PD is only part of the equation!

I am a HUGE believer in the power of PD (Professional Development.)  You know, constant learning... keeping up with the latest in what is going on educationally.  I can say with full confidence that GREAT TEACHERS are Lifelong Learners!

I would suggest that PD by itself is not enough.  We can sit through seminars, workshops and classes but until we get a chance to SEE educational techniques working - either in our own classrooms through trying them or seeing other teachers model the techniques - that they all just live in the realm of possibilities.  While I liked trying new things in my classroom, I sometimes felt more comfortable seeing someone else do it first. 

I found that in a classroom visit, I could see another educational professional in action performing the technique or teaching modality that I was interested in.  It was very powerful and I ALWAYS loved visiting other classrooms.  Some of my best teaching ideas were ones that I "stole" from watching other teachers!!

Well, Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy, here in Los Angeles, (Hillel, it just so happens, is the school that my son attends :-) is holding a visiting day where they are opening up their classrooms to other teachers!  On Monday, May 22nd, if you are a K-8 teacher and can get the time to come, I would highly recommend that you attend.  After all, seeing is believing!!

Click this link to register.  

There are limited spaces available and you need to book in order to attend.  Here is the agenda for the morning:

• 8:30 a.m. Meet and greet; refreshments
• 9:00 a.m. Classroom visits
• 10:20 a.m. Meet teachers and students
• 10:45 a.m. Visionary leadership panel
• 11:30 a.m. Closing

As always, I solicit your comments on the blogsite.

Yossie

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist, CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

Won't Ya Be My Neighbor!? (apologies to Mr. Rogers!)

Last week, on Technology: In Plain English I left you off with a very bleak outlook for the future job prospects for our kids - I even "used" cliff-hanger music!!  (Here is the link to last week's "Who are the people in your neighborhood")

To quickly recap... Based on the top 10% of students in India and China alone, those numbers almost equal the TOTAL number of students in the American educational system!  So how are our children going to compete on a global market? 

Now many folks think that if we increase our teaching of science and math curriculum to include coding and other STEM/STEAM based proficiencies that this will help us compete. Yes, it will help, but you have to remember that in both India and China there is a very strong emphasis on science/math.  That includes coding and other logic based disciplines.  Also, the governments have acknowledged that in order to compete globally, they have to improve their command of English and so have added advanced English speaking classes, complete with diction coaches! This means that adding math/science/STEM/STEAM subjects alone is not enough.

So, what's the answer?

As I was researching this blog, I came across a comment that a data researcher added in a footnote.  It would appear that, when asked, the Chinese interviewees complained that their educational system was not as flexible as the American system. It was their impression that, unlike in America, their kids were not taught how to be creative!  And this, I believe, "hit the nail on the head!"

21st Century Competencies promote Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), collaboration and creativity!  The concepts of Project Based Learning (PBL - not to be confused with Learning by Project - different thing entirely!), Blended Learning, properly executed STEM/STEAM classes, and so on, are all about creative learning! And that is the edge that we have - well, as long as we include this kind of education it in our schools.  Unfortunately, there are still many Jewish Day Schools that don't include any 21st Century Educational Modalities in their curriculum.  The whole reason why I joined CIJE was to help fix this problem!

CIJE's mission is to bring cutting edge initiatives (that is why we are called the Center for INITIATIVES in Jewish Education) to Jewish Day Schools across the US. One of our programs, the HS Engineering course, teaches physics, coding, electronics, entrepreneurship and collaboration that culminates in the students creating a "cap-stone" project that they display at a regional conference.

No, the above picture is not of a science fair where students regurgitate something that they have learned.  This is is photo of hundreds of East Coast Jewish Day School students who are pitching real world ideas that they created during the HS Engineering course!  This is all about creativity, collaboration, HOTS, etc!

Next week in Los Angeles, we will be holding our West Coast regional conference.  Interested in finding out more?  Here is a link to the event flyer.

As always, I solicit your comments on the blog site.

Yossie

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

Who are the people in your neighborhood - with apologies to Big Bird!

Speaking of neighbors...

Thank-you to everyone who came out on Sunday for our first ever CIJE STEM/STEAM & 21 Century Ed day! From the feedback from the 60+ participants, the day was a grand success.  Your dedication to our kids is amazing and is exemplified by you giving up a Sunday for professional development.  I am in awe of you!

Also, a special thanks to COJDS, EMEK School and the presenters! Without your participation this event could never have happened! 

One of the attendees on Sunday was the president of CIJE, Mr. Jason Cury.  He was talking to a group of participants about why our Jewish Day Schools - all U.S. schools for that matter - really need to invest in STEM/STEAM education.  When I heard what he had to say about general education in the U.S., I became more than a little concerned.

Firstly, let me be clear.  My blog readers know that I have been constantly writing on the need for improvements to our educational system.  That is what this whole blog is about - cool ways to "up-your-educational-game" - but, as King Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.  All you have to do is read my blog post Story as Old as Time to see that science and math education has been a concern here in the U.S. since the 1950's!

As Jason explained to this group of participants, in the "old days" our competition for earning a livelihood was usually our neighbor.  

No, not literally the "guy-next-door" but the person who is in the same socioeconomic bracket as us.  You know, same education, earning potential, similar dreams and so on...  In today's global economy, that neighbor could be someone living in India or China.  OK, you may think... "so it's just a bigger pool of competition... no problem."

Yes, problem!

Let's crunch some simple numbers...

Students in school in

• India: 315 million
• China:  400 million
• United States:  75 million

This means that China ALONE has more people in school than the US has population! (US Population is 324 million)

Take the top 10% of students from India and China.  That would be 31 million from India and 40 million from China.  That almost equals the number of TOTAL students in America!!

And those 71 million top 10% kids are getting the same level of education (more-or-less) as our top 10%.  Also, they will eventually become the middle class of their home countries with the same level of education as 7.5 million of our kids from here in the US!!  That is a lot of competition from the "guy-next-door!"

Now, for the very scary part...

In India a middle class family earns $23K US.   In China, they earn $32K US.  In America, they earn $97K US.  So, for an employer who can employ on a global basis it would make more sense to hire someone from India or China than to hire me!!

"But Yossie," you say, "that doesn't change people having to hire in America!"

OK, yes, but... my son wants to be a video game developer.  It requires special skills and an aptitude for programming but it can be done from anywhere in the world.  More and more, the jobs of the future are going to be global in nature and I worry if  he be able to get a job when he graduates from school!

 Check out Josan's art: www.pinterest.com/ferranprat/josan-gonzalez/

Before you start thinking about a dystopian future.. I believe that there is there a solution... but more on that in Part Two next week!  (play cliff-hanger music here :-)

Yossie

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

RED ALERT! - Very serious issue

Well, its another major spam alert!!

Yes, this is very real and kind of scary - so be very aware.

Today, May 3rd, there have been multiple reports of folks getting emails with invitations to open a google doc.  After clicking, the user is taken to a google site and asked to log in again (as google sometimes does) but in this case, the spammer/pirate gains access to you g-suite/gmail account.

Very bad stuff!

First reported on Reddit...  here is the (real) link

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel