Valley education professionals weigh in on technology in the classroom.
Question: Do you believe technology enhances education? If so, please give an example of how your school incorporates it into the curriculum.
Arthur Yavelberg, Head of School/Head of Middle School, Tucson Hebrew Academy:
Of course technology enhances education. There are so many interactive tools — mathematical exercises, scientific models, literary role-playing, and map and historical research options that enrich the educational experience, particularly in a school like Tucson Hebrew Academy that values individualized critical thinking skills. Our middle school has gone to a “one-to-one” computer model where each student has a laptop computer to best work in all Smart-Blackboard-equipped classrooms. There are similar vocabulary building games in Hebrew — like the Hakol Hadash program — but it goes further. Imagine Judaic studies classes watching CNN pieces on heroes and identifying the Jewish values practiced by such figures. Or seeing a YouTube video on building a sukkah — and then deciding whether different sukkot meet the halachic criteria for halachic structures. Furthermore, given THA’s integrated curricular approach, technology allows the art teacher to incorporate the work of Israeli artists or history teachers to illustrate how Jewish culture has developed in non-Jewish environments. The opportunities are infinite. Technology allows teachers to create lessons which are so individualized that each and every student can practice the skills under discussion — and not just the occasional student called up to write on the traditional chalkboard every so often.
THA is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade community Jewish day school with a rigorous academic program committed to Jewish values. www.thaaz.org
Rabbi Isaac Entin, Principal, Phoenix Hebrew Academy:
Technology has broken new ground in education, throughout primary, middle and high school. There is no doubt that information moves at faster speeds and access to data, ideas, photos and video broaden a student’s mind.However, technology is not the panacea for quality education. Teachers are. Technology is a tool in the toolbox great teachers use to make instruction more effective. Our SmartBoards make a well-planned lesson more engaging, saves notes, allows students to manipulate information and practice skills, but they do not teach. Technology can assess, and in some cases adapt, to a student’s level. Phoenix Hebrew Academy uses such a system called SuccessMaker that adjusts reading and math tasks to each individual child’s level. If questions are too simple, it will make them more complex, and if the student is having difficulty, it will locate areas of deficiency and target those skills. But only a teacher can understand a child. Only a teacher knows how to engage a child. Only teachers know how to fill a mind.
We live in a world where “automation” has an instantly positive connotation. Not so in schools. We engage in a field where the professional must be an educator, social worker, ethicist, communicator, judges, diplomats and nurses. And the tasks happen simultaneously! While technology has changed the landscape of education, provided new vistas and increased our individual potential, it remains a tool, albeit powerful. The fact remains, though, that no technology, no matter how advanced, can ever replace a teacher.
Phoenix Hebrew Academy is an educational home to 165 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, providing an outstanding secular and Torah education for nearly 50 years. www.phoenixhebrewacademy.org
Nanci Siegel Manson, Director of Education, Har Zion Congregation:
Computer technology is rarely used in the early childhood center as we offer a hands-on approach to learning. We are firm believers that a “touchy-feely,” “do-it-yourself” approach is the best way for a child to learn. Also, so many of our children are fortunate enough to enjoy computer experiences at home and in other settings outside of our program, that we don’t feel it necessary to use it on a daily basis. We do, however, offer a once-per-week computer enrichment class to our full-day students to enhance their afternoon curriculum. In our Hebrew/religious school, we are piloting a home/school Skype program in which our staff Skypes with students and parents outside of school hours. This short 10- to 15-minute virtual Hebrew lesson provides an opportunity for both the parent and student to study with the teacher. It also provides an opportunity for that busy parent to ask questions of the teacher to ensure that his or her child is doing well in school and completing his/her studies on task. Our religious school students have also enjoyed the use of the computer and the lessons, stories, and activities that we find on the Internet to enrich our study of the Jewish holidays and lessons from the Torah. www.harzion.org
Randy Thomas, Director of Technology, Tesseract School:
Tesseract School absolutely believes that technology enhances education and incorporates it into our curriculum, beginning with our 2-year-old students, who are exposed to “B Bots” (childlike robotics) and Mimio Boards (Smart Blackboards). We appreciate that technology is a part of children from a very early age; our philosophy is that a child’s school needs to help students gain the maturity to using various technology to remain safe. We offer our students the tools to gather information and communicate using the most appropriate modern tool for each respective classroom, from our early childhood program through grade 12. Beginning in kindergarten, Tesseract students begin using our public speaking program where they address students, educators and parents in the Lower School Library on a microphone during Morning Meeting. This instills great confidence. Kindergarteners also begin using robotics and quickly matriculate to document cameras and iPads. In middle school, grades five through eight, students incorporate iPads into every facet of their planning and organization; they use apps to save time and manage adolescent maturity, backing up their work on the cloud. Much of Tesseract is on a one-to-one iPad program, and we anticipate completing this one-to-one program through grade 12 for the 2013-2014 school year. www.tesseractschool.org
Karla Burkhart, Program Manager, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at ASU:
The staff at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at ASU strongly believe that technology is enhancing our students’ educational experience. Our newest advancement in technology is ning.com, our social media website that allows our lifelong learners to keep the learning experience going. Exclusively accessible to OLLI ASU members and instructors, there are opportunities to “virtually” cluster together with others of similar interests and offer thought-provoking ideas and forums for conversations. For example, members taking a particular OLLI class can create a site to carry on the conversation about ideas raised in the class. Students and faculty can upload lecture materials, links to course readings and websites, and even create their own blog sites. Weekly, the staff of OLLI ASU post upcoming events that might interest our lifelong learners. Also, ASU research, cutting-edge discoveries and thought-provoking pieces are regularly posted in a “forum” section. Members can then review and discuss. OLLI offers adults ages 50-plus the opportunity to experience ASU’s intellectual, cultural and social environments. www.lifelonglearning.asu.edu
