Following is a piece written by an educator in the field about using technology in the Jewish classroom. For Joel Lurie Grishaver’s take on technology and Jewish education, check out his article, “The Jewish Message as Medium: Jewish Education in the Information Age,” from the Summer ’07 issue of Jewish Education News. You can read it by clicking here.
by Andrew Pass
Last year I taught an eighth grade Hebrew High School class at my Conservative synagogue. Class met for a total of two hours a week. Each week it seemed as if I was competing against my students’ cell phones. They rang at the most inopportune times. Can you relate?
Finally, towards the end of the school year, I had an idea. One Monday evening, I asked my students if they all had their cell phones. Of course, they did. I said, “Good! We are going to use them in class today.” After a short discussion on the nature of God, I asked students to take five pictures of objects that they believed supported the existence of God and five objects that they believed deterred from such a belief. The students were intrigued that I was asking them to use their cell phones instead of telling them to put them away. They engaged in this out-door activity. We had a wonderful discussion about the pictures, and more importantly about God, after we returned to the classroom.
Ten years ago who would have thought that eighth graders would bring cell phones with them to Hebrew high school? Who would have thought that nearly all cell phones would have built-in cameras? We live in an age of incredibly advanced technology. For most adults this technology is fantastically innovative. Most teenagers don’t see technology this way. Instead they see it as a normal part of life. Mark Prensky, a well known educational technologist, refers to children as “digital natives” and adults as “digital immigrants.”
So what does this mean to Jewish educators who work in community high schools?
Continue reading →
Using Cell Phones for Teaching and Learning
Following is a piece written by an educator in the field about using technology in the Jewish classroom. For Joel Lurie Grishaver’s take on technology and Jewish education, check out his article, “The Jewish Message as Medium: Jewish Education in the Information Age,” from the Summer ’07 issue of Jewish Education News. You can read it by clicking here.
by Andrew Pass
Last year I taught an eighth grade Hebrew High School class at my Conservative synagogue. Class met for a total of two hours a week. Each week it seemed as if I was competing against my students’ cell phones. They rang at the most inopportune times. Can you relate?
Finally, towards the end of the school year, I had an idea. One Monday evening, I asked my students if they all had their cell phones. Of course, they did. I said, “Good! We are going to use them in class today.” After a short discussion on the nature of God, I asked students to take five pictures of objects that they believed supported the existence of God and five objects that they believed deterred from such a belief. The students were intrigued that I was asking them to use their cell phones instead of telling them to put them away. They engaged in this out-door activity. We had a wonderful discussion about the pictures, and more importantly about God, after we returned to the classroom.
Ten years ago who would have thought that eighth graders would bring cell phones with them to Hebrew high school? Who would have thought that nearly all cell phones would have built-in cameras? We live in an age of incredibly advanced technology. For most adults this technology is fantastically innovative. Most teenagers don’t see technology this way. Instead they see it as a normal part of life. Mark Prensky, a well known educational technologist, refers to children as “digital natives” and adults as “digital immigrants.”
So what does this mean to Jewish educators who work in community high schools?
Continue reading →
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Posted in Commentary, Pedagogy, Technology