Esther Feldman is Director of Information Technology and Financial Services at The Lookstein Center. In this article, she shares the history and development of The Lookstein Center’s Remote Teacher program, and presents what Lookstein learned from its experience about conducting successful video-conferencing classes.
Video conferencing technology for schools has been readily accessible for many years,but there are few Jewish day schools that employ this technology. In addition to the classic distance learning lessons, today there are countless students in educational institutions around the world who regularly benefit from video conference platforms in their schools. On a daily basis, hundreds of museums, universities, community centers, science centers, art institutes and cultural centers offer ongoing video conferences and lessons – as well as contacts and collaboration with artists, scientists and other experts – to schools and their students. In addition, when used effectively, video-conferencing can be a cost-effective way for schools to deliver successful educational experiences to an expanded student body.
Distance learning opportunities were first offered in the 1800s, primarily for home-bound women who were looking for opportunities to expand their horizons. By the end of the 20th century, businesses and higher education were using ISDN video-conferencing systems to communicate. But these systems were costly to use (each video-call was as costly as six long distance phone calls) and demanded sophisticated equipment. Today video-conferencing calls can be made over IP (internet protocol addresses) using DSL or cable systems. There is no longer a need for complicated systems – video-conferencing software can easily be installed on any computer. A high definition camera and digital microphone can turn any desktop or laptop computer into a video-conference system for less than $500. Suddenly, video-conferencing is available from the teacher’s home and is significantly more cost-effective for the schools.
Video-conference classes can be easily taped; the content can be saved, manipulated and reviewed when necessary. New studies are now finding that a combination of face to face learning with online video instruction may actually be stronger than traditional classroom instruction (Cifuentes and Murphy, 2000).
In Jewish day schools
The potential opportunities for the use of video-conference in Jewish day schools both worldwide and nationwide are compelling. In outlying areas and smaller cities throughout the US, the typical day school’s access to outstanding educators and/or educational programs is severely limited due to the dearth of qualified Jewish educators in such communities and the difficulty in attracting excellent teachers to move to those communities. Through the medium of video-conferencing, day school students can be given the opportunity to study with premier educators regardless of geography, including outstanding educators (fluent in both Hebrew and English) in Israel. Video-conferencing with Israel highlights the school’s connection to Israel. The students get a true sense of ki mitzion tetze Torah – that their Torah study emanates from Zion – as part of a powerful message about their relationship to the people and the State of Israel. In addition, using the newest technology, multipoint video options are more accessible, so that students from different schools and communities can now have the opportunity to study together and create learning communities.
Proper use of these medium succeeds in offering greater exposure to new methodologies, technologies as well as inspiring educators with the ability to motivate the students in their Jewish studies learning.
The Lookstein Center – a pioneer
The Lookstein Center is a pioneer in the field of live, interactive distance learning for Jewish studies. What began as an experiment nine years ago in one school expanded to a broader pilot including multiple schools. Over the past five years The Lookstein Center, with the support and generosity of the Avi Chai Foundation, has provided 17 different day schools the opportunity to benefit from a master Jewish studies educator in Israel via a video-conferencing IP platform. In the current academic year, eleven schools are using the video-conferencing platform to broadcast interactive lessons twice or three times a week to their Jewish studies classes. These schools ranged in location from Teaneck and Birmingham to El Paso, Phoenix, St. Louis and Vancouver; topics taught included Bible, Israel studies, Prophets, Jewish history, Prayer, Jewish Law and Mishnah, bar/bat mitzvah preparatory classes, and more, based on the individual needs of the schools; grades taught range from grade 4 through 12.
In each case, the Israel-based teacher (also called the “Remote” teacher) is the teacher of record in the classroom, providing both content and delivery of the entire course. In addition to the Remote teacher, in every classroom there is always an adult presence – usually a novice teacher. This person is responsible for ensuring discipline as well as ongoing communication between the Remote teacher and the school administration. Many of the teachers have developed the relationship into successful collaborative/supportive co-teaching partnerships, in which the Remote teacher takes the lead teaching role while the onsite teacher rotates among students to provide support. The development of these relationships adds an unforeseen professional development facet to the program – offering novice and/or inexperienced educators the unique opportunity to observe as well as collaborate with a master educator at work in a classroom setting.
What video-conferencing requires of the teacher
Teaching over a video conference platform demands different skill sets and innovative methodologies from the teacher.
- Even more than in a classroom with a “live” teacher, classrooms must be physically well organized. The Remote teacher’s line of vision is limited and the more dominant students are more likely to sit closer to the camera.
- Teachers have to be careful not to let a few voices dominate, and must implement methods to insure participation from all students. The Lookstein Center educators use blogs and other web-based platforms to promote equal as well as ongoing participation.
- Classroom management is essential. The video-conference classroom is very structured and the Remote teacher must be very organized and well-prepared with worksheets and graphic organizers.
- Interactivity is essential. The media supports far greater interaction between the students and teachers than the classic classroom. Effective video-conferencing must be designed to take full advantage of this capability.
- The Remote teachermust be exceptionally creative and work hard at promoting both interaction with the students as well as integration with technology. The more successful “remote classes,”like those in this program, utilize interactive educational methodologies such as multiple intelligences curricula and project-based learning.
Semadar Goldstein, a Lookstein Center Remote teacher in elementary schools in Vancouver, Birmingham and Philadelphia, uses multiple intelligences curricula and engages the children in many hands-on activities. She has the children acting out plays to better understand the battles of Joshua. They prepare the skits in the classroom under her supervision, which she views on screen from the other side of the world. The video-conference medium allows ongoing recording during the classroom session, which can later be shared with the students, other teachers in the schools and the students’ families.
In the high school classroom, the successful video-conference teacher involves the students in substantive discussions. These discussions do not end with the teacher logging off, but are continued after class, online, on the classroom blog. The video-conference high school teacher uses other technologies, such as blogs and websites, to support the class work, which impacts positively on the students’ relationship to the teacher and the subject matter. Zvi Grumet, a member of The Lookstein Center evaluation team at the Center observed one such class and had the following comments:
“[the teacher]… is a dynamic presence and invests considerable energy to elicit and maintain active involvement from the students. He asks provocative questions to draw the students into the learning…”
“… the use of the blog was a valuable means of getting feedback and homework from the students, despite a community culture which may not be supportive of homework in Jewish Studies.”
6. Charisma is difficult to broadcast to an ongoing class over a screen. Remote teachers cannot rely on the strength of their presence in the classroom or their personal relationship with the students. Rather, they need to develop sound classroom methodologies to help the students focus on each lesson, particularly as the year progresses and the fascination with the technology diminishes. Well-organized classes with prepared work-plans and short quizzes are helpful in keeping the students focused.
“Short quizzes are an effective method to keep the 9th graders focused on the materials and help them to summarize the ‘lessons learned’” (M. Rosenberg, a Lookstein Center video-conference educator)
After working with these classes for five years, The Lookstein Center has found that the following can be particularly helpful:
- Graphic organizers for the students
- Assessment tools
- Worksheets
- Highly Interactive lessons
- Ongoing group work
Eliciting discussion and supervising small group work is challenging, but essential to the students’ satisfaction with the platform.
In conclusion, a successful video conference class provides a unique educational experience for both the student and teacher. It is very organized, extremely interactive, as well as educationally challenging and stimulating.
Mrs. Katz, a ‘Remote Teacher’ summarizes best her first-hand experience:
“I have been teaching at Addlestone Hebrew Academy in Charleston for the past three years through Lookstein Center’s Remote Teacher Program. Twice a week I have been the face on their screen, teaching students from grades five through eight about Zionism, Israel, and current events. This autumn I finally got to meet my students. Traveling to Charleston for the day allowed me to become a three-dimensional teacher as opposed to a cyber teacher. I was overwhelmed by how close the students felt to me. There certainly is a distance when I am sitting in Israel and they are in their classroom in the States that can’t be avoided. Yet, they reacted and interacted with me as though there was no distance at all. In small Jewish communities, remote teaching is a wonderful opportunity to expand the educational horizons and opportunities for students. Simply by introducing them to a teacher from Israel, they were able to have a first-hand account of what Israel is like – what the politics are like, what Israel’s accomplishments are, even what day to day life is like. … I believe that the excitement of connecting to someone on-line and someone far away motivates them to participate and engages them in a very concrete way. I’m looking forward to my next trip to Charleston, but in the meantime I am thrilled to be part of an educational experience that puts my face up on their screen.”