Source: MOFET JTEC Online Academy for Jewish Studies
The MOFET Institute's Online Academy will be offering two new online courses for the Spring, 2012 (March 4, 2012 - June 17, 2012) semester in addition to its courses in the fields of the didactics and pedagogy of teaching Jewish subjects in the Diaspora. The two new offerings are: "Using Web 2.0 Tools to Transform Teaching and Learning" and "Location Based Learning: An Experimental Learning Method Mediated by Mobile Platforms".
The Academy's main objective is to prepare teachers, educators and leaders in Jewish communities in the Diaspora for their mission. The courses, in areas that are suitable for educators and leaders in the Jewish world as well as students in universities and colleges in the fields of the didactics and pedagogy of teaching Jewish subjects in the Diaspora, are taught via the internet, a-synchronously with synchronous components. The course developers and lecturers are all experts in their fields and senior staff members of Israel's top institutes of higher education.
The new course offerings are in the Educational Use of Information & Communication Technologies Program.
Using Web 2.0 Tools to Transform Teaching and Learning - Rabbi Tzvi Pittinsky - This course is largely “hands-on” with the goal of learning various Web 2.0 technological tools for teaching and learning. The course will focus on free Web 2.0 tools for furthering communication, collaboration, constructivist and project-based learning, and the creation of compelling course content. Some examples of web-based tools that will be utilized include WebQuests, blogs, wikis, Voicethread, Google Apps for Education, and PollEverywhere. The application of advanced presentation tools like Smart Notebook, PowerPoint, and Prezi will also be discussed.
Location Based Learning: An Experimental Learning Method Mediated by Mobile Platforms - Shani Ziv and David Lachmish - This course will focus on the applicability of Location Based Services, which are based on Mobile Platforms, for educational purposes. It will address the radical change that mobile technology has effected as a result of the physical contextualization of learning, empowered by the Internet. This change permits Experimental Learning, which is based on Constructivist pedagogy with the Personalization of learning. It utilizes information technology that enables and/or facilitates learning while referring to a given spatial area as an LCMS (Learning Content Management System).
These courses join the other Online Academy offerings of 20 courses in 7 different certification programs in the upcoming semester.
Additional information about the Academy program, certificates and registration can be obtained here.