Student-Driven Solutions: Applying Technology to Jewish Studies
STUDENT-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS HOME | STUDENT BLOGS/VLOGS
To meet the challenges inherent in shifting current school practices into those that will better support the future needs of students, The AVI CHAI Foundation and The Jewish Education Project, with the support of UJA Federation of New York, have encouraged experimentation in Jewish day schools in a multitude of ways—including offering programs and professional development to encourage the blending of technology into the classroom. As a next step, The AVI CHAI Foundation seeks to experiment with further seeding change by engaging students in the process of problem-solving using technology. The Jewish Education Project is leading the implementation of this initiative.
Applications are closed at this time. Thank you for your interest.
For further information, please contact Bryna Leider.
Below you will find:
Outcomes
Submission Guidelines
Important Dates
About The AVI CHAI Foundation
Students in grades 7 through 12 attending Jewish day schools in the United States and Canada are eligible to propose a technology-based solution to an identified problem related to teaching and learning in their own schools. The ideas need to directly address a problem related to pedagogical or educational practice in Judaic studies.
Students accepted into the project will receive micro-grants of up to $2,500 that will be used to prototype the solution. Each student will work with a teacher in his or her own school who will support the experimentation. Teacher mentors will receive a stipend of $2,500. Each team will be required to share the final product/prototype as well as reflections on the process. Exemplary projects will be selected to be shared more broadly with the public.
Outcomes
(1) Each applying student will identify a problem and develop a plan to address it. The plan will include a timeline of three intermediary deliverables to be achieved over the school year.
(2) Identified partner educators will provide coaching assistance to support students in their work.
(3) Educator-student teams will persist through the project timeline, report progress to the project manager at each point on the timeline, and submit final products.
(4) Students will report increased confidence and leadership in taking on problems outside of the scope of their authority.
(5) Students will report positive outcomes related to the following ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) 2016 student standards:
a) Empowered Learner: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.
b) Innovative Designer: Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.
c) Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.
d) Global Collaborator: Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.
Submission Guidelines
I. Student applicants must be in grades 7-12 at a Jewish day school in the United States or Canada.
II. Each concept must be submitted by a team of 1-3 students and one teacher.
III. Concepts must include a technology-based solution to an identified problem related to teaching and learning in Judaic studies.
IV. Priority will be given to one concept per school, but schools may apply with more than one idea.
IMPORTANT DATES
October 17, 2017: Applications open
November 3, 2017: Optional submission of applications for feedback
November 14, 2017: Applications close
December 12th, 2017: Applicants informed of micro-grant decisions
January 4, 2018: Project Kickoff
February 15, 2018: First blog post/video reports due
May 11, 2018: Submission of final products
May 18, 2018: Final reports due
Questions? Contact Bryna Leider.
The AVI CHAI Foundation, founded in 1984 and operating in North America, Israel and the former Soviet Union, is committed to strengthening Judaism, Jewish literacy, and Jewish tradition and to sustain, enlarge, and enrich Jewish commitment to the State of Israel. In North America, the foundation’s focus has been to foster and nurture the energizing nucleus of the American Jewish community, by which the foundation means American Jews who are Jewishly literate, who view their lives through the lens of the Jewish religion and feel a deep connection to the world-wide Jewish people, with its center in Israel. Believing that the most effective educational vehicles to achieve this energizing nucleus are Jewish day school and overnight summer camps, the foundation has invested significantly in both fields.
