Search results for: Pittinsky Tzvi

The first word most people give when describing the International Society for Technology in Education or ISTE conference which took place this past week in Denver, Colorado is overwhelming. With its 15,000+ participants, presenters, and vendors running dozens of events simultaneously throughout the four days of the conference, it can be a daunting experience especially for first time attendees. However, if at the conference, there was a way to create a mini-conference, a small group within this vast stream of people that would be very advantageous.

I would like to share with you some wonderful online learning opportunities through the MOFET Institute. MOFET which is based in Israel offers online courses in English on the Educational Use of Information and Communication Technologies as well as enrichment courses in teaching Jewish Studies. Full disclosure, I teach a course in each of these programs on Using Web 2.0 Tools to Transform Teaching and Learning and on Using Technology to Teach Talmud and Torah She’Baal Peh. What I find to be most rewarding about these courses is the incredible diversity of the students. I have had students from 6 continents, Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America and from various cultural and religious backgrounds. This diversity creates a rich discussion and fruitful sharing which would not be possible in a conventional course in a brick and mortar school. I welcome you to enroll in one of these courses. The Fall Semester begins on October 18, 2015 so there is still time to register.

It seems strange to be writing a post about the end of the snow day while digging out from 2 more inches of snow after missing school this past Thursday and Friday to an epic snow storm on the eastern seaboard of the United States, with 2 snow days the week before, and 2-4 more inches of snow expected in my neck of the woods for this Monday night into Tuesday. Ughhhhh! No, climate change will not mean the end of snow in my part of the world. If anything, climatologists are predicting storms to become more extreme in the future. The snow day is alive and well. However, through the widespread adoption of interactive technology, the snow day no longer has to be a missed school day.

Rabbi Tzvi Pittinsky, writes about the last edtech discussion meeting held recently at Yavneh Academy in Paramus, NJ. At this second meeting of edtech passionate Jewish educators, the topic discussed was iPads in Jewish Education. The presenters came from schools with experience in using iPads in their classes and an Apple engineer.