Avital Drori is a senior curriculum developer in Language Arts at CET (www3.cet.ac.il/english) and the head of Jewish and Israel education overseas. She is a graduate of University of Washington, Seattle, in International and Jewish studies (BA) and in Education and Curriculum Development (MA). In this article, she discusses how economies of scale generally do not justify software development for Jewish learning, but in Israel, however, the story is different.

The Center for Educational Technology (CET) is an NGO dedicated to the advancement of education in Israel and in the Jewish world. In its many years of activity, CET has established its expertise and reputation as an educational content developer, introducer of advanced technologies and a leader of next generation learning. This article reveals some of the theories and forces that drive and influence CET’s software, as well as content developments designed especially for the Israeli education system and for Jewish schools and communities around the globe.

The technology revolutions and the role of the school in the 21st century

The technological revolutions that have taken place in recent decades have changed our lives and the way in which we consume information and culture, communicate with others, study, create, and conduct our daily lives. The development of information and communications technology has also had an enormous influence on the lives of students – on the way in which they learn and operate today, and on their future chances of success. However, the rapid pace of these technological changes, which have had an immediate effect on the life of the student, often runs up against the difficulty that education systems have in adapting themselves to these changes. As a result, there is a gap between the life of the student in the outside world, and the learning environment that the school offers him.

A recent survey of high school students in Israel indicates that the students live in a technology rich world, and use technology for a wide variety of non-educational purposes: they call one another, they are active on social networks, they consume and produce media on the Internet (video clips, music and images), and share these with others. However, while the students are able to fully utilize the possibilities inherent in current technologies for non-education needs, and make extensive use of multimedia and sharing websites, the use they make of the Internet for educational needs is generally limited to searching for information and assignment preparation. To this end, 82% of the students stated that they prefer to come to school carrying only a laptop which would replace the traditional knapsack and would contain everything needed for their studies – access to information databases and social networks, digital textbooks, video clips, simulations, games, etc. We may assume that students in many schools throughout the world, including those in Jewish schools, share these feelings.

It’s no wonder, then, that many countries – among them the United States, Britain, Singapore, and others – are seeking to adapt their education systems to this new reality, and to create conditions that would allow the optimal integration of technology in the processes of teaching, learning, assessment and school administration. One of the key goals in integrating technology within the school is the creation of a new learning environment and the application of up-to-date pedagogy, so as to bring the world “into” the classroom, invite involvement in authentic issues from a local and a global perspective, and provide tools for personalized learning, adapted to the needs of each student. The role of the school, in this conception, is to create a true continuum between the students’ lives both outside and inside school, and to provide them with an up-to-date, relevant learning environment that will prepare them for life in the 21st century. There is no doubt that Jewish schools must also fit in with this trend, both out of a sense of commitment to quality education and because of the opportunities that technology can offer Jewish education in particular.

Old texts, new media and social networks – Israel and Jewish studies in the information age

A longitudinal study conducted in the United States among children and adolescents aged 8-18 indicates that they spend, on average, seven and a half hours per day in activities related to media, seven days a week. When combining hours spent on multitasking activities, this number rises to ten hours per day! In effect, the researchers argue, “media is a potent force in the lives of the children of this generation, and they invest more time in media-related activities than in any other activity, apart from sleep” (www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf). As educators, we have to learn more and understand the significance of these processes, and their implications for the way in which the generation that was born into the digital age learns (Moje, E. B., 2009).

It appears that we live in an age in which, before our very eyes, there is a “new literacy” developing – some of the tools that allowed us to function in the world of knowledge are falling into disuse, while other tools come into being, tools that redefine the way in which we read, decipher, express ourselves, organize information, and share it with others.

For example, there is evidence that children today read fewer books than in the past, and that the use of media has “replaced” reading (of printed matter, such as newspapers, magazines and books). In contrast to this claim, other researchers indicate that the present generation reads and writes more than its predecessors – blogs, e-mail and text messages, social network updates, and so on (http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2009/pr-lunsford-writing-101209.html). Is this literacy different from that of previous generations? Does the habit of consuming information through media and the use of short texts mean the loss of the ability to deal with long, complex texts? And if so, will the cultural treasures and knowledge represented by the world of books and reading be lost? Might the price of this process be a disconnection from the multifaceted chain of cultural transmission, and the growth of a generation that is cut off from its Jewish heritage? Or, will the multiplicity of options offered by the new media for personal expression and creativity bring with it a cultural renaissance?

One of the tasks that CET has taken on, in order to meet this challenge, is the preservation and revival of Jewish, Israeli and general cultural assets, through optimal use of the tools that technology can offer in these areas. To this end, CET has, in recent years, developed Internet platforms and tools that allow a renewed encounter with texts from across the spectrum of the Jewish and Hebrew heritage, and which integrate a variety of display modes – such as interactive maps, timelines, images, videos, and so on – along with advanced search and sharing tools.

Kotar – Online Israel & Jewish Culture Library

The Internet has brought with it a revolution in everything related to textual content. The ability to retrieve information, search, link, write, present and distribute texts has opened new horizons and redefined the limits of the concept of “text.” This revolution is part of that series of revolutions that brought about the shift from writing on organic materials to writing on paper, the transition from the scroll to the bound book, from manuscript to print, and so on. A fascinating phenomenon accompanying the Internet revolution is the fact that the book – as a physical presentation format and as a means of defining content units – has not disappeared from the world of the Internet. Indeed, many developments have attempted to copy the book format to digital media, without it losing its fundamental characteristics. It seems that this devotion to the book as a content unit derives not merely from conservatism and habit, but from a sense that there is something “right” about this format, both from a content and from a functional perspective, which makes it appropriate to keep, even with the new literacy tools. In this spirit, CET has developed Kotar– the online library on Israel and Jewish topics.

Kotar (www.kotar.co.il ) is an online library of complete, scanned books, which aims to offer a “bridge” between the “old world” and the emergent new literacy. Kotar is an Internet based platform, which offers, in addition to a large and varied collection of leading publishers in these areas, both in Hebrew (such as Keter, Am-Oved, Kinneret Zmora Bitan Dvir, Magnes Press and others) and in English (JPS and others), a sophisticated personal workspace and tools that allow for active learning from anywhere and at any time.

The Kotar collection includes hundreds of reference books and encyclopedias focusing on topics related to the state and the land of Israel (such as archeology, history, geography, etc.) and on Jewish history and culture (such as Bible and Talmud studies, Jewish leaders, etc.). Kotar can be used for personal and/or group learning in the school’s library, the computers lab or at home, as well as a valuable resource for teaching in the classroom, as long as it is equipped with a computer, projector and a screen or smart board.

psookim.com – 21st Century Tanakh

The Bible is the central canonic text which unifies Jews all over the world and across the different religious streams. Psookim.com (http://psookim.com) is an innovative platform designed to create an exciting, contemporary Judaism around the Bible. It presents the entire biblical text both in Hebrew and in English and offers new ways to respond to the text, which combine search for meaning with creativity and social life.

When designing psookim.com, we were looking for a way to deal with Jewish texts, using a dialogue-based approach, in the spirit of Buber and Rosenzweig. The underlying assumption is that the text is a common denominator for Jews from diverse sectors and streams and that creating the conditions for dialogue around the text will strengthen the connection between Jews from different communities and help build a sense of community around the biblical text.

One of the project’s goals is also to encourage a renewed Jewish creativity. Users are invited to both learn from traditional and contemporary commentators and to contribute their own interpretations to specific verses or chapters. They can do this by expressing their thoughts through a personal blog, or by uploading a song they wrote, a video, etc. These creative processes, whether intellectual or artistic, have enormous power and can bring life to hitherto lifeless places, revitalize old perspectives, and create identification and involvement. Users can view each other’s work, comment on it, respond to it, and, as the website functions also as a Facebook application, can share it with a friend.

In this sense, psookim.com offers a platform for various projects and activities that revolve around the “big questions” and themes that the bible presents to every generation, such as Love, Justice, Environment and Sustainability, etc. It can serve as a powerful tool in creating new communities that will emerge from the various points of interest of different users.

Psookim.com is an innovative platform designed to create an exciting, contemporary Judaism, combining search for meaning with creativity and social life. (Note: the website’s infrastructure was developed with the support of the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life.)

Interactive Hebrew and Israel Education

One of the main challenges faced by Hebrew teachers throughout the Jewish world is to teach Hebrew in an environment that does not speak it. The Internet can play a role in creating a new environment where students can “meet” Israeli children speaking in their natural environment – at home, at school, in the playground, etc. They can also connect the language to a place and culture, Israel, thus understand that Hebrew is not only the language of their Jewish tradition, but rather a live, modern and exciting language, spoken by many. To this end, CET is now involved in a new project, developed jointly with the Jewish Curriculum Partnership, a UK based organization, aimed to create an online, interactive resource for teaching Hebrew as a foreign language. The project will include 36 online units for grades 3-6, each unit built around a short video presenting Israeli children interacting with each other, introducing their families, their hometown, etc. Around each episode there will be interactive games and activities that will help students learn and practice the new vocabulary, sentences, etc.

The benefits of online platforms and activities for teaching Hebrew as a second and/or foreign language are many and they allow implementing crucial elements in teaching a new language:

1. Natural and communicative language – the emphasis in development is on all aspects of natural language, with the aim of improving interpersonal communication in a variety of situations.
2. Step-by-step progress – acquisition of linguistic components is carried out gradually, with only one new language component being introduced at a time. Similarly, each new acquisition is based on the components that have been acquired previously. This step-by-step progress occurs in each of the components of language: vocabulary, grammar, syntax and comprehension.
3. Relevance – the materials are relevant to the students, based on content that is close to their areas of interest, and practice working strategies common to the digital media that are so essential to learning in the modern world.
4. Independent learning – all of the activities and games are without instructions and are intuitive, so students can learn either under the teachers’ guidance or independently, at their own pace. As all of the words, sentences and longer texts are recorded, students can also learn how the words are pronounced and repeat it without relying on teachers presence.
5. Success and immediate feedback – the tasks allow the students to experience success, as they receive immediate feedback and can retry and get improved results. Success and enjoyment in carrying out the tasks contribute to increased student motivation to use the language.
6. Games to promote learning – involvement in language games may increase the enjoyment of learning the language.
7. Active learning – positive reinforcement is given to the student for each correct action, in order to increase their level of motivation and activity as learners.

An example of a relatively long-established website that makes use of these principles and tools is the Hakol Hadash website(http://olim.cet.ac.il/olim) which was originally developed for new immigrants to Israel. However, many teachers in Jewish schools also use its interactive and game activities in teaching Hebrew in their classrooms.