In the last half a dozen years, the world of education has taken a giant leap toward integrating technology into schools. The Smart Board is the latest manifestation of this phenomenon. The teachers’ job of preparing lessons has not become easier with Smart Boards but his lessons have become infinitely more exciting and his ability to individualize and engage more of his students will increase manifold.
Why have our Schools not Introduced more Technology?
In the last half a dozen years, the world of education has taken a giant leap toward integrating technology into schools. The Smart Board is the latest manifestation of this phenomenon. The teachers’ job of preparing lessons has not become easier with Smart Boards but his lessons have become infinitely more exciting and his ability to individualize and engage more of his students will increase manifold.
The Chinuch world, namely yeshivas and Day schools have begun to purchase technologically advanced hard ware but without proper training a Smart Board is just another overhead projector. There is funding available for the purpose of teacher in-service training through the Federal Title programs but yeshivas have had little opportunity to benefit.
This may all be changing. The Merkos Chinuch Office has created a consortium of NY Chabad yeshivas for the purpose of maximizing Chabad schools’ benefit of these programs. An announcement about this will come at a later date but The Kinus HaMechanchos is already preparing the way through concentration on “Technology and Education” at this year Kinus.
The second day at both the Kinus Mechanchos and HaMechanchim will feature a series of workshops for elementary and high school teachers, which will concentrate on making Chinuch and Technology something every teacher can be comfortable with. Rabbi Shimon Siegel and Mrs. Feigy Ravitz, two experts in the field, will demonstrate the use of Smart Boards as tools in a number of specific Limudei Kodesh settings on a variety of levels. They will use actual Limudei Kodesh lessons to show how these very lessons can be enhanced by Smart Boards.
For more information and to register for the Women’s Conference – July 26-27 or the Men’s Conference on August 9-10, visit www.chinuchoffice.org or call 718 771-3930
frustrated with the shallow-ness
with all the smartboards and technologies in the world, until we have TRUE role models our children can emulate, it’s all ‘lahevel velarik’!
I am now homeschooling all my children because I felt that sending them to our mosdos chinuch they picked up terrible attitudes from both staff and student body alike. As long as they were young and at home, their mentchlichkeit, eidelkeit etc was unparalelled…and once sent away…oy vavoy…
they are still in touch with the kids who are raised by parents who are true role models, and we stay away from the rest. I refuse to send my children to a first grade Rebbe who plays on Facebook during class time (and he is considered a wonderful mechanech by others!)
Shmuli
The Rebbe was against bringing TV into the classroom – even for EDUCATIONAL purposes.
A TEACHER
To Shmuli,
You obviously have no clue what a Smartboard is and what it could do. But one thing id for sure, it is not now or can never be a TV.
The article was true in mentioning how a smartboard can make the lessons more interesting for the children, but as a teacher I must say it takes hours of preparations for each lesson presnted on the smartboard, but watching the children’s reactions, and progress it is well worth the time and effort.
shmerel the tv installer
@2
A TV is one thing while a video monitor is another. It just goes to show how ignorant you are shmuli.
Shmuli II
Shmuli, a smartboard is not a TV, please find a better excuse for not using modern day technology to enhance our children’s education :)
Sydney
Kesser Torah College, one of the large chabad schools in Sydney, Australia, has one in every classroom!
smart board
to #1 – frustrated with the shallow-ness –
(what you said has absolutely nothing to do with this article or any manner of teaching or teaching aid)
if you were to look into smart boards and what its really meant for you’d see that its not “l’hevel v’larik” rather it gives the teacher a greater ability to interact with and interest the students in learning
to #2 – Shmuli –
this is not a TV!!! why don’t you look into what this is (see what i said above)
—–
now what be really nice is if the schools can get funding for the smart boards itself as the costs of each one can run into the thousands
(not to plug it :)
http://smarttech.com/us/Sol…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…
Concerned Parent
I have to agree with #1. Technology is great, but the most important thing is a good teacher. My boys have had two spectacular teachers that really made a difference in their lives. They were great role models, treated each child with care and respect and never raised there voices. My older son reflected on this recently (six years or so after having these teachers), they both left a lasting impression The other rebbes that they had…
do some research people!
why dont you google ‘smartboard’ before deciding against it?
Hebrew Academy
In Huntington Beach teaches with smart boards!
We’ve got the luckiest students
The greatest parents
The smartest teachers
The coolest Rabbis
We’ve got a blue ribbon which makes us – so proud
tra la la la….
hebrewacademyhb.com
ionly the good get better
Melbourne Yeshivah Beth Rivkah melbourne has moved into the 21st century and many classes are equipped with smart boards.
Yes they are fantastic but no they do not compennsate for mediocre teaching. Good teachers become better teachers with technology.
realist
$$$$$$$
GO MO TOWN
Thanks to the tireless efforts of Mrs Goldberg, Cheder Lubavitch Morristown is equipped with smartboards in almost every classroom, and throughout the year teachers and rebbes get continuous training in utilizing them to their best potential.
Cheder You ROCK!
how do we teach?
will this teach and enhance our yiras Shomayim too?
I know there are no tricks or shortcuts, but how do we teach it???
Southern Ct Hebrew Academy
We have smartboards in some of our classes and are planning on getting one in each classroom, it is an amazing technology that the teachers all love!
a happy Southern CT Hebrew Academy Parent
IT
Lubavitch Schools in London have these and similar IT for already a number of years.
Bigger goal
Technology can be great, but it does not fix broken teaching. Also, technology is only as good as it’s execution. Meaning you can buy a smartboard, but you need to invest in programs, teacher workshops, and lesson plan websites as well as coordinating technology such as a document camera etc. to make the program effective. Good teaching needs to come first. I am a teacher who has taught with a smartboard and there are definate benefits and disadvantages. To have kids glued to a screen all day is not going to help them. Also they cost a fortune and there are devices that have come out in the last year or so that are a lot cheaper and work about the same way. (to spend $15,000 when you can spend $3,000 is crazy!) I say invest in education by thinking about the bigger goal that you are trying to accopmplish. A smartboard is a good tool, but many other things can make education interactive just as effectively.
And btw, much of a smartboard’s effectiveness is when it is used for secular education, especially when it is used with internet resources. Since many of our schools will not allow internet acess in the classrom, the smartboard is less useful. (I am not saying they should allow internet acess, but that they should consider all aspects of their investments).
to realist
it is not for lack of money. There is government funding for this technology available to any school (at least in New York). Unfortunately, many schools are taking funds that have been designated for this and using it for other things. As I have taken courses (in college)about using the Smartboard, I can assure those who do not know that this is a very beneficial tool for the classroom. It makes learning more interactive, interesting and FUN.It is also very beneficial for the student who is not a “geniu”s and has a hard time learning.
Yes, its a lot of work for the teacher but imagine your students looking forward and being excited to go to school each day to LEARN.
For those that work in local Mosdos- if you are unaware of this funding, please make it your business to find out!! Its available and its a pity that we do not utilize this wonderful resource.
To #1:
Um, to Mr. Frustrated with the Shallowness, allow me to say something. Unfortunately in todays day and age there is no way to COMPLETELY protect our children from the outside world, and to hide things from then. Later on when ur children are teenagers they will begin to be revealed to the outside world and your ‘protection’ can G-d Forbid, g-d forbid backfire into an angry teenager who feels that his life was a big secret. Many parents nowadays, who rightfully feel the need to protect their child come up with brilliant ideas as urs. keep them home, completely hide the outside world, force their children to tell them where he went with who and to where and what time and why and only let them near ‘true role models.’ Sorry to break it to you, but the idea isnt so brilliant in the end. As children we have always learnt of how we have to work with the present – the gashmius. The Rebbe has talked countless times about how we have to be down here – and work with what the situation is. I believe to send my children to the schools, to give them some independance while modelling and giving them a rich Torahdike life. And I feel that only thru doing that – they will grow up knowing that there is an outside world, but always knowing inside where they come from and who they are. Rather than a 15 year old suddenly realizing there’s a world out there he never knew about and feeling hurt and shocked.
At the end of the day, the people who go off the derech go off whether they go thru the system in school, or in the protection of their home and ‘true role models’ and the ones who feel their identity – and stay the way the should – will do so even WITH teachers and principals who ARENT the true role models.
PRIORITIES PLEASE!!!!
IF a cheder or yeshiva has enough money to pay its teachers on time, consistently, AND
IF a cheder or yeshiva is not turning away any children for lack of money,
THEN that cheder or yeshiva could consider buying the smart boards!!!
Fun and interesting, but a real help?
The public schools buy them, with our tax dollars.
And their kids are performing worse and worse on the standardized tests, despite “how well they respond” to the smart board presentations.
to # 2
to number 2
I wrote comment number 1, I know very well what smart boards are, I’ve used them! they can do amazing things, but…what i wrote still stands: we need TRUE educators who are TRUE Chassidim, who introspect before they come close to any child. enough said.
to number 8: I am so happy that your boys had two great Rebbes. unfortunately I know an 18-year old boy with parents who gave him an amazing chinuch, very intuned etc, but he is going through a terrible phase because of the destruction our chinuch system and our educators have done to his soul.
BR STUDENT
WE HAD ONE THIS YEAR IN OUR CLASS ROOM
WE ROCK
Londoner
Thangk g-d here we have had these smart boards in our classroom at Lubavitch Girls schools for 5 years!
To #23
TOTALLY!!
aileen
AMAZING