April 2012 Blog Posts (24)

I really enjoy learning about using visual aids through technology because I myself am a visual learner. One class that I currently teach is an english elective–centered around the “Storytelling Model.” The elements of the Storytelling Model are very reminiscent of the Six Elements of Digital Stories: Voice, Character, Setting, Conflict, Visual, Pacing. 

For example, I love using Storybird in class because my students can express their own interpretations of the material we are…

 As a parent and an educator my goal is to enhance the learning experience of every child and to empower them to take greater ownership of their learning. iPads have endless educational value for children, teachers and leaders in schools. An unobtrusive device, small and lightweight, yet powerful and expansive, the iPad will become as ubiquitous as a pencil once was. What return is this investment yielding? Increased student autonomy, increased student engagement ( Mueller, Wood,…

Legacy Heritage Fund is thrilled to announce the launch of the enhanced phase of Dah Bear, a free online tool which assists students in mastering Hebrew vocabulary. Dah Bear was released on a pilot basis at the end of the last academic year. Dah Bear contains over 1,200 word lists and is being used in the classrooms of more than 275 teachers in over 90 schools around the world.  …

I must say that I am in awe of all that is available out there on the web.  There are a vast number of tools and websites geared for all types of educators.  No matter what subject or age you teach, you can find information that is beneficial in some way.  My only issue is how to decide on the tool that will best suit your needs.  There are also several websites that perform similar functions, so how do you choose? 

When asking my students about their experience with…

I am having a hard time understanding the value of second life. The only thing I can come up with is that teaching through gaming can make education more fun and accessable for kids. That being my understanding, I don’t think that SL is the best platform to send students. There may be an advantage to virtual worlds in that they can show us things we cannot easily observe. For example in a virtual world you can visit foreign or ancient countries, but again I think that many of those…

It is time for a Jewish Education Technology Conference?



This question was asked by Rabbi Tzvi Pittinsky, a respected educator, educational technologist and colleague. Here is the original post: http://bit.ly/GVKizC



This is an important question that has large implications for the field of Jewish education. However, first let me commend Rabbi Pittinsky and Rabbis Aaron Ross for putting this evening together. All the way from…

After watching the “All you Can Learn Buffet”, from the ISTE Conference, http://www.isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=60748069&selection_id=72440345&rownumber=34&max=54&gopage=30

I must say the information that was offered was a little bland.  It…

There are numerous sites that allow you to build an app for a mobile device for free.  Although I haven't spent much time building an app, the following are some sites that allow you to do so.  

http://ibuildapp.com/ipad_self_publishing/

http://www.buildanapp.com/home…

Googledocs is a powerful tool that has been blogged about numerous times on this site and even had an excellent webinar by Rabbi Dr. Aaron Ross dedicated to it. I would like to share four different ways I have experimented with googledocs over the past year and some of the advantages and challenges in working in this format:

1) Bekiut assignment/preparing for class:

In my Nach classes, I cut and pasted the perek or…

When I originally learned about podcasts and vodcasts, the ability to syndicate consistent "episodes" of recorded audio or video files to subscribed listeners, I thought that this tool would not be particularly valuable in the high school context. While the use of audio or video recordings may be valuable (see my later post on visuals in the classroom), why would students subscribe to a your "cast" when you are meeting with them on a regular basis in the classroom and links or files can…

ThinkBinder got me Thinking! (Social Networking for Education)

We live in a time of social networking. Everyone is trying to increase their friends, connections, or expand their community with more followers. I agree being connected is extremely important at this time. Knowing what people are reading, what the trends are in your field, finding out about new initiatives; however, is there ever too much?



How productive can we be if we are forever tweeting, posting or responding? If we fail to give input do we become irrelevant? I am the queen of…

We live in a time of social networking. Everyone is trying to increase their friends, connections, or expand their community with more followers. I agree being connected is extremely important at this time. Knowing what people are reading, what the trends are in your field, finding out about new initiatives; however, is there ever too much?



How productive can we be if we are forever tweeting, posting or responding? If we fail to give input do we become irrelevant? I am the queen of…

The tools that Web 2.0 can be great however the piece which still frustrates me is that they are not all seamlessly in on place. It is bothersome to have to go in and out of various accounts in order to accomplish a task. It is great to be able to access these files and tools from anywhere via the web but I have to keep track of various accounts and log-ins currently. I look forward to the day when Web 2.5 can bring bring all of these…

Ideally, we should all be striving for a collaborative classroom. Students learn best not just from their teachers but from each other. Wikis make this possible.

I think wikis are a great way for all students to collaborate. I find that in my classroom, there are always the students that participate and the students that don't, whether because of shyness or personality types. Online, people might feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and…

Web 2.0 is about revolutionary new ways of creating, collaborating, editing and sharing user-generated content online. It's also about ease of use. There's no need to download, and teachers and students can master many of these tools in minutes. Technology has never been easier or more accessible to everyone. The Web 2.0 tools directory Go2web20  publishes over 3,000 services and uploads more everyday.…