Bnos Chomesh Goes High Tech

If you think smart boards are the latest in classroom technology, think again. For a fraction of the cost, an iPad, modem, projector and screen can do everything a smart board can do and more! And starting this year, Bnos Chomesh High School is using this incredible technology in all of its classrooms.

“We are very excited to have this technology available to our teachers and students,” says Principal Dena Gorkin. “We already take advantage of technology a great deal within the school…we have an online grading system that parents and students can view daily. We have a credit card reward system for our students. Our attendance is done online and parents receive a text/email the moment a student is marked absent. We even created online classrooms during the blizzards of 2011! But this is a whole new level…we expect our classes to become more engaging and more alive than ever!”

Last week, Bnos Chomesh teachers met for two days of teacher orientation workshops. As part of an interactive training, teachers learned how to display a PDF from an iPad onto a large screen in the front of the classroom. They then learned how to edit it, highlight portions, add photos, change text colors and backgrounds so that all of these changes and additions appeared on screen for the whole group to view.

“The application for this technology in the classroom seems almost limitless,” says Chanale Chanin, the brainchild behind the idea of setting up this system at Bnos Chomesh. The participating teachers had a good laugh as Chanale asked a question and then, using the iPad’s camera app, snapped a picture. Instantly, the photo of a participating teacher appeared on the screen, next to the text of the question that she was expected to answer!

Many businesses use this technology for meetings and group presentations, but it is a perfect school tool as well. It can be used by Judaic and secular studies teachers alike.

“I can already see so many ways to use it,” commented one of the Chumash teachers. “I can put a page of Chumash up on the screen and pass the iPad around the room, having the girls circle a specific word or phrase in Rashi, or prefixes and suffixes we are stressing. I think it will be so much more interesting and memorable for them to learn in this interactive way. And my iphone just became a remote! I can use it to control what’s on the board!”

The system allows the teacher the freedom to walk or sit among her students because she can write on the “board” by simply writing or typing on her iPad from anywhere in the classroom. There is internet capability which is password protected and only teachers can have access to shared files and other online programs.

“Is it possible to transfer what I do in class to my own computer?” asked one participant. “You can upload anything you do here onto your computer,” explained Chanale. “As a matter of fact, you can record the entire class and then send the audio and video files to a student who missed school.”

“Wow, I wish we had had this last year when one of our students was out sick for two weeks. It would have been so much easier for her to make up her work,” commented Chaya Winner, Assistant Principal.

Mrs. Nechama Chanin, administrator and Special Education coordinator adds another crucial point: “High school classes are often lecture based.This new system helps create a more multi-sensory learning environment. It boosts every student’s learning immeasurably and for those of our students who are visual learners, it’s a huge plus.”

“We have a very generous donor who saw the value of sponsoring this project at Bnos Chomesh,” explained Mrs. Gorkin. “We feel very fortunate, and we cordially invite other school administrators to come see our new system to determine whether it is right for their schools.”

Teachers and students alike are looking forward to an exciting new school year that incorporates this innovative approach into its curriculum.