May 2011 Blog Posts (57)

Podcasting and vodcasting have totally revolutionized Jewish education, particularly adult Jewish learning, by democratizing our ability to learn anywhere, from anyone, at anytime, with just a few simple clicks (assuming an internet connection).

As an educator in a small Jewish community, pod and vodcasts let me listen to lectures by major thinkers that I have never had the privilege to hear before.  This allows me to study both lishma and to expand my content  knowledge for…

Dear YU'sers,

Based on an idea that was generated right here - ...

Welcome to:

YOM YERUSHALAYIM “TWITTER” FEST

We want to invite you to join something new and exciting! (at least for us!)

On Wednesday, together with Jews all over the world, will celebrate Yom Yerushalayim!

 On this day – we would like you to “Tweet” us your thoughts, memories, photos and experiences of what Jerusalem means to you.

Tweet your…

Podcasts are an extremely useful tool in education. They have broken the barriers that have long been set by time, distance and money. A class studying the Great Wall of China can now see it and hear first hand what it is like, how big it is and how it was created. Until now that was not able to be done because of the three factors I mentioned before and more. It has opened up a "New Frontier". 



A science class that wants to conduct an experiment and does not have the funds to…

In reading about the various types of 'casts out there, and reflecting on both what I have learned about Khan Academy over the past year and the limited foray I have made into the world of Podcasts, I keep going back to thinking about how we can replicate Khan's model in the Talmud class.

Here is what I have come up with so far:

1) Assign the class to go over a section of the Talmud at night, which involves watching a YouTube (Vodcast) video of that section being read and…

Anyone who has ever listened to or watched a boring podcast/vodcast knows how excruciating it can be.  The droll tone of the speaker, the monotonous inflection, the dull picture on the screen is enough to make even the most patient person crack.  On the flip side of that equation is the podcast that you liked so much you downloaded it onto your iPod just so you can hear it over and over again.  Ultimately, a good podcast is one that is engaging and insightful.

              In the…

Arrf me hearties,

Now where be the winds and waves taking the Bearded Dog this week? To the North, across the wide ocean to the east?

Perhaps just up the creek? – Arrr! Forgive the salty dog some racy humour if ye will.

Now – there have been time, this Dog has to admit, that the Dog has been in one place, and the Dog’s work somewhere else!!

Hard to believe, but sadly true.

Me hearties – “Dropbox” can solve all of this now…

I was asked to review many productivity tools. I like www.scanr.com for emergencies (no access to a scanner while on the road recently and with the need to deliver a document back to the States ASAP) this productivity tool assisted in jumping over the technological roadblock!  It pays to keep up-to-date on web solutions.

But, like my fellow YU colleague, Adam Simon , my favorite productivity tool is Google Docs.  I definitely can see…

I love VoiceThread. It’s a great platform that allows students to collaborate and create something akin to a pod/video cast. I learned about it this past fall and began utilizing it first with my congregational school’s 5^th grade class. Our first foray was into tweeting t’fillot -    rewriting Ahavat Olam.  Each student typed a personal 140-character interpretation and then recorded it on the VoiceThread platform. Then all the…

I like productivity tools. They really do aid in GTD (getting things done). There are an overwhelming amount of tools to use so I suggest picking one, familiarizing yourself with it and then taking on more at your learning pace. However Google Reader, and Google Docs are two of my favorites. With Google Reader I save so much time having news and education materials come to me instead of me locating/going to them. You simply create a free Gmail account with username and password. Once logged…

Right now, over 10,000 delegates are gathered in Washington, DC, for the annual AIPAC Policy Conference. This event, hosted by the primary Pro-Israel lobby in the United States, brings together the movers and shakers from the American Jewish community for three days of intense discussions and presentations by major political leaders. On Sunday, President Obama addressed the conference, and tonight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be speaking to the group. While I did not have the…

I have read a few blogs and articles about the concept of using Twitter in the Day School classroom, and the main obstacle which I read of using this tool, is that many Day Schools either forbid the usage of cell phones by the students, or that even if the students are working on their laptops, they have no access to the school wifi. These readings put a major damper on the excitement of trying something new in my classroom.

As I sat by my computer doing this assignment tonight, a…

The Power of Podcasts in the Classroom:

I grew up in a family that listened a lot – to radios, records etc. and learning how to listen is key to learning.  As a dancer, I was trained to listen deeply in order to advance in the dance.  Doctors say the last sense to go when you die is hearing.  Hence, there is a Jewish practice never to leave a dying person alone but to pray on their behalf until their last breath. 

The Web 2.0 tools (podcasts and…

Is your day school high school/ yeshiva integrating online learning in general studies as part of its formal course catalogue? Is your school gearing up to launch such a program during the 2011-2012 academic year? If so, check out the new DigitalJLearning Network, a…

Given the recent conversations here regarding Twitter, I thought you might be interested in the following article - and response (and response to the response);

The Twitter Trap by Bill Keller

This is Your Brain on Twitter post by Nick Bilton, with response by Bill Keller

Caren