Source: Friedman Commission for Jewish Education
The world of education is moving fast, especially in the realm of education technology. How can Jewish educators keep up with the frenetic pace of new sites, apps and platforms appearing (and disappearing) constantly? More to the point, how can these resources be adapted to the world of Jewish education?
Thus was born the idea of CJEiLearn. Created by the Friedman Commission for Jewish Education, located in West Palm Beach, Florida, CJEiLearn is a free resource specifically geared for Jewish educators working in both supplementary and day school settings. It is designed to help make sense out of the virtual “embarrassment of riches” that characterizes the Ed Tech universe, uniquely framing it within the needs of Jewish education.
Are you looking for apps to teach Hebrew? Navigate here to begin your search for just the right tool, whether your platform is IOS or Android. If you are looking for a tool that empowers your students to retell a story from the Torah, you can find recommendations for video or comic creation apps here. You’ll find apps to help students present their work to others as well as to help them brainstorm and organize their ideas, plus there’s an abundance of games related to holidays and general Judaics.
If you are looking for web based apps for desktops, laptops/macbooks and chromebooks, you can find many resources here. There are descriptions of how to use different tools to achieve goals, such as student collaboration to promote Project Based Learning, audio recording, video editing and more. Have you ever had your students tell a story using wordclouds, timelines or virtual photo essays? You can find ideas here. You can also find tools to create various types of presentations, such as infographics and animation. You’ll even find resources that can help you stay organized as well and provide resources to your students in a safe, easy way.
What’s really unique about CJEiLearn is that it has a Special Education Section, with IOS and Android apps for Hebrew and Judaics.
CJEiLearn is always growing as the Friedman Commission for Jewish Education tries to keep it as up to date as possible. If you find an app, or platform that you think should be included, you can submit your recommendations directly from the site. All Jewish educators will find CJEiLearn to be a fantastic and accessible tool to help integrate digital tools into the world of Jewish Education.
Peter Eckstein is the Technology Integration Educator of the Friedman Commission for Jewish Education.