Upcoming Torah Aura Webinars

We are busy scheduling new webinars on a variety of topics, and we are pleased to announce two new webinars in the next month. Each webinar, to be held at GotoMeeting.com and will run 20–40 minutes.

Transforming Religious School into Camp: A Look at the why and How

Dr. Roberta Louis Goodman

We participated in a workshop on innovating in Jewish education that lead to our creation of Camp@NSCI for our 3rd and 4th graders. We consulted with experts locally and nation-wide to design this program. This webinar will review why we decided to transform our Sunday program into camp and how we do it. We will share how we are measuring our success too.

Dr. Roberta Louis Goodman is in her third year as the Education Director at North Shore Congregation Israel where she grew up and went to Hebrew Union College to become a Jewish educator so that no child should have the same religious school experience that she had; She was inspired by her positive youth group experience. Roberta has taught,authored and edited books, articles, curricular materials and conducted research and evaluation including on the topic of Jewish educational change and congregational schooling.

Thursday, November 29, 2012
1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CST/11:00 a.m.
MST/10:00 a.m. PDT

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Jewish Education: Is There an App for That?

Ira J. Wise R.J.E.

Every 18 months, computer processors become twice as fast and half as large as they were before. Everyone is talking about incorporating digital technology in Jewish education, and many of us wonder about the best ways of doing that and how we will be able to cope with the changes. In the words of Douglass Adams – DON’T PANIC!

Whether you are digital sabra (native), olah (immigrant) or tayar (tourist), this webinar will help you begin to sort things out. Join Ira Wise for an exploration of some of the possibilities, the costs (financial, logistical, spiritual, etc.) and the benefits (spiritual, communal, educational, etc.).

Ira J. Wise, R.J.E. is in his 18^th year serving as the Director of Education at Congregation B’nai Israel in Bridgeport, CT. He is a Digital Oleh and consults with educators and congregations on how to make digital technologies an effective component in learning, teaching and administration. He loves this stuff, and he is still certain that the best learning happens with a great teacher, a bunch of students and some Jewish texts. He blogs about Jewish Education at http://nextleveljewisheducation.blogspot.com/.

Thursday, December 6, 2012
2:00 p.m. EDT/1:00 p.m. CST/12:00 a.m.
MST/11:00 a.m. PDT

 

 

Invest in Teachers

Joel Lurie Grishaver

And the Lord spoke unto Moses after the latest food riot and God said unto him, “Speak unto the leading complainers in Israel and say unto them, ‘Form focus groups and write mission statements to set priorities. Use process to determine the rules that the Lord your God has taught you. You should follow the Torah of consensus and worship at the altar of committee.’”

I watch the news almost every afternoon. I have been seeing a set of commercials for Exxon Mobil for a long time without really noticing them. The commercial series is all about Exxon Mobil’s commitment to support teachers; the series of ads use the phrase “Invest in Teachers” and focus on math and science teachers. When I noticed the ads, I Googled the phrase and learned a lot.

Getting Real With the Torah

Idie Benjamin and Dale Cooperman

• A child plays meaningfully with toy dishes because he knows what real dishes are.
• A child plays meaningfully with a toy car because she knows what a real car is.
• A child plays meaningfully with a doll because he knows what a real baby is.
• A child plays meaningfully with a toy doctor’s kit because she knows what a doctor does.
• A child can play meaningfully with a soft, stuffed Torah because….

Once upon a time, there were no soft, stuffed Torahs. None.

Bring the Art and Play of Peter G into Your Classroom

Laurie Bellet

I love the work of Israeli artist Peter’G. (Peter Gandolfi) Whimsical and colorful, his paintings feature bright children in Jerusalem, floating on, and playing with, bubbles. Sometimes celebrating holidays, other times playing simple games the art offers us perfect starting points for many areas of curriculum.

Tech-i-ya 3.2

Adrian Durlester

According to a new study from the Pew Research Foundation, secondary school teachers report that most students now equate doing research with using Google. My own anecdotal research suggests this is becoming equally true among junior/intermediate and even elementary level students. Whatever one might think of this new reality, it’s further complicated by the fact that most students do not know how to use Google or other search engines to search effectively and to do effective research.