The Jewish Future’s so Bright I got to Wear Blinders - Joel Lurie Grishaver

Once upon a time there was “The Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York and Suffolk Association for Jewish Education Services.” The two have merged and the new organization has just re-branded itself as “The Jewish Education Project: We pioneer new approaches in Jewish Education for every age.” This is not that organization’s first name change. Before it was “The Board…” it was the “Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater New York.” Read more:

Temple Beth Torah’s JTV Hebrew High School program takes their first steps in Pitriworld

An Update fron Jodi Mishkin on the launching of her Project InCiTE project!!!

Temple Beth Torah’s JTV Hebrew High School program takes their first steps in Pitriworld tonight! 5 teens, 4 at TBT and one at home, learned how to download Imprudence the platform where the Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) Pitriworld resides, customize their avatars, and explored unchartered territories. Teens were so excited and worked together to become acclimated to their new world.
Teens were so excited, they were engaging in conversation and begging each other to show them the creative things they were able to do with their avatar such as attaching objects to themselves, changing their appearance, and teleporting each other from one cool place to another. Teens were teleported into outer space where they floated in the air and dove towards planet earth, they climbed a giant mountain with a huge Strawberry and cupcake on top, and walked on the floor of an ancient synagogue, saw Noah’s arc, and visited someone’s home.
As a formal and informal Jewish educator for 17 years, I am always looking at new ways to reach my students. Pitriworld is a unique environment that combines gaming with education. In Pitriworld, teens are transformed into pioneers, explorers, inventors, problem solvers, designers, and more! In the upcoming weeks, students will gain skills in building in MUVE and increase their Media Arts capabilities, while preparing props and developing curriculum designed around Jewish Values and concepts. This approach to teaching is motivating to teens and follows a constructivist pattern which gives the students hands on experience by allowing students to grapple with concepts, dig deeper into their meanings, internalizing values, and figuring out how to explain / teach the concepts and values to others.



For more informationon Pitriworld visit: http://www.pitriworld.com/ / or

http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_121575884565271&ap=1

Technology and Jewish Education

-- Jodi Allison Mishkin --

Technology is a way of life for teenagers of today and the hottest topic around is Social Networking. In the Jewish community, is technology a hindrance or positive aspect when reaching out to our teens? As educators, should we, are we, and if so how are we using technology to motivate Jewish learning and promote Jewish connectivity both in and out of the classroom.