It is often felt that Jewish studies teachers lack the resources enjoyed by their secular colleagues to enliven lessons. But London-based Jewish Interactive is determined that Kodesh does not lag behind in the digital era.
Its founder, Chana Kanzen, has recently been joined by Sammy Morhaim, who headed Jewish studies at King David Primary School in Manchester for eight years. "Our organisation doesn't just want to use technology for the sake of it," she says. "It's about using technology to do something that couldn't be done without using it."
Here are three programmes that can produce dividends in the classroom.
Hebrew reading:
Inspectors believe standards of Hebrew reading are often not what they should be, even within Jewish schools. It can be a struggle getting children to put in the practice.
This is a one-stop shop for Jewish studies
"We have generations of children that have not been able to do reading homework for one reason or another," says Mrs Kanzen. "Either the parent can't read Hebrew or the child doesn't go to a Jewish school."
But Mr Morhaim has found one way of improving it. By using the Seesaw app, he has been able to set individual reading tasks for children to do in their own time on an iPad or smartphone. "I've sent children reading sheets where I model the reading myself," he explains. "I can record my voice over a screenshot of some reading. They can listen and then they can read back. I can edit and correct. I will hear their reading and let them know how they are doing."
For children who are inhibited about reading in front of their peers, this allows them to practise on their own. "They feel more secure, they are not going to be embarrassed. If kids read more frequently, they are going to improve," he says. "This way we can guarantee they are doing it. I can track their progress and send them a message to say 'You haven't done your reading yet.' I can listen at home or in a free period.
"One of the most challenging things is to teach Hebrew reading and writing. You have to be creative."
Ji Studio:
This programme enables children and teachers to design their own books or posters. They can create their own haggadah or siddur, for example, inserting photographs or clip-art to illustrate it.
"They could go on a classroom trip and before they go home, email a book about the trip," says Mrs Kanzen. "They have got the ability to have all the images, Hebrew text and music. We provide all of that for them."
Apart from the creative engagement, such exercises help to reinforce knowledge. "On one occasion, I asked children who were learning the story of Ruth to do a scene of Ruth speaking to Naomi. When they got to do it, they didn't know what to write in the speech bubble. It was a light-bulb moment. They needed to know the story in order to fill in the scene. They wanted and were motivated to do it."
The whole of the Bible in Hebrew and English is available electronically, so children can draw on any part of the text.
Jewish Interactive has its own graphic designer. "But we don't just produce the product," Mrs Kanzen says. "We give training and support to teachers and lessons plans. It's a necessity."
Ji Tap:
One of the newest ventures, Ji Tap is a store of Jewish educational games devised by teachers from all around the world. "It is a phenomenal resource that allows students, teachers, parents, from any level, from as young as five or six, to create their own games and to play games created by anybody else," Mrs Kanzen explains.
"We curate it carefully, we will not just put on any game. We go through a quality assurance process."
They have also built up a group of "trusted teachers" who make consistently good games.
"It empowers teachers to create their own content. It looks good, it is interactive and you can put in moving images."
There are games to practise Hebrew reading or Ivrit vocabulary. Jewish Interactive has also partnered with Etgar so children can revise their learning in preparation for the annual Jewish schools quiz. A school in Ra'anana has created simple games for children with special needs. "There is a huge hole in the market for that".
Teachers can also edit games for bespoke use, for example replacing Sephardi with Ashkenazi pronunciation of Hebrew (for instance, in a Charedi school).
They can also keep track of how children are performing on a game. "You can see the understanding of the child instantly," Mrs Kanzen adds.
"This is a one-stop shop for Jewish studies. We have every single subject area. We are developing all the time, it will never stop. Every time someone logs in, there will be a different set of games."
See jewishinteractive.org
