MuseForJews

Links You’ll Love

Mission US, a project supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment of the Humanities, is an immersive multimedia project designed to teach US history. Current missions are focused on the revolutionary war and slavery – more are planned for the coming years. Check it out.

Northern Arizona University has created a nice tool to help teachers figure out how to integrate technology into the curriculum. Start with the level of integration you want to support (entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion or transformation) and click explore the different characteristics available. Sample lessons are available and there are links to common core standards.

Barack Obama’s second inauguration will be Sunday, January 20^th. What do you know about all the inaugurations that have taken place throughout US history? The Library of Congress (love that place…) has a nifty website with artifacts from every inauguration in history, including a scan of George Washington’s first inaugural address, pictures from Lincoln’s second inaugural and a photo of the ticket to FDR’s fourth inauguration. Like many of the LOC sites, this one isn’t exactly a stunning interface, but it’s loaded with good stuff (and because it’s the LOC, you can feel free to use any of the images without fear of copyright violation).

Bar mitzvah – keep it or trash it? There was a flurry (and I mean a FLURRY) of posts on the web this week in response to rabbinical student Patrick Aleph’s post at kveller.com. Aleph’s controversial article (Ban the Bar Mitzvah) started quite the discussion. There are over 50 comments on his article on kveller, and numerous bloggers responded as well, including posts at: http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/dont-ban-the-bar-mitzvah-revolutionize-it/, http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/community-counts-the-power-of-becoming-a-bar-or-bat-mitzvah-in-a-communal-setting/, http://thisiswhatarabbilookslike.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/save-the-barbat-mitzvah/, and http://rabbiyair.blogspot.com/2013/01/whither-bar-mitzvah.html. Not only is the question provocative, but the flurry of responses is a really interesting example of how blogging can inspire great conversation. Fascinating!

January 11, 2013 - Posted by Tktchr | Links You'll Love | bar mitzvah, educational technology, Jewish, Jewish Education