CJP TTF

Hazzan Devin Goldenberg
5th and 6th Grade
B'nei Mitzvah Tutoring
Temple Beth Sholom
Framingham, MA

Big Ideas from TTF Seminars

One of the strongest ideas I’m taking away from the TTF is the potential for a collaborative dynamic that’s infused in the classroom utilization of the iPad.  Before taking the seminar, I was wary of the potential for students becoming locked in to their own “zones” with iPad.   I’m so happy and thrilled to say that I could not have been more mistaken.

What do I mean by collaborative learning?  It’s learning in which collaboration, teamwork, and the collective talents of all participants are an integral part of the learning process.

This means not just publishing ideas (iBook, iMovie, etc.), but publishing them in ways in which creators can receive feedback, reflect and revise their own output and that of others.  This feedback and revision process is not merely an add-on but at the heart of the learning process.  This blog is itself a good example of this as we post our thoughts and plans with the primary intention of promoting feedback and interaction.

And it also means working together in real-time to accomplish collectively forged and monitored goals, whether we’re smashing apps in workgroups to create an audio-visual guide to holiday observance  or communicating and working with experts outside of the classroom on a presentation using Google Drive.

I’m excited about using technology in my classes to create and enhance such a collaborative learning process.  One in which all participants are learners/teachers – one in which I can spend more class time functioning as a guide and facilitator.

As my actual group class and individual tutoring time is very limited, I’m especially intrigued by the possibilities of the flipped classroom approach.  I hope to use what I’ve learned in the TTF to more successfully engage students from home.  The knowledge and skills I’ve gained will allow me to produce entertaining presentations of curriculum content that I feel confident students will enjoy watching.  Who knows? – their parents might get involved in the learning as well.  This will hopefully save valuable class time which can be better used for hands-on work, project based learning, and differentiated instruction that will benefit both the advanced and less advanced learners.