key terms and definitions (such as basic terms like "online learning" and "blended learning") need to be nailed down to ensure a common language of practice and more unbiased data points need to be gathered to monitor the overall effectiveness of program and approaches.   

Less is Sometimes More 

In a lackluster session on gaming in online education FLVS presented their immersive American History Game, “Conspiracy Code.”  You can watch the jaw dropping trailer here: 

FLVS spent more than $750,000 in building the game (including a proprietary game engine) in partnership with developer 360Ed. By all accounts, the game is fantastic. It looks great, there are built in assessments and a compelling narrative arch. But the game has not been a blockbuster success. FLVS found that most students don’t want a totally immersive gaming experience at school. Furthermore, many students had trouble adapting the knowledge they gained in the game environment to real world situations.

This leads to my point. Sometimes, cheaper, quick to develop “causal” games can have equal to greater effect as the larger, more expensive immersive games. Not only do causal games have a greater appeal across population and gender lines, but they are also easier for educators to integrate in blended settings.

The Blessing of Assimilation

In 1966 Gershon Cohen wrote:

“A frank appraisal of the periods of great Jewish creativity will indicate that not only did a certain amount of assimilation and acculturation not impede Jewish continuity and creativity, but that in a profound sense this assimilation or acculturation was even a stimulus to original thinking and expression and, consequently, a source of renewed vitality...”

From the adoption of the Hebrew alphabet, to the inclusion of Hummus as part of our national heritage, Jewish encounters with the non-Jewish world have lead to incredible periods of growth, ingenuity and creativity for Judaism.  For me, this was very much the case at the VSS.  Seeing the current activity dedicated to online learning in the the world of general education has inspired me both from the perspective of what’s out there, and as a reminder that there are talented and dedicated Jewish educators on the cutting edge of digital and online learning.

Thank you again to the AVI CHAI Foundation for providing me the opportunity for this fantastic learning experience. 

Rabbi Charlie Schwartz is the Director of Digital Engagement and Learning for The Jewish Theological Seminary.  He can be reached at chschwartz@jtsa.edu

Meta-Learnings from Day Two of VSS'11

2011-11-11T05:39:00.002-05:00

For me, Day 2 of iNACOL's Virtual School Symposium, consisted of a little bit of humor, some "debate" about the gathering and analysis of data and many practical approaches to blended learning. It's always good to start off the day with a laugh.

As part of the opening keynote session, Jeff Pittman, a teacher for the Florida Virtual School for the past 5 years, traced his professional background. He explained that the pressures of having to cover a mandated curriculum every 90 days caused his enthusiasm and creativity to wane. How did he know that it was time to leave traditional teaching in a "brick and mortar" school? His epiphany took place one day when he was teaching a class and realized that not only was he boring his students, but he was boring himself! And, even worse, there were 20 minutes left in the period and time seemed to be frozen. A few weeks later he found a new and reinvigorated teaching life as a virtual teacher for Florida Virtual School.

Here are some observations and perspectives I picked up during the rest of the day during sessions:

It is heartening to hear how much data is collected on a daily basis about student performance. Using a commercial platform allows us to develop an accessible history of each student and the platform can be updated by learning from the successes and challenges of other sectors that collect similar types of data. However...what teachers really need to know is how "stuff works;" they need the data at their fingertips so they can make decisions for each class they teach and the data has to be "teacher-friendly." In other words, the issue of data collection and analysis is another sub-topic of the general theme of "Open Source vs. Commercial Platform"
How will analytics change our lives? When we can use them to demonstrate mastery and competency while living with all the reporting mandated by the government and the funding realities that come along with those mandates. We need data on 21st century competencies, not high stakes assessments. Teachers want data that will help them impact the learning process so that they can impact outcomes. As I sat and listened to those people who deal with the challenges of data collection and reporting, I couldn't help but be slightly envious and ask myself the question, "When will we in the Jewish day school world be at the point of having this discussion/debate when it comes to the domain of Judaic studies?
In contrast to yesterday, today I heard explicit reference to how the blended model can save money (at least, over a period of time). Money is ultimately saved by increasing the student:teacher ration. This discussion was always within an appropriate larger context--offering quantitative data and qualitative anecdotal evidence about how using one of the formats of blended learning increased scores on standard tests or how empowering this type of educational approach is for students and teachers. In order for me to better understand how money is saved I would appreciate seeing some budget numbers over the course of 3-5 years.
Many of us have used variations on the "station" model for many years in our teaching. It was a staple in early childhood education 30 years ago when I ran a pre-school. Adding the online component seems to be incremental and not revolutionary. The counter-argument offered was that in this updated modality teachers are liberated to be "teachers" and students are more empowered to take charge of their own learning.
When a visitor from "across the pond" asked why most of the models being used and highlighted were "conservative" in their thinking and approach and we were still discussing taxonomies, we were reminded that at this conference last year there was no taxonomy and how this is an emerging field that is still searching for a common language. It was also reassuring to learn that the practitioners who are out there "doing this" are focusing on dreaming and implementing and not labeling.

My final impression of the day and the conference is that there is an excitement, a passion and unbounded energy to grow this burgeoning field in ways we can't imagine. NCLB, Common Core and other acronyms and jargon used in this educational domain will continue to be part of the daily dialogue. But that unbridled enthusiasm to integrate online and blended learning into what currently exists and to move us to different and better educational horizons that will eliminate what currently exists is a present and future that is surely coming and we, in the day school world need to be part of these discussions. And thanks to foundations like the AVI CHAI Foundation, we are!

Teachers As Designers

2011-11-11T00:07:00.003-05:00

Online learning will replace teachers. This is the mantra of many fearful brick and mortar educators. Guess what? They are right.....sort of. The fears will not come to fruition because we choose to utilize online learning, whether in a blended or fully online environment. It will come to fruition if we allow how we teach online or blended learning to be dictated by outside content providers. As some have said, "Content is king." I say then kill the king.

Yesterday I was fortunate to choose a break-out session at the Virtual School Symposium 2011 on "Motivating Students Online" facilitated by Andrew Vanden Heuval, an individual rightfully tagged as one to watch. During the session, I met a group of teachers who teach in a blended fashion, which for them meant students study two days online and two days face to face. This particular group of teachers use a prepackaged online curriculum and Learning Management System (LMS) from one of the major providers. What this meant was they used their content and methods of instruction. What quickly surfaced was a frustration with the restrictions this curriculum placed on them.

For various reasons, mainly that the provider funds the school, the teachers are not allowed to customize the curriculum, plus they really couldn't even if they were allowed. Additionally, they felt that the curriculum, which was created for fully online courses, did not lend itself smoothly to a blended course. A fully online course is difficult to use in a blended classroom if it was not created with the blended classroom in mind. Modulation and flexibility are key to a blended curriculum and not available in many, if not most, of commercial online course curriculum.

This group, of what seemed to me to be a caring and competent group of teachers, felt marginalized by the online curriculum. Well, they should feel marginalized because that is what is happening. Of course, one could argue that it is fine if the outcomes are more positive. However, as you might expect, removing the teacher from playing an integral role in the curriculum and instruction did not translate into higher quality or outcomes.

When asked if the teachers wanted the ability to make changes to the curriculum, the group answered with an overwhelming "Yes!." Whether online or offline, the best teachers may use a core curriculum, but infuse their personality, expertise and personalize the curriculum and instruction to the students they know so well. The teacher is at the core of a successful classroom, online or not. If we stifle their ability to be at the core and use their unique skills to create a high quality learning environment we risk negatively impacting our students.

What it comes down to in this new world of online education is that teacher must also be designers. Whether teachers develop their own online curriculum or uses a providers pre-packaged offering, they must have the ability to customize it. They must be able to choose what works and what does not. They must be able to add new content, activities and experiences and remove the ones that they deem ineffective. There are many reason I can understand why it is not in the best interest of a commercial company to allow for such customization, but then we must ask ourselves whether we should continue to use the providers that do not value the teachers role in design? In addition, as we move and hopefully grow our value for student-centric teaching, the need for the teacher to customize and have the ability to be flexible will only increase.

When a school decides to utilize online education they often look at commercial providers to supply them with what they do not how to create. That makes sense. However, in speaking with the group of teachers yesterday and many other schools that are not funded by the provider, the same story was told. They began with the providers prepackaged curriculum, found it to be rigid and after a few years began to train their teachers on how to create their own online curriculum.

I say to us Jewish educators, let us learn from others and skip the three year process of realization that teachers are the best people to rely on to design our online and blended classrooms.

As we are in the first stages as a field of producing Judaics online, let us take advantage of the knowledge gained by others. Yes, we need online content, but why wait for a few commercial companies to tell us how it should be taught? Why wait for a few non-profits to design curriculum and tell us this is what works for everyone? That is not to say commercial options and non-profit development is not important and will add tremendously to the field. However, let us begin by putting our limited resources where they belong; into the teachers. Let us teach them how to instruct online and in a blended class, but not based on one rigid curriculum. Let us give the educators the skills and training they need to be excellent online and blended teachers by also giving them the skills to be designers.

This does not mean that every teacher now must create fully online courses for their classes and be alone in this process. We must do this is as a collaborative and supportive effort across the field. So, what does this look like? Well, that is for another post. Yet, moving forward, at the core of how we do so must be a respect for our teachers by ensuring they have the ability to use and design the curriculum in the way that works best for their students.

This post is crossposted at YUeLearning.org

Eliezer A. Jones, PhD
Educational Technology Specialist

Institute for University-School Partnership
Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration
Yeshiva University

Phone: 917-836-2257

Email: ejones1@yu.edu
skype: eliezerjones
Twitter: DrEliezerJones
CoP: www.YU20.org & www.YUeLearning.org

Focus on Teaching and Learning: iNACOL Pre-Conference Reflections

2011-11-10T11:13:00.001-05:00

While I intuitively felt this for some time, the pre-conference sessions at the iNACOL conference confirmed for me that great teachers share core competencies and dispositions across all domains of learning including online, informal/experiential, and brick and mortar settings. From the sessions led by the National Online Teacher of the Year winner Kristin Kipp (see her blog here http://educationfrontier.org/ and a video about her here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8NpTDsScjg&feature=player_embedded) to the NOTY runners up and other online teachers and leaders, it has been wonderful to be inspired by great teachers. While there is much to do to improve the systems of online learning, from better online teacher training and professional development to more flexible curricula, it is gratifying to see so many people believe in the power of teachers and the impact they can have on student learning. Indeed, we in the Jewish educational world should heed the lesson from many here at this conference not to focus our energies only on content creation to give to teachers but rather to invest in teachers as designers of learning opportunities. A few additional noteworthy takeaways about the role of teaching and learning:

The new iNACOL standards for online teachers (http://www.inacol.org/research/nationalstandards/iNACOL_TeachingStandardsv2.pdf) include the full breadth and depth of the role of the online teacher, investing in the teacher to lead, facilitate, and partner with individual students and groups of students to advance learning. I think it is important that these standards be used by online teachers to self-rate and also by those who support online teachers to provide feedback so that individual professional growth plans can be developed with set goals and a support system in place to monitor and help improve teaching and learning. Developing national benchmarks for each standard and their subcomponents could be helpful towards this end.

Andrew Vanden Heuval (as he said “rhymes with snow removal”) a NOTY runner up, suggested that the key to learning is exposing our students to the universe – it is the classroom. Thus, whether brick and mortar or online, classrooms are merely platforms for convenient convening of individuals and groups. The key is getting the students out into the world in which they live and leveraging it for learning.

No doubt, we will need to keep in mind the push for online education as a solution to the challenges of day school affordability. However, we must do so with a commitment to the quality of learning, placing instructional design, teaching, and instructional leadership in all settings at the forefront of our Jewish education agenda.

This post is cross-posted at YUeLearning.org

Meta-Learnings from Day One of VSS' 11

2011-11-10T05:46:00.003-05:00

I attended two sessions during the Pre-Conference day of the iNACOL Virtual School Symposium (VSS): Blended/Hybrid Learning 101--From Inception to Implementation and Learn Moodle! An Open Source Learning Management System. Here are some of the meta-learnings I garnered during the formal and informal parts of the sessions:

The extremely diverse group of participants and presenters are passionate about this field, its challenges and particularly, its opportunities. They are open and eager to discuss their work and to learn from like-minded individuals. One could develop some powerful Communities of Practice in this group.
The end-goal, the mantra so often cited, is that personalized learning is the end goal and the key path to follow is to make the jobs of teachers easier and/or more efficient so that they can interact with their students in a caring and fostering mode. It's always about the teachers. The notion of using blended learning as a way to save money was never raised.
No one provider does and can ever develop content that will work for all users.
Communication with parents and others is an imperative in bringing about successful implementation.
The brand identifier of this industry is customization. Yet many vendors are trying to deliver a standardized product. This is counterproductive since we see different rates of adapting by teachers and students. We must produce a culture that embeds customization.
Once you start to implement your "program," give yourself time! Have an iterative plan.
The Jewish day school world is fortunate that it does not yet have to deal with many key challenges being faced by conference participants, in particular, legislative mandates and external budget pressures. We have our own issues but it is always good to see them in contrast with those faced by others working in our general domain.
The social constructivist nature of Moodle aligns itself well with our world.
Open source has some challenges, but it sure has many blessings!
Tying ourselves to a non-open source learning management system in this acute time of corporate takeovers causes many to lose sleep and potentially incurs significant financial costs.

I look forward to sharing my meta-learnings from day one of the Conference.

Pre-Day One at VSS11 and Personal Connection Online

2011-11-10T00:13:00.006-05:00

Today was the pre-conference at the Virtual School Symposium 2011. First, I want thank the Avi Chai Foundation for bringing a group of excellent educators together who are involved in the field of Jewish education online. Besides the actual sessions, the time spent with this group has been a highlight for me. In the brief time together I see the tremendous positive impact we could have collectively in the area of online/blended Jewish learning.

Today I sat in two four hour sessions. One was on blended learning and the other on Best Practices for Online Teachers. Both had tremendous take aways and I hope to share them with you over the upcoming days. The first one is related to this video below. The Best Practices for Online Teachers was facilitated by Kristen Kipp who is the National Online Teacher of the year for 2011 (Check out her blog educationfrontier.org). In the four hours we were with her, it was clear why. Here is a video highlighting a day in her life and the value of online education.

While there was a lot I took away from this session, Kristen, the panels and the breakout sessions, one thing stood out.

I often get asked how can you create a meaningful relationship with your students online? As an online teacher, I can tell you first hand it is possible and it involves many of the same techniques employed in the classroom. Be genuine, compassionate, caring. Reach out to the students who not engaged. Be fair and inclusive. Show interest in your students. All these things are nessceery in the brick and mortar school and online. The only difference is the medium used to accomplish them. However, what I find is as I explain that a relationship is possible, it is hard for those I am speaking with to fully conceptualize it. This is where Kristen did something great. She had one of her students skype into the session we were all in and talk to us.

The moment the student appeared on the screen live it was clear there was a strong connection with Kristen. There was a joyful smile and a sweet "Hello Ms. Kipp." She was excited to be doing this for her teacher and her teacher was truly proud of what her student was doing. That connection could not be described and only experienced. To highlight the connection, when Kristen was talking about the success of her students later on she got teary eyed. She truly cares.

Day in and day out I am engaging with my online students in the YU School Partnership Certificate Program. I have closer connection with some students over others, but the same goes for when I taught in a brick and mortar. However, while it may be easier and quicker to form relationships with students in a brick and mortar classroom, I do not feel that the quality of that relationship over time is any different.
The bottom line is, we as educators are struggling with the idea on introducing online and blended learning into Jewish education. There is certainly a lot to discuss and best practices to seek out. However, we should not dismiss the power of online or blended learning because we think relationships cannot be built. They can. They are strong. They are real.

I am looking forward to sharing more about today at VSS11 and what I learn tomorrow. This post is cross-posted at YUeLearning.org

Eliezer A. Jones, PhD
Educational Technology Specialist

Institute for University-School Partnership
Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration
Yeshiva University

Phone: 917-836-2257

Email: ejones1@yu.edu
skype: eliezerjones
Twitter: DrEliezerJones
CoP: www.YU20.org & www.YUeLearning.org

Technology in Jewish Schools

2011-11-05T22:10:00.001-04:00

By Rabbi Jason Miller

Cross-posted to Blog.RabbiJason.com and the Jewish Techs blog at The Jewish Week

I still remember the time in 1st grade when my father brought our Apple II Plus into the classroom in an effort to show my classmates the wonders of Turtle Graphics. It was 1982 and each little 1st grader waited in line to get a chance to touch the odd looking keyboard and try to make the little turtle move. My father beamed with pride as he watched each child get their three-minute opportunity to try to program the blinking green turtle cursor to move across the black screen.

That day was the only day that entire school year that we students would touch a computer at Hillel Day School in Metropolitan Detroit. Today, thirty years later my own children attend Hillel and the Head of School, Steve Freedman, has just announced a new technology plan he hopes to implement for the 550-student Jewish day school, which will include a 1:1 technology program.

Today’s students have more technology in their pockets than entire school districts once owned. In fact, a few generations ago, one would never have imagined the possibility of students bringing battery-powered graphing calculators into math class. Today, the Texas Instruments graphing calculators are still being used by students, but they are the least technologically impressive gadgets in the students’ arsenal.

The thinking goes that the more techy the classroom, the better the students will perform. This is not always the case. In a NY Times article this past September, Matt Richel wrote about a school district in Texas that spent millions on new technology including SMART Boards and laptops for every student, but its students test scores had stagnated. "This conundrum calls into question one of the most significant contemporary educational movements. Advocates for giving schools a major technological upgrade -- which include powerful educators, Silicon Valley titans and White House appointees -- say digital devices let students learn at their own pace, teach skills needed in a modern economy and hold the attention of a generation weaned on gadgets. Some backers of this idea say standardized tests, the most widely used measure of student performance, don’t capture the breadth of skills that computers can help develop. But they also concede that for now there is no better way to gauge the educational value of expensive technology investments."

Whether test scores will be affected or not, Hillel’s Freedman is aiming to raise the tech bar at his school, which introduced SMART Boards into every classroom a few years ago. The SMART Boards are “a fantastic tool,” Freedman told me. “Its best integration is the active learning. I see the teacher explaining something and there is interactive instructional learning taking place. The kids can create something that really engages them with the teacher’s instruction.” He is cautious not to allow his day school to get caught up in any tech fads of the moment, however. Like other school administrators Freedman recognizes that the latest technology cannot replace hands-on-learning or the tactile experience of pencil on paper.

A few miles away from Hillel Day School, the Frankel Jewish Academy (FJA) has provided each of its high school students with their own 16GB Apple iPad this year. The school-wide distribution of the iPad to each student is the result of both a generous gift from an angel donor and the advantageous timing in the school’s computer lease agreement with Apple. Patti Shayne, the school’s director of technology, believes the iPad project is in line with FJA’s reputation as a cutting-edge institution, especially in the area of technology.

“The move to this incredible new technology gives teachers access to so many more sources and enables students to leverage their learning. With the iPad, students have one central place for assignments, communications and in many cases, text books and reading material. They will be able to access sources not available before,” explained Shayne. “Our job is to make that learning as inspiring and exciting as possible and prepare FJA students for a future where competency with all web-based devices is the norm.”

Robert Walker, a government teacher, said, “Where I see the iPad really impacting learning is that it appeals to so many different learning styles. Students will have more freedom in choosing the direction they want to go to master their coursework. While meeting the requirements, students will also have the ability to go above and beyond what they are required to do. It’s a powerful tool that will support learning in any number of ways.”

One way the device will help students learn is by giving them the opportunity to review a lecture they might not have fully understood the first time. FJA’s chemistry teacher videotaped himself going through a problem and then uploaded the informational video onto the students’ iPads. “Students now have the opportunity to watch his demonstration several times,” explained Shayne. “Sometimes you don’t catch it all and some students are hesitant to speak up. With the iPad they can listen to the explanation as many times as they need at home or at school.”

At Hillel one thing is certain about its technology future. Freedman has already announced that the school will be wireless by the end of this year. The questions that remain unanswered there center on the type of device that will be best for each student in a 1:1 technology program and whether the students should be allowed to bring their own device to school. Like in any enhanced technology program, whether for a school or a corporation, Freedman is trying to get the answers to these important questions before taking the plunge and purchasing expensive equipment that he knows will become outdated and slow in a matter of years.
In a blog post, Freedman attempted to lay out the new technology plan for the school, but first provided the background on the intricate subject of technology in schools. He wrote:

Recently, the New York Times ran an article about a private school in the middle of Silicon Valley that has a complete ban on technology. This school firmly believes that technology gets in the way of a child’s development and stifles creativity. They even frown on the use of technology at home. On the other end of the spectrum are schools that have fully embraced technology to the point where a book is hard to find and paper is rarely used. These schools see technology as the panacea to all that afflicts education today. And then there are the conversations that would make one think that this is all new to the 21st century; as if we just discovered technology and its uses in schools. Schools celebrate the adoption of new devices as if they are pioneers in a new frontier and that this is the greatest addition to the classroom since the blackboard. (By the way, when the blackboard was first introduced to classrooms, it was met with great resistance!)

Do a Google search on the body of research that discusses the impact of technology in schools and you will find many arguments at both ends of the spectrum. The reason that there is a growing body of research is that technology has been in the classrooms for over two decades (yes, the 20th century!). As Hillel Day School carefully considers our next steps in adopting the latest technology in our school, a committee of educators has been discussing this with other schools and has made visits to other school as well. Recently, some of our staff visited a school in Cincinnati that has been engaged in 1:1 technology (one personal device per student) since 1996! We fully plan to benefit from the lessons other schools have already learned.

Most likely Hillel will begin to implement its 1:1 technology program next year with the 7th and 8th graders. The school will ensure that the teachers are well trained in the technology before rolling it out to the students. Of course, the young students are already comfortable using the new technology and wireless gadgets because of their home use and because they don't know from anything else. This is the generation that has grown up with iPods, digital cameras and smartphones. Today's teachers were educated at a time when technology was a subject in the schools, but today the technology has become the tool in which learning is delivered. Technology in the schools is always going to be a game of catch-up because the technology is moving at a faster pace than any school committee and by the time the funding and teacher training is in place, the technology has already advanced. We owe it to our children, however, to at least try.

Advanced technology in the schools doesn’t only affect students’ educational performance; it can also have an effect on hiring faculty. Studies have shown that teachers are choosing their employment based on the level of technology at the school. “If a teacher has two schools to choose from and one has the new technology and the other doesn’t, guess where that teacher is going,” said Gary Weidenhamer, a school district director of educational technology in Palm Beach, Florida.

When asked how long Shayne expects FJA will keep the current crop of iPads until they become stale or even obsolete as Apple continues to release more powerful versions each year, she responded, “We are looking at a three-year refresh rate. As to what the future holds, maybe one of our students will invent it.”

Rabbi Jason Miller is a blogger and technologist. He is the president of Access Computer Technology, a computer consulting and social media marketing company in Michigan. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Next week at the Virtual School Symposium!

2011-11-04T14:06:00.001-04:00

Next week I am headed to Indianapolis for iNACOL's Virtual School Symposium (VSS) 2011. iNACOL you ask? What is that? It is the International Association for K-12 Online Learning and if you work in or have any interest in online learning the letters iNACOL should role off your tongue.

iNACOL has been around since 2003 and has been a leading organization in enhancing the field of online education. They have done tremendous research in the area and have published critical papers. One example, the National Primer on K-12 Online Learning, can be found in our files section. Click here to check it out. They also have a great section of their site on "How to start an online program" that is comprehensive and extremely helpful. In addition they are highly regarded advocates for the field, provide extensive professional development and networking. If this in an area that interests you chekc out their site at www.inacol.org. However, besides all these great things they do, they also put together the VSS which I attending next week.

This past summer I attended the ISTE conference which was focused on educational technology. It was amazing and I learned a lot. However, I had a hard time finding many sessions on online learning and the ones I did were not highly supportive of it. So, when I discovered that iNACOL put on an entire conference on online learning I knew I had to attend. Plus, for the work we are doing at the YU School Partnership in online learning, I and Dr. Scott Goldberg, were recently invited by the Avi Chai Foundation to attend the conference as part of a group of talented educators and organizations who are working in advancing online education in Jewish schools. So, what I was looking forward to being a great experience just got stepped up a few notches.

Even if you are not attending, it is worthwhile to take a look at the VSS agenda (click here) to see what sessions are being offered and where the field is holding. You will quickly see that while fully online learning is a focus, so is blended learning. As for me, I have chosen these sessions below and look forward to sharing what I learn with all of you here as well as on the YUeLearning Community.

Wed. Nov 9th.

Blended and Hybrid Learning 101 - From Inception to Implementation - AM

Organizer: Michael Horne

Blended learning in K-12 education is growing fast. Experts have noted that the majority of K-12 online learning in the United States is likely to happen in blended learning environments--and districts and charters are already responding and creating a variety of different models. This session will explore what blended learning looks like in the trenches. What is it? What are the different models operators are implementing? How did they get their start? How does one evaluate what tools--software and resources--to use when creating the model? Expert panels will include the providers who are running blended learning programs of different stripes and the people helping to set them up.

Best Practices for Online Teachers - PM

Organizer: Kristen Kipp

Session 1 Thurs. Nov. 10 Growing a Quality Online Program (Matt Waymack, Gwinnett County Online Campus)

Gwinnett Online Campus has delivered supplemental online courses successfully since 1999, and is implementing a full time 4-12 charter school in three phases. GOC will share keys to our success and lessons learned over 12 years regarding best practices in student support, our structured comprehensive counseling and academic coaching programs, effective communication, quality instructional strategies, and charter school implementation. Student perspectives will be included.

Session 2 Thurs. Nov. 10 Marketing Your Virtual School: An Action Plan for Success (Linda Frederickson, Michigan Virtual University)

Come explore creative ways to apply marketing principles & practices to compete successfully in today's business climate. This interactive session will analyze the segments of a solid plan, engage the audience through participation in developing strategies and look at real applications in the marketplace. The correlation between marketing & sales is emphasized to maximize customer relations and achieve goals. You'll take away a template marketing plan & timeline and new ideas for immediate use!

Session 3 Thurs. Nov. 10 Multimedia tour of six K-12 blended-learning Models (Katherine Mackey, Innosight Institute)

In true disruptive fashion, online learning is expanding beyond its roots in distance learning with entrepreneurs now creating blended-learning environments. Researchers from Innosight Institute (Disrupting Class), Charter School Growth Fund, and the Foundation for Florida's Future present new findings about six blended-learning models that are emerging in K-12 education. Tour these models up close through a photo and video presentation featuring 40 blended-learning programs across the country.

Session 4 Thurs. Nov. 10 Digital Content Strategies for Online and Blended Learning (Mark Luetzelschwab, Agilix Labs, Inc.)

Digital content is instrumental for online and blended programs but can be confusing, difficult and expensive. This session reviews strategies for blending "build" and "buy" with 1) Licensed, 2) Open; 3) Organization-Created, and 4) Teacher-Created resources. It includes pros and cons of OER strategies, a review of the USDOE's Learning Registry project (by one of its advisors), new "meta-indices", and real-life examples of digital content deployments in virtual and blended environments.

Eliezer A. Jones, PhD
Educational Technology Specialist

Institute for University-School Partnership
Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration
Yeshiva University

Phone: 917-836-2257

Email: ejones1@yu.edu
skype: eliezerjones
Twitter: DrEliezerJones
CoP: www.YU20.org & www.YUeLearning.org

Dodging Silver Bullets (or) How Tech Was Never Meant to Save Us!

2011-10-24T02:04:00.002-04:00

I just sent a cordial (but picante!) email to Matt Richtel, the New York Times correspondent who seems to be making a career out of pulling the curtain aside on the Wizard-of-Oz that educational technology has apparently become. Richtel's latest, a front page article, no less, draws broad conclusions about the failures of educational technology from the fact that lots of Silicon Valley masters of the universe send their children to a local Waldorf school where....da, da, da, dum...no computers at all are allowed. The crux of the article is as follows:

1) Learning is about engaging things, and tech is a distraction.
2) Lots of high powered Silicon Valley types are willing to pay 18k a year to insulate their kids from computing so they can do artwork and knit socks.
3) Kids appreciate a chance to do tangible, hands-on work.

OK--let the rebuttal begin....

1) As I argued in two posts earlier this year (see post #1 and post #2) the key to effective deployment of any pedagogic tool (including composition books, chalkboards...and classroom wikis) is good pedagogic design. Period paragraph.

2) Richtel's latest article is badly flawed given that all of his data is anecdotal, site-specific and non-longitudinal.

3) While Richtel's past articles make an effective case that the hype surrounding ed tech is much like the proverbial fire that yields more light than heat, Richtel falls into the same trap by making a fetish of Waldorf, a pedagogy that he shows little understanding of, even as he lauds it.

4) Oh, yes, lest I forget: Richtel does mention that tuition at the one school he profiles is $17,500 for primary grades. Friends, without being unkind, I dare say that the children of Amazon and Google executives who run through $17k on a family vacation can well afford to have their kids knit socks and tell stories in school. If we marched into an East Palo Alto school, where families struggle just to make ends meet, and suggested that children should be insulated from learning how to use these tools at an early age, we would meet a chilly reception, and rightly so. The Google execs have enough cash, cachet and connections to educate their kids in technological literacy later. I dare say that many of our families don't have such a luxury.

Your feedback is warmly welcomed in the comment box or directly to my email. I'll also read your physical letters, but only if you keep the penmanship neat. And no socks, please.

Dr. Allen Selis
Head of School
South Peninsula Hebrew Day School

Huffington Post: ConverJent, Torah through Game Design

2011-09-19T23:53:00.001-04:00

http://huff.to/nrpx55

An article by Joshua Stanton on my work through ConverJent

Why the Digital Classroom is Here to Stay, part two

2011-09-08T05:01:00.001-04:00

It might not be the messiah, but it sure beats the competition...

Having publicly entered the fray regarding the boon (and possible bane) of the digital classroom, I've gotten even more emails and, wow, my Twitter feed's been active as well. Not sure if that's a good thing, but by Friday night, I intend to be unplugged anyway.

My original post was a short and pointed reply to Matt Richtel's September 3rd New York Times article, which drove home a well honed critique of digital classroom initiatives. It's fair to sum up Richtel's reportage as follows: The digital classroom is potentially just another edu-fad, an initiative that is not supported by hard data on educational outcomes and one which might even be harmful, as it bleeds funding away from core educational programs. (OK, Matt? Promise, I read the whole article, and in print no less.) My initial reply argued that 1) Tech should come as an addition to a solid core program; 2) Pedagogy still matters most and 3) Reading and math scores are not the sole valid measures of educational outcomes. While these claims remain valid, the full discussion about educational technology needs to include four final points.

1) The cow is out of the barn. From an early age, our children are exposed to a broad range of media delivered via a dizzying array of devices. Educational researchers increasingly suggest that the saturation of technology is prompting a fundamental shift in the way children's brains access and process information. The news...good or bad...is that this shift has already occurred, and the students that we receive in our classrooms will increasingly bring "digital" as opposed to "analog" brains. Some argue that we can't beat this trend, so we might as well join it lest we risk losing our students' attention entirely.

2) Technology is itself a new literacy. Simple argument: One hundred years ago, we would never dare send a child into the workplace without teaching him how to use a pencil. He would be un-employable. The corollary? Today, a child that cannot navigate the internet, create interactive presentations and develop simple spreadsheets is functionally illiterate and has extremely limited prospects in the employment market.

3) Pedagogic advantages. Educational technology can do several things that few other vehicles can match. It can instantaneously connect learners from around the world. It can allow educators to create and deliver content that is consistently professional looking and truly interactive. Ed tech supports differentiation by allowing children to access multiple content levels within a lesson or to demonstrate their knowledge by creating a range of products that are driven by student interest. Why wouldn't we want these tools?

And for all that?
4) Ed tech will not bring the Messiah. Even as my school, the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School, strings Cat-5 cable and hangs wireless APs from pillar to post, we are drawing some lines. Our early childhood program will remain a low-tech or even a no-tech zone. In fact, we just invested in some really exciting technology for ages 2-5: Water tables. Sand boxes. Clay for sculpting. Wooden blocks. Lots of paint, all in primary colors. So far, we have found that these "open ended materials" have had a powerful impact on spurring creativity and encouraging children to imagine their own categories of work and play.

So Matt, even as we invest in dozens of new laptops, fast wireless and (coming soon) a tablet computer roll-out in grades 5-8, we have kept balance within our program. We are not doing this as a way to chase test scores or to impress parents. Rather, we want to invest resources wisely so that our students develop creativity, a strong cluster of basic skills...and yes, a finesse with Wikis, Wordles and Wifi. It's the best way we have found to prepare our kids for the confounding, brave new world that awaits them.

Dr. Allen Selis can be reached at allen.selis@sphds.org.
Then again, there's always Twitter!

Why the digital classroom? A response to NYT

2011-09-06T00:11:00.001-04:00

So just what IS the case for the digital classroom? (Part One)

Around midnight on September 3, my BlackBerry started to ping. One, then another and still one more parent of children in my school were all forwarding links to Matt Richtel's New York Times article on the failure of digital classroom initiatives to raise test scores in Arizona. (Note to self--leave BlackBerry off next weekend!) By sunrise, I had collected a few more replies. No surprise. My parent body is pretty well connected to digital media. Lots of them work in Silicon Valley for firms that range from Google, Microsoft or Apple to small tech start-ups that they have invested blood sweat and tears to launch. But the most important reason for the emails was a series of public statements that I made during our back to school night as we announced the largest investment in educational technology by my school in the last decade.

I'm planning to send out a detailed response to Richtel's superbly written article by this coming Friday, September 9, 2011. For the full piece, stay tuned to this blog or follow me on Twitter @SPHDS_DrSelis. In the meantime, a brief preview of my replies to important issues that the New York Times article raises.

1) The ideal deployment of educational technology is in addition to, but never instead of, appropriate investments in core program. Richtel's article is striking for its discussion of how the Kyrene School District froze teacher salaries and reduced investments in facilities and textbooks at the same time as it purchased millions of dollars of new technology. No surprise that their test scores are stalled.

2) At some point, Larry Cuban is certainly right. It's all about metrics--so just where is the evidence that educational technology improves learning outcomes? Well, to take a poke at the chicken-or-the-egg side of this question, let's start by getting a clear fix on what our students will need for the coming decades. Skills like creativity, adaptability, entrepreneurship and inventiveness. If you've not had a chance to look at Dan Pink's A Whole New Mind, then drop everything and have a look. These are critical skills that our children will need for the future, in addition to the four classical skills that standardized tests measure such as math, reading, composition and how to negotiate cultural differences in a global landscape. Oops, sorry, make that "the three classical skills..." If you get the joke, then you probably get the point. If not? Well, have another look at Pink, OK?

3) Ultimately, good teaching is always going to depend upon good pedagogy and quality educational design. How so? If you were to visit a great classroom in the Kyrene School District as well as an outstanding Montessori classroom, you would find very few aspects of the learning experience in common, with the following exceptions: Teachers create challenges and let students grapple with them. Students are independent learners, charting their own course for how they will engage materials. Students are given a large degree of responsibility for their learning. Students have the opportunity to express themselves and communicate what they have learned within a wide range of venues. The bottom line: Nine times out of ten, a great teacher and a great curriculum matters more than the specific technology that he or she uses.

So, then, just why is my school so excited to invest nearly a quarter of a million dollars in educational technology over the next three years?

Stay posted. See you in this space or up on my Twitter feed this Friday.

Dr. Allen Selis is the Head of School of the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School in Sunnyvale, CA. He can be reached at allen.selis@sphds.org.

The NY Times Weighs In On Ed Tech

2011-09-04T18:55:00.002-04:00

I’ve been meaning to post an entry about the uses of tech for research – an area of edtech that I think has enormous potential to transform a crucial aspect of high-school education – but I just read today’s New York Times extensive cover story on ed tech (“In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores,” by Matt Richtel; September 4, 2011) and wanted to share it and my response. The article addresses the sobering reality that research does not (yet?) indicate that technology is improving learning. It’s a confusing landscape on this point, but clearly lots of money is being spent in the hope that technology will make a difference – with not a lot of data to support this outcome.

On the one hand, I think the article, or at least a few voices in it, get it exactly right, among them Bryan Goodwin, spokesman for McREL (Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning), who argues that “Good teachers… can make good use of computers, while bad teachers won’t, and they and their students could wind up being distracted by the technology.” (Note that those aren’t his own words – he’s being paraphrased by the article’s author.) I’ll add that even great teachers can find that technology occasionally wastes classroom time and energy. I shudder when people think that technology can replace a good teacher, or make it possible to cram more students into crowded classrooms. Until a computer learns to give targeted, thoughtful feedback on writing, for example, an English teacher who has 30 students in his or her classroom will simply not be able to assign the amount of writing, or give the kind of feedback, that a teacher with 15 or 18 students can – and no amount of peer feedback is going to substitute for that teacher’s insight and coaching through the writing process.

However, we know that technology makes the writing process easier for students – if only because they can edit without white-out, erasable pens, and endless recopying. And the reality, of course, is that technology allows them to do so much more to make writing easier, better, more purposeful; to share it with an audience; to read the writing of others and debate, discuss, revise, publish anew. And the transformation of research with high-speed Internet access and digital tools is nothing short of amazing. So I also agree with the voices in the article who note that test scores are not the only measure of educational value-added. How frustrating to work hard to implement technology well only to have nay-sayers use ill-aligned standardized tests to point fingers.

But what do we do without measures? Where does this gap between practice and researchable gains leave us? For those us fortunate to be making decisions on a schoolwide basis, rather than for entire school systems such as the 18,000 elementary-school students in Kyrene, Arizona (the focus of the article), it seems to me the key is knowing one’s students, one’s teachers, and one’s school mission; taking cues from the teachers in the classroom; and designing careful pilots to achieve specific learning goals. We don’t need to rely on standardized tests to assess value, and we don’t need to rush to scale every tool. We can experiment, play, investigate – and assess, using student work, teacher action-research, and other strategies that can guide us on the human scale of a school despite being impractical on a district or national canvas. Ultimately, our focus has to stay on the learning goals we establish, separate from the tools. Wasting money on the wrong technology is bad – but wasting learning is far worse.

Mobile Devices (and cell phones) in Schools

2011-09-01T14:47:00.000-04:00

(cross posted on The AVI CHAI Foundation blog)

For years educational technology advocates are preaching that our schools need to reach a “one to one” device per student ratio. After all, the first thing most employees now get in any new job is some form of computation device with internet connectivity. It can be a laptop, a netbook, a smartphone, tablet, etc. Think about it, in many places, especially in an information intensive workplace, before one gets a desk and a phone number a corporate email is assigned. The good news: in many high schools we have gotten to the 1:1 ratio, middle schools are following closely. Are schools an information and communication intensive environment? I sure hope so. The bad news: we do not really know how to take full advantage of this, so we ask our students NOT to use these devices. In many places we actually ban them. What a shame.

Let me back off a little, and get a bit technical (you may skip this paragraph…): We used to think we needed a desktop or laptop per student to realize the potential of educational technology in our schools. Two things have changed: cloud computing and smart mobile devices. Cloud computing means much of the heavy lifting that we used to have our computers deal with is now processed elsewhere, on servers connected to the internet. We no longer need a huge amount of storage on our device – we can save the files on a Microsoft, Google or Amazon server as well as smaller options (such as Dropbox orEvernote). Now that the computing and storage demands are lowered, smaller and cheaper devices can function like some former laptops (see explanatory video below).

Moreover, computing and processing power on servers are sometimes bundled together in a very “educational friendly” manner – using Google Docs teachers can share materials with their students, use online surveys, let kids collaborate etc. with all of these features accessible from any connected device: the teacher’s home computer, the classroom desktop, the students’ home machines, and yes those small devices we all walk around with formerly called “phones.”

I think our schools need to change their mindset about mobile devices: from “technological distractions” to “educational technology opportunities.” We need to have wifi access all over our schools. Content wise, we can start where it is simple: Many schools are looking for “student response systems.” These enable teachers to poll their students during the lesson and get an immediate response, sometimes embedded in a chart displayed in front of the class. But if your students have a mobile device, cell phone, Smartphone, tablet, netbook, whatever it is – I would recommend you first try a free option. In the long run, I think we are going into a “bring your own device” (often referred to as BYOD) era, and there may be no need for an expensive response system. One simple way is to use Google docs.

Some schools are using free tools based on student cell phones or laptops. The New York Bronx office of educational technology ran a session at the last ISTE conference titled “7 Free Mobile Participation Tools for Classrooms”, the session was taped (you can find it here and the lecture notes are online as well). I have seen the use of text messaging tools as well as internet based tools (and combinations of both).

But it does not end with simple participation tools. We need to embrace mobile devices, and use them as much as we can. We should ask our students to use them for learning, just as we use them for work. It may be that tablets (such as the iPad) have a greater potential to serve as digital books then larger screen smartphones which are showing up more and more, but those are minor distinctions – we have reached the point where most high school students have the hardware to make good educational technology work. Looking up information and communicating is part of it, but I hope that more robust educational products will emerge in the near future in Jewish studies, so we can really leverage educational technology in the classroom.

A little more on Gamification

2011-08-19T06:59:00.002-04:00

I attended the Games for Change Conference two months ago through the AVI CHAI Foundation's generosity, because I was interested in understanding how gamification could be harnessed to improve student outcomes in education.

If you haven't heard about the idea of gamifying education before, take a little time to watch the video below. It's definitely worthwhile:

The Escapist : Extra Credits : Gamifying Education

While the conference itself offered very little in this regard, the idea of gamification and education has only continued to gain in the popular press. Forbes, and HuffPo have recently posted articles on the subject, and even more recently, EDUCAUSE's 7-Things You Should Know series (Which as an aside is my absolute favorite edtech resource) posted their latest white paper on 7 Things You Should Know About Gamification (pdf).

In was in this zeitgeist, when last week I noticed a somewhat random link on my twitter feed to an article written by Ian Bogost entitled Gamification is Bull... -- (title edited for content) -- The whole post is absolutely worth a read, but the gist of it is that this idea of 'gamification' is nothing new, but simply marketing mumbo-jumbo that makes it appear as if people are changing the status quo and making meaningful 21st change, when in practice it simply conceals and coverups the underlying challenges and problems that need to be changed.

I often feel very much the same when I hear people talk about educational technology and Jewish education, or when I read some of the comments and links on the #jed21 twitter hashtag. Just because we can do something technologically, doesn't inherently make it pedagogically sound. I have witnessed teachers who are masterful at utilizing every single function of an interactive whiteboard, but whose lessons still remain a chalk & talk style that doesn't engage the students. Digital tools are powerful only insomuch as they change the power dynamic in the classroom and place the students at the center. If we harness them to simply to augment the same thing we've always done, we shouldn't expect any different outcomes. The lessons we want to teach are not mimetic, and we need to reflect our pedagogy to fully engage our students.

ISTE Conference: Supporting Ed Tech Leadership

2011-07-28T17:49:00.000-04:00

(cross posted on The AVI CHAI Foundation blog)

Last month AVI CHAI sponsored 10 Jewish educators at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Philadelphia. I joined the group for this huge 4 day event, which had about 18,000 people in attendance, including over 1100 presenters and an exhibit floor the size of 5.5 football fields. AVI CHAI is interested in cultivating day school leaders who are exploring the potential use of technology in their schools. We were pleased to be joined by the PELIE group of fellows who were interested in technology in congregational school settings. Both groups enjoyed the first night dessert reception together sharing ideas and comparing plans for the following days. Our group was also part of the larger group of Jewish educators who were in attendance, which you can read more about in Caren Levine’s post.

A couple of the “overstated” observations from the conference were:

Email is dead, long live Twitter, which was also noted as the primary vehicle for professional development amongst many ISTE members
Use student’s mobile devices as interactive response systems in class – no need for a smartboard

Those insights and others were discussed at the AVI CHAI group dinners, when each of the educators shared their reflections on the day’s events. Some of these were tweeted then and there, others are on this blog.

Here are a few examples from the blog:
Dov Emerson found those educators he follows on twitter who form part of his PLN (personal learning network). Tzvi Pittinsky lists his top ten free educational technology applications from the conference. Rivky Krestt and Mallory Rome wrote about the reasons to use technology in education: “progress for the sake of progress”, or “progress for the sake of learning”.

This is only a sample of what the group shared online, and more posts keep coming – so stay tuned. As always, your comments and insights are welcome.

ISTE11 Reflections - Resisting the Urge For the EdTech Silver Bullet

2011-07-21T13:17:00.004-04:00

(cross posted on my blog)

The ISTE11 conference in Philadelphia was really a sight to behold, on a variety of levels. I had certainly never been to a conference this size before, and aside from some sporting events, I don't believe I have even inhabited a space with over 17,850 people before, let alone so many educators who were passionate about educational technology. I had certainly never been around so many iPads before!But one thing that stood out for me was the marked contrast between two areas of the convention: the presentations and meetings among educators on the one hand, and the exhibit hall on the other. Simply put, it appeared to me many of the products being promoted by the vendors were good for the vendors, but not really consistent with the ideas and ideals presented by the educators a few rooms away. Yes, I get that at the end of the day, these companies are there to make money, but seeing this distinction for the first time so clearly was jarring.

The presentations were really incredible. My biggest problem was finding the speaker to choose out of the 5 or 6 per time slot that I wanted to go to, a sentiment I heard echoed by others throughout the conference. In most presentations and in conversations with other educators, I played the part of sponge, sucking up information about this app and that web tool, one time even getting 60 resources in 60 minutes. The common denominator among these resources were that they were mostly free or very low cost, versatile, and easy to implement on the fly. Perhaps most significantly, they all fit in well with the current trend of "Bring Your Own Device," where schools utilize the prevalence of laptops, tablets, and smartphones owned by our students to create a built in, low cost, EdTech platform (instead of making costly investments in laptop carts and the like).

There was a slightly different theme in the Exhibit Hall. Nothing could prepare me for the first time I entered it.

"This must be as big as...."

Words to describe its enormity failed me. Thanks to a follow up email from ISTE, I now know that the exhibit hall was the size of 5.5 football fields, featuring 1,423 booths of companies selling all sorts of EdTech services, tools, and supplies. There were not one, but TWO full size coach buses inside the exhibit hall, as part of company displays (don't ask me how they got them in this second story level of the convention center!).

You ever have that experience where you go to the supermarket without a shopping list, and you just find yourself aimlessly wandering the aisles, slack jawed and starting at the latest variety of BBQ chips? That was how I felt as I made my way through that exhibit hall the first time. It was too big to have a plan, to figure out where to go next. You just walked along, collecting a free T-Shirt or a squeeze ball every few booths, and you kept going.

So where was the contrast, the dichotomy, you might ask? Weren't these exhibitors selling products that were supposed to more tightly integrate the concepts being taught during the presentation sessions?

Well, yes. There definitely were quite a few exhibitors pitching products and services that frequently come up in the context of effective EdTech. I felt this need to walk over to the Evernote table and just thank them for existing! Same with Google Apps for Education. Lego for Education was full of Lego awesomeness. C-Span was promoting an absolutely incredible service that allows teachers to access a full archive of video going back to the 80's. Great stuff.

But so many of the products that many companies were touting were single use, and very proprietary. I saw specialized ebook readers, clickers, and word processors. These devices would let you read a e-textbook, select an answer, and type an essay.

And that was it.

I kept finding myself thinking, over and over, why not just get an iPad, and find the proverbial "app for that" function that you are looking for, whether its to respond to test questions or read an ebook?

Now, these businesses are not stupid. They would not be selling products that there was no demand for. So now, I turn the question around on us, the education professionals: Why are we buying these products? Why are we investing all of this money in devices that have very specific, limited uses?

I saw an article recently which discussed Malcolm Gladwell's recent presentation at the TED global conference, and, after offering some historical examples, he asked a fundamental question: "Why do people place so much faith in technology...to solve problems?" His question I think speaks to the phenomenon of the great divide between the ISTE presenters and the vendors in the exhibit hall. It is human nature to seek a silver bullet, that all encompassing quick fix that is going to powerfully and simply solve all of our problems.

I believe that the underlying marketing message of many of the vendors was playing on this human tendency. "If only I had this interactive white board, or these software programs, my school/class/district would be rocking!" And while it would be wonderful if that were true, I think we all know that this underlying assumption is wrong. You know how I know this? Because in all of the presentations, the focus was on teacher’s learning about new tools, about using flexible devices, and about utilizing EdTech as a tool to help teachers continue to do what they do best, and not as a means of replacing them. THAT was the great divide at ISTE, and the refreshing thing that I observed was that most people at the conference understood this concept clearly.

As Josh Stumpenhorst eloquently wrote about the other day in a blog post titled "The Real Game Changer in Education," the technology in and of itself is not the game changer. He went so far as to say that in his opinion, social media and the connections he and countless other educators have made using it, was not, in fact, a game changer for him.

It's the people that change the game.

It's the teachers stretching themselves to learn new skills and applying them in class even when its uncomfortable.

It's the administrators that have the vision that things can move forward, and do the work in the tranches to ensure that there is a foundation based in a strong school culture and intensive faculty training and support.

As an aside, I think this is one of the reasons the Khan Academy has become somewhat of a lightening rod in conversations among educators. In my opinion, there are well meaning educators that are fighting what Khan is doing because it is being interpreted by many in the mainstream media as a savior for education, when we know that video can never replace a teacher, and the flipped classroom is simply one of many strategies that a teacher can employ in running an effective classroom.

My bottom line?

We, as human beings, need to be aware of our tendency to try and find that magic pill, so that we can a) exercise appropriate skepticism when something is put forward as the be-all and end-all, and b) focus on using the amazing resources that are out there as tools on our educators tool belt to continue to change the game.