"Prayeraoke"

For years I have enjoyed my Hebrew teaching but found it to be challenging.   As you well know, those of us who teach in after school programs have very little  going for us.  With only an hour a week per class, students arrive to us tired, hungry, stressed and certainly not at their best.  On top of all of this, they have no incentive to do a great job or study at home,  since no one has given students the sense that we are giving them a skill that will be useful to them, outside of classic Bar Mitzvah preparation fear.

So naturally, teachers like us quickly realize that one way of motivating students to learn some Hebrew in the classroom is to make it fun.  There are lots of kitschy Hebrew games to play in the classroom, however the mileage varies with such games and usually we sacrifice content or leave someone behind as we give in to the feel-good.  We acquiescence to the begging for games.  In essence, we water down our efficacy by avoiding what really works for mastering Tefila skills.  Repetition, repetition, put it away, then repetition.  Did I mention repetition?

As a long time bar mitzvah tutor and Hebrew teacher, it has been proven to me time and time again that this is the simple formula for learning prayers and melodies.  Repetition scientifically contributes to short term memory,  and returning to it often contributes to moving knowledge to our long-term memory.

My final project started out with the intent to create a Hebrew prayer version of karaoke, called Prayeraoke. I have had this idea for years, but have never found software or a person that could create it for me. This remains in my list of things to do.  (Please feel free to use my idea, in return for free rights to use it!)

Quickly realizing that I wasn't going to fulfill my dream of creating real Prayeraoke, I started to think about my use of music in the classroom and out.

In many places that I go, I consider my guitar and my song leading skills to be tools that not too many other people have. So when GarageBand was introduced to me in TTF, I naturally gravitated to it.  I layed down a few tracks, using only a quiet room, the iPad and my musical ability (which is mediocre) as tools.  Very quickly and gratifyingly, I produced something that sounded decent and could be used in order to tell a digital story.

Once the audio was complete,  I was able to export it to iMovie and smash it with a little bit of ExplainEverything and Drawing Pad.  iMovie seems like an appropriate app to bring it all together because it is versatile and accepts virtually any media as an import.

I ended up using the final product to tell a digital story (visual and audio) with key values intertwined in the text and subtext.  Students were asked to sing  along with the intermittent prompts on the screen to snap them back to attention, if needed.

Below, I'm including the 5W's and an H as to why one might use this combination. While it lacks refinement that I would want to use it for REAL humans, here is the link to the beginnings of the project:  http://youtu.be/_TKSYYDpbRc

Stop reading here or read on to learn why this might be an interesting medium:

Using Music and Digital Story Telling to Teach Values 5 W's and H

Why?  

• Digital story telling may be a medium that better catches attention of our kids, due to conditioning and maybe wiring?
• It is a way to combat students' desensitization to the teacher talking all the time
• It may allow for greater creativity and encourage students to take on similar projects of their own
• May appeal to different learning styles due to use of visual and auditory sensory input
• Can be repeated more than once to reinforce, if needed

Who?

• Teachers or students can create edit, embellish, or just be receivers of media
• Parents can receive exactly what the kids saw via electronic media or email, blogs, etc.

How?

• Can be used in a flipped classroom, PBL, Philosophical inquiry, or other modalities
• Knowledge of the medium and software/apps can be part of the discovery process or part of a prerequisite
• Assumes that materials are available for presentation:  ie internet access, projector, smart-board, iPad, etc.
• Work toward goals and check in frequently on progress toward goal.  Don't use it if it will not help.

When?

• When you need a change of pace in your classroom
• When the goals of the lesson support using it
• When you can create or find appropriate materials
• The technology will not work against you
• You need to reach more or different students than you might usually
• Someone in contact with your material  (students, educators, parent) will  appreciate  the work

Where?

• This sort of materials can be used in informal settings, home, school, etc.  Important to use in appropriate setting.  (Example:  video around a campfire may not be the mood we are looking for)

What?

• We can create a digital version of almost any lesson.  Content can be anything
• Engagement is key - ask how often in your presentation people are asked to do something. Is it appropriate for your goals?

Values planned for this lesson:  Shalom and g'milut chasadim.

Shalom:  Lo Yisa Goi - Nation shall not lift up sword against nation  (Isaiah 2:4, Michah 4:3)

G'milut Chasadim:  Story of Two Brothers

Thanks for reading!

Cohort 7 Reflections

I am so very grateful to the CJP-TTF for this extraordinary opportunity to explore the I-pad as a powerful tool to add to my education toolbox.  The CJP-TTF fellowship has taught me how to operate the I-Pad, how to execute some apps and has offered me hands-in experience with the I-pad and some apps. In the Fellowship I was introduced to dozens of apps and I was encouraged to start thinking creatively about utilizing technology in my teaching. It helped me to understand how technology may enhance the engagement of both students and parents. I am a ‘word person.’  This training has reinforced the importance of images and often moving images (videos.) As a participating educator in the TTF workshops, I was able to meet and work with other educators and to expand my professional community.  As a participating synagogue, it facilitated our formation of a Religious School Technology committee and a discussion about future planning (funding) for technology in our religious school.

Some challenges for me in this fellowship have included the introduction of too many apps with insufficient teaching/guidance about how to use them.  It also would be helpful to be exposed to (good) apps specific to Jewish education.  I would appreciate a significant discussion about the nuts and bolts of implementation and felt that the CJP-TTF should have recommended significantly more money allocated by synagogues to both inaugurate the technology and to plan for the future (sustain and enhance technology in their schools.)  It would be very helpful to learn strategies for teaching I-Pad use and apps to students.  As an educator with an awareness of developmental realities, I would appreciate a discussion about developmentally appropriate apps:  which apps are appropriate for K-1, 2-3, 4-5, Middle School, High School and Special Needs, etc.  And specific Pedagogy regarding I-Pad use in learning skills/knowledge and in assessment. 

Kitah Alef Year-long Technology Based Torah Project

I am excited to integrate a few different apps into my classroom next year. I am still working on each of the individual pieces, but the goal throughout the year is to capture the Torah stories, and all of the work my students do in learning about the stories, in a cohesive video to send home and share with parents in May.

We will start the year with an update to my usual parent/student activity of drawing Bereshit. Instead of having paper drawings I will ask each child and their parent to draw their day in the creation story on the iPad and narrate it. I can then link each of the stories together to create one cohesive Bereshit video from the class. I also plan to have my students draw their own versions of stories such as Abraham and Sarah’s hospitality or Jacob and Esau on the iPad and then have them narrate their pictures using Explain Everything. We can also integrate some of the stories using iMovie – for example a “breaking news story” about the Macabees, explaining what happened in the temple, and the steps the Macabees are taking to fix it. “They put the oil in for one day and prayed. I never thought it would work, but today is the 8th day that oil is burning!” Here is an example of what I plan to do for Pesach. There are 11 separate slides in this example because there are 11 students in my class. The ideas is for each child to create one slide and then I would merge them all. The 10 Plagues

At the end of the year I will have different videos for each Bible story and holiday that we covered in Kitah Alef. I will be able to merge all of the videos together and send them home with my final monthly newsletter so that my students will be able to relive the stories and work that they have done as well as share all of it with their parents.

Lesson

I have used my iPad in quite a few lesson plans however for the final presentations for the fellowship I am going to use my Passover lesson plan.

I created a movie in iMovie with a Passover story. I had a Tellegami that was telling the story and it breaks away into a U-tube cartoon I found on Passover. I interject Tellegami in between during the movie to explain what’s what and each time will usually change the backdrop to something relevant to Passover. Or screen shot the movie they are watching and interject that as a backdrop to the Tellegami so it looks connected. As they watch the story I also have slides created in Explain everything of questions or comments that I write for them – their “food for thought” and it is on a chalkboard with my handwriting. The kids like to read this aloud as the movie plays. I usually run this through Tiltshift to enhance speed of the writing to x4 or x8.

In iMovie I add some special affects that the kids will usually find funny and as they watched they were very engaged and when they were polled at the end of class they all said this was a great way to learn about Passover and they like the movie mixed in with the other apps it kept it interesting.

Along with this in Tiny Tap – I have created games for Passover for them to work on at home and practice the 4 questions.

To round the lesson out we build a Passover plate and discuss customs of Passover and I feel the kids have Listened – Seen and Touched using all sensor’s enhancing their understanding.

Reflections

Coming into this fellowship I was very excited and hopeful of expanding any knowledge I may have had or thought I had. I had been using my laptop in my classrooms and I thought that was fairly advanced, however not being part of the iPad or any pad type of technology I knew that I was still way behind.

As we met each week and learned some form of application, I would try the applications within the week in any class that I felt it could be applied. My goal was to see where – what application could fit.

My experience was amazing and this opened an entire world for me that I had been oblivious to.  I learned an abundance of information at times I felt it could be overwhelming in the sense that you want to use everything however that may not possible. The goal is to “right” fit the applications to the class.

I fortunately teach different ages and subjects so this provided me a platform to try different applications on different levels.  Even in a setting where Wi-Fi / Internet connection is not available. As I planned and executed lesson plans utilizing my iPad I would survey the kids to see what their take was and they had some really positive feedback for me and they definitely liked what I had brought into the lessons.

I found the fellowship very educational and I believe it will enhance my teaching methods and my curriculum. I notice that technology is still not as popular within the Jewish Educational system but it seems to be growing and I feel that the teachers participating in this fellowship are being awarded a great opportunity to be in the forefront of bringing technology into the classrooms.

This is a great tool to interweave within each curriculum and I sat and evaluated each grade, age and ability to use iPad in the class. This has created awesome opportunities not only for classwork but it has provided an opportunity for me to set up webpages the kids work on at home and they come to class prepared and more confident with themselves because they have a connection to me – their teacher at home and they practice with me using web pages set up for homework.

In summary I feel that I came in expecting to learn the basic concept of iPad usage and I feel I am walking away extremely confident in my capabilities with an iPad, I feel I can provide amazing lessons plans that are educational and engaging to my students and I feel a drive to continue on and learn more and expand on what we have done thus far to create stimulating an engaging lesson plans that take Jewish Education to that next level.

Cohort 7 Reflections

After being part of the Teaching and Technology Fellowship cohort 7, I have a lot of takeaways that I am excited to integrate into my classroom. When I started the fellowship I was excited to learn about new technology, and looked forward to sharing it with my fellow teachers, but was also slightly worried about finding technology/apps that would fit into my young classroom. The projects that I do with my students now usually involve crayons and washable markers, so I wasn’t sure how to integrate an iPad into class. Through this year I have found that my class loves to tell stories, so I focused on this while in the fellowship, and found creative ways to use the apps – such as Explain Everything – to supplement the things my students love instead of trying to create something entirely new. I know that my students this year as well as in years to come will love to integrate iPad and technology into their learning all year long with me.

Some Preliminary Reflections: So What's the Big Deal?

When Svetlana came to visit (see my "In the Classroom" post), I shared my slightly ironic view that I found my choice for our class, "Pesach Karaoke," a bit perplexing.  Why, I asked - knowing full well that the students would immediately engage with the app - was iPad use so much more powerful than the traditional learning that I could have (and have) provided to the students:  a piano accompaniment, drums handed out to the students for fun accompaniment, and a list of lyrics?  What was it about the iPad experience that so fascinating and captivating?

The immediacy, according to Svetlana.  Students could receive instant gratification and experience learning directly through interactivity.  But couldn't I achieve the same thing by recording a "traditional" performance, I wondered?

As we sat with the iPad with the dancing figure, the words, the ability to turn the music on and off as well as controlling the voice, a thought started to occur to me.  Our subsequent GarageBand recording, with the students vying to give input, corrections and even control the editing themselves, confirmed my thought:  Empowerment.  The students were no longer subject to my whims as leader; they had control!  And they used that control wisely, to learn - even chiding an occaisional "outlier"  for not participating fully or seriously enough.  The balance between empowerment and responsibility had been struck!  Eureka!

P.S.  My next class involved an app that allowed for coloring pre-drawn scenes from the Exodus story.  Needless to say, it was way more fun on the iPad than with crayons, especially the ability to simply hit the "trash" button if the drawing was not 100% acceptable and start all over again from a fresh template.