From Makers to Meet­ups February 2015

In This Newsletter:>Unconference and Unwind: the NY/NJ Area Meetup>Upcoming Google Hangout on Air with Tikvah Wiener>Read Our "Let's Get Googly" Blog Series>Find Us at the Day School Conference

Connect With Us:

Unconference and unwind with DJLN on Tuesday, February 24th from 6:00PM to 8:30 PM. The agenda will not be preset, but created by you ­ the participants! Learn about new technologies, share classroom experiences, and connect with fellow day school educators! Dinner and wine will be served.

WHEN: Tuesday, Feb.24 Dinner served at 6PM, Program begins 6:30PM WHERE: The Jewish Education Project, 520 8th Ave, 15th Fl. RSVP Required: Click here to reserve your spot

2/5

_____________________________________________________________

Upcoming Google Hangout on Air: Bringing the Maker Movement into YourBlended Classroom with Tikvah WienerThe Maker Movement has been taking the education world by storm. If you're wondering what it allmeans and how it enhances students' education, join us for this special Google Hangout on Air withTikvah Wiener, Chief Academic Officer at Magen David Yeshiva High School. Learn how this modeof Project­Based Learning (PBL) gives students a deeper understanding of how things work, includingtechnology found throughout most modern schools and classrooms. In many blended learningsettings, for instance the rotation model, students experience a mix of online and offline activities tolearn important concepts in many ways. Employing some Maker Movement techniques is a fantasticway to add more dimension to your class repertoire and expand your students' horizons.

WHO: Tikvah Wiener, Chief Academic Officer at Magen David Yeshivah High School WHEN: Tuesday, February 17th from 4pm to 5pmWHERE: Google Hangout on AirRSVP: Click Here and reply "Yes" to the prompt "Are you going to watch?"

About the Speaker: Tikvah Wiener is Chief Academic Officer at Magen David Yeshivah High Schoolin Brooklyn, NY where she oversees General Studies and works with faculty across disciplines to implement project­based learning (PBL). With Dr. Eliezer Jones, she is co­founder of the I.D.E.A. Schools Network, which trains educators and schools in PBL and educational innovation. Wiener became passionate about project­based learning through RealSchool, the inquiry­based, student­driven learning program she started in 2011 with her Frisch students. In RealSchool, students learn by doing, collaborating with peers to create events and projects they are passionate about and that will better the world. Wiener's work in PBL is now being funded by the Joshua Venture Group, and you can learn more about passion­based learning from her ELI Talk.

_____________________________________________________________ Read the "Let's Get Googly" Blog Series by Tatyana DvorkinTatyana Dvorkin is DJLN's new associate director. Click here to learn more about her.

Episode 1: Making the Most of Google Apps for Education

It's almost difficult to get through a day in 2015 without using Google for something, whether you're lost in an unfamiliar area, chatting with a friend, or in a heated argument with a colleague about exactly which actor was just nominated for an Oscar. Schools across the United States are no different in this regard. Google Apps for Education (affectionately known as GAFE) is quickly becoming as ubiquitous a feature in today's learning institutions as pens and paper, and with the release of the free LMS, Google Classroom, 6 months ago that trend will likely continue. Read more...

Episode 2: Simplifying Work with Chrome ExtensionsHello DJLN and welcome to our second episode of Let's Get Googly! This week we will take a look at Google Chrome Extensions. First, the basics: Chrome Extensions are extra features and functionality that you can add to your Google Chrome browser. With these handy gadgets you can tailor your browser specifically to you while keeping it free of extra features that you don't need. While Google Add­ons tend to have much more robust functionality, extensions only make small changes, but ones that often make digital work much more efficient. Read more...

Episode 3: A Free LMS? A Look at Google ClassroomGoogle Classroom is still very new, having debuted in September 2014. It may not yet be as powerful or robust as established tools like Haiku, Moodle, or Canvas, but for teachers who are new to managing their classes online, and whose schools are not yet ready to adopt a paid school­wide LMS, it's an intuitive and convenient way to get started. As with any technology you choose to use in your class, it should be evaluated not only on its general technological merits but specifically on how well it suit you, your students, and your school culture. Read more...

_____________________________________________________________

Personalizing Learning with Technology: Cutting Edge, or Just Good Teaching?Session led by Gary Hartstein, Director of the DigitalJLearningNetworkOn Tuesday March 10, 2015 9:30am ­ 10:15am Are traditional and blended classrooms at odds with each other, or is all great teaching really about personalizing learning? Hear about teachers' experiences combining online and in­person instruction. Learn how they give students agency, teach self­management, and develop lifelong learners. Examine how data drives learning and how today's technologies make assessment and immediate feedback simpler for teachers. Explore how personalization through blended learning is neither a fad nor a specific technology; it's just great classroom practice that actually works. Click here to save it to your conference schedule!

Find DJLN's Station at the Playground!Come by our station any time the Playground is open to explore blended learning by getting yourhands dirty. Enter our custom­built rotation model and learn how to create educational videos, gatherdata for student assessment, and more.

The DigitalJLearning Network is an initiative of The Jewish Education Project supported by funding from the AVI CHAI Foundation.

_____________________________________________________________

520 8th Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10018 / Phone (646) 472­5300 / Fax (646) 472­5400701 Westchester Avenue, Suite 2A2, White Plains, NY 10604 / Phone (914) 328­8090 / Fax (914) 328­8093

777 Larkfield Road, Suite 118, Commack, NY 11725 / Phone (631) 462­8600 / Fax (631) 462­4990

Support Jewish Education Today!