Several Jewish teachers from across the Jewish Diaspora arrived in Israel last week in order to advance new ideas for developing Jewish educational tools.
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The program, named The Jewish EdTech Hub, was launched by MindCET, as part of a project to bolster Jewish identity and connection to Israel in Jewish schools worldwide. The program is led by UnitEd, under the auspices of the Diaspora Affairs Ministry.
As part of the program, 27 Jewish educators from 13 counties go through a product development course in EdTech, where they define and research a problem in the subject of Jewish education while using methodologies pioneered by start-up companies.
According to MindCET CEO Avi Warshavsky, “Our mission is to look a few years into the future and offer innovative solutions for education. We’ve developed this model for Diaspora educators, most of them Jewish, where they work as a team to find a need that requires fulfillment. Following that, they develop a product that can solve the problem.”
“They arrived in Israel last week and worked closely with our developers, and now they’re moving on to the next step – launching their own pilot which will see light in the coming school year in September,” he added.
Will the teachers have a completed product after the program?
“We already have one product which is in its first phases, which we’ll be able to develop more the further we get on with the pilot. Eventually, the product will be available worldwide and will be able to help Jewish teachers who handle teaching about Jewish identity, Hebrew, religious studies and more," according to Washavsky.
What educational products are currently in the works?
“We have a team who’ll develop an ‘open space’ in which one can talk about being Jewish in public, which is a popular topic in the Diaspora, where some youth fear to talk about their Jewish heritage,” he said.
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MindCET CEO Avi Warshavsky is offering innovative solutions for education
(Photo: Sefi Shalvin)
“Another topic that also comes up is the gap between general studies and religious studies. The new product creates ways to integrate Jewish values and content into general subjects. It’s a dynamic database that educators can constantly update,” he explained. “For example, the field of biology, which has many ethical issues that can be addressed using Jewish values.”
Additional products that have been launched include Hebrew language learning, issues in religious studies, and an idea called JewTopia – a digital platform for creating animated videos that embody Jewish characters, values and culture.
Another initiative by teachers from Argentina and Canada is called Bye-Bye | Ba'ayah – a personalized virtual environment that presents a problem from Jewish sources that participants will need to solve together in small groups.
The environment is based on a pedagogical problem-solving method that includes discussions, exploring and learning more about the problem, brainstorming to enhance coping strategies, and joint decision-making on the approach to solving the problem.