Links You’ll Love – 5-18-12
Ever create that perfect lesson plan and think “I could sell this”? Now, maybe you can. Teachers Pay Teachers has the answer – you can sell (or buy) lesson plans!
If you’ve got an hour to spare, watch David Bryfman speak on “what is Jewish experiential education?” He’s terrific and this is an important topic.
You may know that I’m a big fan of my morning coffee. A recent study concludes that coffee drinking is “was inversely associated with total and cause-specific mortality.” That’s a good thing… You can read the summary here - and if you can read it at Starbucks, even better!
The hype for the summer Olympics has begun… The torch is flying to Cornwell today to begin its 8,000-mile pre-games relay. You can keep track of the torch’s progress here. You can find out all you want to know about the Olympics by checking out the resources at Larry Ferlazzo’s blog.
Links You’ll Love – 5-11-122
Everybody who writes (that’s pretty much all of us…) can benefit from this awesome lists of websites.
If you’ve ever wanted to have your students peruse a selection of websites that you predetermine, check out Jog the Web. It’s also a great way to organize websites for yourself. There’s a nice tutorial here.
I know you know how much I love TED talks… The AVI CHAI Foundation has launched a Jewish version – ELI Talks. There are only a few right now, but more are coming.
WWGS (What would George say?). George Washington vowed that America would give “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance…” Washington’s iconic letter avowing religious tolerance will be displayed in a special exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia opening in June. There’s a nice article in The Forward at about the letter and how it was acquired by the museum.
Links You’ll Love – 4-27-12
Are we stifling creativity in the classroom? “The urge to create has never been stronger, and the ability to create is unprecedented, yet a new global study shows that most people feel they are not living up to their own creative potential,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO of Adobe (the premier creative software manufacturer). You can download Adobe’s study here.
Got a Torah in your pocket? If you have an iPad, iPhone or Android device, that’s not as hard as it sounds. You can download the app or even better – if you want to access PocketTorah via the web, boot up Safari or Chrome (it doesn’t work in Firefox yet) and click here. Click on any parshah (they’re divided by aliyah) to hear the trope.
Who says money doesn’t buy happiness? Not Michael Norton. Check out his TED talk about money and how spending it on other people can make you happier:
Maybe you’ve heard about the concept of “flipping the classroom.” In a nutshell, flipping means having your students watch a lecture online in advance of class, and then use classroom time to work on something together. This was popularized by Salman Khan and Khan Academy. If you’re interested in flipping your classroom, TED and YouTube have a great tool for you. Visit TED-Ed, find a YouTube video that you’d like to use for your flipped classroom, and use the integrated tools to add a description, some related resources and discussion questions. Anyone wanna flip?
“Our ultimate goal as teachers is to create curious problem-solvers and critical thinkers.” Agree? There’s a great article at Creative Educator that addresses the question of, well, questions, and how asking great ones can inspire and motivate your students. Read the whole article here.
Links You’ll Love – 4-20-12
Check out Andrew Lustig’s YouTube video, My Child, The Holocaust Denier:
Very powerful!
50% of 11 year olds have their own cell phone. Seriously? One of my favorite resources, the Harvard Business Review, has a blog that continually amazes me. Check out the recent post on how mobile technologies are shaping a new generation.
Did you know that the Jewish Book Council has curated book lists including ones for YA books, Social Justice and Jewish Leadership (which, no surprise, is curated by Dr. Hal Lewis of Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies)? The lists can be accessed here (and let them know if you have any suggestions for others).
Ya gotta love an interview that features a quote like this: “Inquiry is really the secret to allowing ownership of the learning for kids in a K-12 setting or for adults in adult learning settings.” Oh yeah!! Digital Media and Learning has a scrumptious interview with Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach (who partnered with EdTech rock star Will Richardson to found the Powerful Learning Practice Network) here.
Links You’ll Love – 4-15-12
Check out these great interviews with children’s books authors.
David Hazony, a contributing editor to the Forward and author of The Ten Commandments: How Our Most Ancient Moral Text Can Renew Modern Life, has a most interesting solution for the question of how to cultivate Jewish peoplehood. He explains in his article here.
If you’ve got an iPhone check out this list of tips and tricks.
This might the first time I’ve included a link to an interview with a pastor. Author Rev. Rachel Hackenberg talks in this Huffington Post article about encouraging kids to write their own prayers.
Links You’ll Love 3-23-12
It’s happened to many of us: we come home from visiting kids at camp and wonder why camp is so engaging, why camp tefillah is so spirited, why kids come home from camp and just can’t wait for the next year. And then we wonder…what is it about camp, and how we can bring it to school? Dr. Jeffrey Kress, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Jewish Education at JTS, addresses that question in a great read.
I just love TED talks, and I know you know that because I’ve sent several your way this year. Here’s a great post at Edudemic listing 25 terrific talks to share with your students.
Sacrifices…what’s it all about? My colleague Faye says this week’s G-dcast is “really cute.” Check it out:
If you’ve got some time this summer and some PD cash left, consider taking advantage of Darim Online’s webinar series “Social Media Success for Jewish Educators.” Get more information here.
And…finally… any Mad Men fans out there? Me too! The series returns this Sunday night, but, in the meantime, you can play this interactive version. Even if you’re not a fan of the series, it’s a fascinating exploration of using YouTube annotations feature to the max.
Links You’ll Love 3-16-12
Field trips without the buses? Check this out.
Here’s a fun site – a Hebrew crossword puzzle generator.
Economic professor Larry Smith coaches his students to find careers that they’ll truly love. Discover Professor Smith’s passion for, well, finding your passion in this TED talk.
Can you believe that there is, as of this minute, a pond in New Hampshire formally known (as in how it appears on a map) Jew Pond? There’s an interesting post over at JWA about the pond, efforts to get it renamed, and how a university student’s documentary brought it all to the forefront. Jew Pond? Seriously?
Links You’ll Love – 3/4/12
Here’s a great resource for some terrific websites for language arts teachers.
Have you noticed? Purim is coming! Here are some delightful links to get you in the Shushan mood:
Students at HUC’s Jerusalem campus put on The Book of Purim, their own parody of The Book of Mormon:
I’ve often wished I could see what Israel was really like in years past, before the car traffic and the fast food restaurants. Here’s a fascinating glimpse of Purim in Tel Aviv… in 1932:
Posted to YouTube by Jacob Gross, this is part of his larger project to pierce together archival footage to show Israel in the early 20th century. He has other videos on YouTube as well, including Jerusalem in 1925:
And, if you’re hankering for a “green Purim,” visit Hazon for their post on healthy, sustainable Purim resources. Don’t forget the fair trade chocolate for your mishoach manot!
Last week because I presented at the Illinois Computing Educators’ annual conference. I gave a half-day workshop on building your PLN (personal learning network). My resources for the workshop can be found here. And did you know that you could peruse lots of presenters’ materials, even if you didn’t attend the conference? Visit the wiki and click on the various links on the right, under Navigate Pages.
Links You’ll Love – 2/24/12
We often speak about the need for reflection in the learning process. Here’s a thought-provoking blog post that addresses it: http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-reflection-in-the-learning-process/
If you have an image that you’d like to print in a larger size, you might want to try http://www.blockposters.com. Block posters lets you upload an image, decide how large it should be, and then generates the appropriate number of pages. It’s like a puzzle: print them out, and tape them together.
“If day schools want to attract non-Orthodox families, they have to demonstrate that they are committed to passing on the progressive values the parents deeply cherish.” Get your attention? There’s an interesting post on the Avi Chai Foundation blog addressing the need for day schools to educate children to be mensches. To read more, visit http://avichai.org/2012/02/how-do-you-educate-my-child-to-be-a-mensch/
Links You’ll Love – 2/17/12
Explainer.net is a project of NYU’s School of Journalism designed to help people to become better explainers (the explainer is “a genre in journalism that provides the essential background knowledge necessary to follow events in the news,” per the website). It often features great information for those of us who explain lots and lots of things. Check out their feature on eight tools for effective explanation at http://explainer.net/2010/11/8-explanation-tools/. How many do you use? How about your students? I’d love to see an activity where each student chooses one modality.
I know I’ve mentioned Evernote before – check out their newly-designed website for educators at http://www.evernote.com/about/schools/resources/topics/one_to_one/. There are some case studies, a PDF library with information on how people are using Evernote in their classrooms, a discussion forum and more. Do take a moment to check it out!
About
Debbie Harris is the technology coordinator at the Sager Solomon Schechter Middle School in Northbrook, IL and teaches religious school at Lakeside Congregation for Reform Judaism. Involved in Jewish education for over thirty years, she received an education degree from Northwestern University with a concentration in instructional media. She is skilled in using and teaching desktop publishing, video editing, presentation and animation software; and consults and presents regularly on integrating technology into Judaic studies. Her students podcast, blog, edit video and create claymations. She co-chaired the technology track for CAJE 33 in Vermont, is a SMART Certified Trainer for SMART Notebook version 10 for both Macintosh and Windows, and a 2011 recipient of the Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.
When not learning, teaching or writing about technology, Debbie likes to craft. While not particularly highly skilled at anything, she likes to knit, do calligraphy, sew, paint fabric and just generally play with fun toys like scrapbooking supplies, watercolors, and anything with texture. She is incredibly proud of her two daughters; Lori, who teaches English at a community college; and Allie, who is a student at Hebrew Union College in LA.
Look for her at:
Her educational technology wiki
Debbie Does Desktop
Flickr
Twitter
Diigo
YouTube
Ravelry
Email Debbie here
