BROOKLYN, NY — If online MBA programs and YouTube got together and had a smart Jewish baby, i would probably bear a striking resemblance to Chabad-Lubavitch’s newbor distance learning venture.
Chabad Conference Initiatives: Jewish Adult Education Goes Online
BROOKLYN, NY — If online MBA programs and YouTube got together and had a smart Jewish baby, i would probably bear a striking resemblance to Chabad-Lubavitch’s newbor distance learning venture.
Jewish Learning Institute, Chabad’s highly regarded adult education program with 250+ satellite locations, announced the development of a pilot version of JLI Online courses. By year’s end, JLI is working to have approximately 40 hours of course content available online.
JLI made the leap to cyberspace because of the pervasive use of the Internet as a primary tool for learning about the world, and the advantages of the e-learning environment.
MySpace has over 106 million registered users as of one year ago. If MySpace were a country, it would be eleventh largest in the world between Japan and Mexico said Rabbi Berel Bell who is overseeing the project.
“It is the Rebbe’s mandate to use modern technology to spread Jewish knowledge. We cannot afford to miss out on reaching these people.”
JLI’s courses have attracted 85,000 students worldwide because of the way information is presented. Along with teaching standbys–a lecturer and a textbook–JLI presents video clips, discussion breakouts, even music when appropriate as part of each lesson.
Students have likened the JLI experience to the charged atmosphere present in their most memorable college classes. Translating the richness of JLI to the web is a challenge that has kept the group from venturing into online courses until now. Online educational software matured rapidly as universities and corporations have capitalized on the web’s power to teach.
In 2004, 87% of four-year colleges offered distance-learning courses, up from 62% in 1998. Corporate e-learning is a $12 billion business. Today’s tools go far beyond fuzzy webcam mini-movies or corny PowerPoint graphics.
