Having spent three days at the annual conference run by the Coalition for the Advancement of Education, I learned lots and met some great people. But having met educators of all ages, one thing was alarmingly clear: Jewish educators fear technology.
There, I said it.
This is not a criticism of the
CAJE conference, which presented amazing energy, networking opportunities and idea sharing at every possible moment. The conference focused on reaching the 21st century learner: Many classes were about using technology, from blogging to Facebook, from podcasting (where even an "early adopter" like me learned something) to effective Google searching (predictably, a little basic for me). The CAJE Web site, http://caje.org, had also been given an overhaul a few weeks in advance, with functioning areas for a wiki, a blog, a Flickr page for photos, a YouTube channel for videos, a social network and other bells and whistles that would make information sharing and keeping in touch much easier. I was thrilled with this embrace of technology, not just in principle -- as is often the case when Jewish organizations announce new Web sites, blogs or other Web accoutrements but by actually creating the infrastructure to make great things happen. The CAJE wiki alone, http://caje32.wikispaces.com/Session+Handouts, with handouts and presentations from the conference now available online for all, represents a great open-source resource.
Still, the cynic in me had to add that this will only work if the educators actually begin to use them. And after attending many of the offered tech classes, I must say the literacy level is low and the fear factor is high.
Obviously this conclusion is a generalization. A number of participants were more conversant in tech terms and Web tools than I was, but generally I heard the same basic questions again and again: "What's the difference between a blog and a chat room?" "You mean just anyone can contribute to Wikipedia?" "I don't know what an MP3 player is."
Maybe it's because I recently co-authored an article on Jewish education and technology (http://caje32.wikispaces.com/JEN+Article+Beery+Kustanowitz) and because I live much of my professional life caught up in the web of the Jewish Internet. But I'm convinced that for teachers to effectively convey relevant content to today's students, they have to use today's methodologies, which by necessity include the Internet.
What CAJE's next conference needs -- and really what the whole Jewish non-profit world could benefit from -- is a systemwide technology overhaul from an equipment and a human resources/skills perspective. What CAJE did was a tremendous stride forward, expressing the hope and trust that if they built it, the educators would come to use it and populate it with fresh content. But educators, both formal and informal, require the tools and the skills to reach students who live their lives online even more than I do. If those students are listening to MP3 players, let them listen to Jewish educational podcasts and music in addition to the soundtrack from "High School Musical." If they are reading blogs, let them be Jewish blogs. If they are using e-mail, expand their use to a joint wiki with another school to cross-pollinate ideas and experiences and build a stronger Jewish people.
These are all skills that can be learned. Technology is a tremendous opportunity for Jewish education if only we can allocate the funds and develop the skills to use it effectively. And since enrollment in CAJEnet, the social networking site, grew substantially over the days of the conference, I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll be moving in that direction.
