Thursday, May 8, 2014

Had-Gadya


Hallie Chandler  had-gadya.wikispaces.com

kalderon1.jpg

For my final project of the teaching and technology fellowship run by CJP I created the start-up for a 4th Grade Passover Curriculum online. It is still very much in “edit” form with only one introduction page and one lesson (the four questions). So far it really shows the depth of what is needed for this kind of curriculum as well as the usefulness of an online curriculum in the long run. Wikispaces (what I used for the curriculum) are comparable to Wikipedia where people can change content material, leave blogs, and upload documents. You have to be invited to edit information though on the pages so as a teacher you can have multiple wikis of the same curriculum so you never loose any of your original information. On each Wiki Space you are able to upload music, videos, documents. Because of this there will be a vast array of different technology methods being used in the classroom and outside of the classroom. For example, if a student creates a movie inside the classroom they can upload it to YouTube then share it on the wikispace.   

How the project originated: Temple Emunah Religious School shows pride in the amount of services and Hebrew that our students are able to lead and learn at the end of their experiences and education provided to them at Emunah. After much contemplation and dialogue within our community the Religious School has decided to move from 3 days to 2 days per week of Religious school classes. Because of this there will be a lack of time being spent in the classroom, so much more concentration will be placed in classrooms on principle subject material that we believe every Jewish students needs to know rather then secondary experienced learning like leading a Passover Seder. Instead of dropping this project based learning in class all together I have decided to maximize the interaction that the teacher can have even outside of the classroom and allow students to do project based learning in class that will flow over into home projects. This will allow our students to be successful by the end of the year in original projects like leading the Passover Seder.
End Goal: 
To have successful skills, knowledge, material, and experience required of leading a Passover Seder while using new technology methods inside and outside of the classroom.

Structure: 

The structure of the wiki space will be in the order of the Haggadah. Each new page will be a new section of the Haggadah and a new lesson in class in the order of the Seder. Students will be aware of what is ahead of them and what has already been taught in the class. 
Notes: Each lesson will have notes, either in written, PowerPoint, or video format. This will be the material that supports the lesson that was introduced in the class, what information was went over and discussions that were had. This will help kids to have supportive references to the information when they are at home or when they are working through the assignments.
Assignments in Class: this will be assigned tasks that need to be accomplished during the class period time. If students are absent from class then they will be required to accomplish them at home and post them to be reviewed by the teacher. Assignments may include group or individual work. Assignments will mainly be seen as "completed" after students have uploaded their assignments by video, music, blog, or project onto the wiki sight. 
At home assignments: "Homework" - this will really help to increase the amount of outside learning that a student is doing. Better follow up with the student can be had, no loss of papers, no "I never got the assignments," and more learning being done by the student to help further the learning inside the classroom so success of the goal can be had.

Pros:
~Having an entire curriculum online is a very powerful and exciting potential. Students, parents and teachers can access it anywhere they are, you can make adaptations to it each year or even as the class is in session, and there are so many projects that can be preserved year to year. 
~This really benefits outside of the class learning. It provides material to be carried over outside of the class. ~Wiki provides students with the opportunity to take leads on projects. 
~This will be extremely beneficial to students and teachers who are absent from class for extracurricular reasons. 
~By using technology and online resources we minimize the amount of Ganeza usage that we would previously have to. We do not have to worry about throwing out documents, printouts, or passages with Gods name on it. Students will be able to use online resources to learn prayers and songs while reading the Hebrew on the same page as the music clips.
~Having discussion with peers even outside of the classroom with strengthen students comfort level in sharing their opinions. 
~Being able to change things up year to year: Delete projects that were not so successful
~This will provide students with a local site to show off the work that they have accomplished in class with their friends, parents, and will allow them to refresh their memories later on. 
~This will provide students with the opportunity to use all different types of apps within the classroom and publicize them to everyone.
~things can be printed if needed! 

Cons:
~It is very hard to change and format text, change and picture location when you are focusing on the aesthetics of the page
~The idea of allowing students to access the page does not seam very comforting. It is great to allow them to blog post however, allowing them the "edit" bottom makes it very nerve wrecking when all of your lessons and information can be gone in the push of a bottom. (they can be blacked from editing the page if they have to) 
~"Copying" - this could potentially be an issue or very helpful for preventing copying since everyone can see the work that you are doing. 


Materials needed: 
The only real material required will be the Haggadah. However, I am hoping that it will get to a point where everything they need will be online. 

Please take a look at the WikiSpace!  had-gadya.wikispaces.com It is not completed to any extent but you can see the introduction page and a possible lesson plan. Online learning can be very beneficial. Just remember that face to face communication and relationship building is always key so trying to maximize that while in the classroom and build more connection with peers and the teacher even when students are at home.  

Reflections



It’s time to bring the world into the classroom, and bring what we do in the classroom outside into the world! I am extremely thankful for the teaching and technology fellowship that was provided to my co-worker and me through CJP. There is an idea that incorporating more technology into our classrooms and lives provides for greater connection with the world around us. Through the fellowship I have found it more possible to produce projects, gain knowledge, answer questions, and share information more efficiently and creatively.
The use of media, online resources, apps, ipads, etc have enabled new approaches beneficial to the learning of my students, the success of my curriculum, and the productivity of the classroom environment. The new imminent expectations are that using this technology will provide me with the support in the classroom to increase my one on one attention with students while other students continue to be productive in the class. It will enable me to clone myself so that I can be in more places at once. It will excuse the “I forgot my homework at home,” “my dog ate my homework,” “I was sick and didn’t have the assignment” excuses, which push students back in their work and success within the classroom and with the curriculum. In addition, technology will and has provided me with the ability to be creative with the learning that we do. There is such a huge push for experiential education now and using technology provides us with that greater ability to get yourself “outside” of the classroom and into real life situations. It allows students to create projects that can be accessible anywhere, giving them the ability to always find it to use as a future resource, something to share with others, or something to just reflect on.   
These are just a few of the many benefits that come from using reliable and educational technology methods in the classroom. I hope to continue to strengthen my liking of these unique methods and aim for the following goals. I hope to allow my students to recognize that anyone can help someone else get better at something. Connections can develop between students and a wide range of experts in dispersed fields using technology. I want students to recognize that they have more resources accessible to them and more creative opportunities. I want students to feel more confident in their work because they know it is going to be shared. Lastly, I want my students to find passion, purpose and have the desire to learn. By increasing the amount of teaching methods through technology, I believe students will be more successful in engaging and finding connections through the content that they are required and have desire to learn.

Hallie Chandler 
Temple Emunah 
Synagogue Educator 


Friday, May 2, 2014

Research an Israeli innovation

Reflections and lessons learned from doing a lesson with technology. (If you’re not teaching the lesson right away, you may need to do this part at a later date.)


I used the technology with the 5th and 6th grade students this Spring.The 5th grade students were asked to research (using the Ipads) an Israeli innovation. (Example: Sodastream, instant messaging, etc). and create a media presentation on these innovations. The students used a variety of applications to create their presentations: Tellagami, Greenscreen, Imovie, Tiltshift, etc. and were excited to research and work together! When all the assignments were completed, I combined al of their presentations into an IMOVIE to view all at once. Below is an example of one project that was competed.

There was definitely a learning curve attached with this project. Initially, some students required a lot of guidance and support in using the IPADS, and with the assignment. It was difficult as the educator to help the students, while still learning to use the Ipads at the same time. However, the students picked up the information quickly, and were able to produce some wonderful work! One student emailed me, and was so excited about learning to use Imovie that he had created his own Imovie at home!




In addition to this project with the 5th grade students, the 6th grade students worked with the Ipads to create informational videos for the Walk For Hunger that they are participating in on May 4 as the final component of the B'nai Telem curriculum.
I found that the 6th graders were extremely confident in the use of the Ipads, and required little-no guidance in completing this assignment.


Below are some of their videos that they created!



Integrating technology into the classroom was an extremely positive experience for myself, as well as the students! I am hopeful that the technology can be continued in the walls of the classroom to enhance the learning of the students in the religious school.

TTF Reflections

This Technology fellowship has been extremely beneficial to not only our learning within the classroom, but has expanded the way we as teachers utilize the technology within the class as well.

Throughout the year, we used the technology in the classroom with the 5th,6th, and High School students, and created a variety of different projects. By gaining a basic knowledge of the apps such as Tellagami, Greenscreen, Explain Everything, etc we were able to have students participate in a collaborative, hands on learning environment. The students worked to create Tellagami projects based on a location of their choosing in Israel, as well as creating Imovies and informational videos on an innovation in Israel. While this was a learning experience for both the teacher (myself), and the students, I think that the outcome was positive.

I think that in today's world, students are becoming more familiar with technology. I think that this course helped us gain insight and recognition of the different tools and learning modules that are available for use in the classroom. I would like to continue to learn and grow by using the apps within the classroom, as well as educating other teachers in the religious school the best way to use the technology. I also feel that because of the knowledge of the students in using technology, we as educators need to work alongside the students, and realize that we may learn from them as well!