Honestly, the opportunity to get to know others, to impact others, and be impacted by them is what excites me the most about participating in the Morim Limmud program. I am always looking for opportunities for students and myself to connect with others around the world, to help us better understand other cultures, challenges that we could impact, and ways to communicate and build relationships globally.
Specifically, in my AP CSP course, students are undertaking projects where they design apps based on problems they identify in the world that they can impact, as well as study and understand computer innovations from around the world and the impact they make. It would be incredible if we could develop a joint project between our students and those in Budapest that would have an impact on their knowledge of computer science and project development – and/or perhaps a project exchange that could impact both communities. This could also be done in conjunction with our Tech Entrepreneur program. Additionally, I have experience leading distance learning programs, something which could help all continue to foster the connections made beyond the face to face experiences. We could further encourage exchanges through websites like Flipgrid for student and teacher driven sharing and learning.
Traveling outside of America is one of things that I have come to value highly in my life. I have had incredible experiences connecting with people, learning about their lives, and the stories they have to share. Whether it was when I was young and traveled outside of the US to Israel for the first time through a Hebrew exchange program, or just recently as I traveled and lived in Barcelona for a period of time with my family – walking through history, experiencing things hands-on, and seeing how it could bring to life what one can only experience in those ways, I continue to value and support the importance of Global education and the impact it can have on the learner. I am intrigued to learn more about the Jewish history of Budapest and Hungary, allowing me to connect with yet another important aspect of Klal Yisrael, and promoting a sense of community around the world.
I have been meditating on ways to bring my expertise to Lauder Javne and impact teachers as well as students. I have had the pleasure of leading professional development on a day to day basis at the Adelson Educational Campus. This is something I take great pride in and am passionate about, so much so that I pursued and completed a Masters in Instructional Design & Technology aiding me in delving deeper and building my experience to provide quality professional development. Last year I led workshops at the Apple Worldwide Institute providing hands-on training on how to teach coding to other Apple Distinguished educators from around the world. Over the past five years I have pursued and accomplished certifications through Code.org, Adobe, Apple, and Google enabling me to provide quality training to other teachers and staff in the areas of technology integration, digital media production, STEAM integration, project-based learning, classroom management, and more. Additionally, I have presented interactive sessions at conferences around the United States and abroad where I led adult educators and administrators through activities and learning to help expand on their experiences of leading and providing professional development, Jewish studies and technology learning, STEAM education, and design thinking.
I am well versed in andragogy, adult learning and hoping to use my knowledge to develop workshops and exchange opportunities between the staff at Lauder and myself. This is something that I have built experience in over the years, as well as built on through my Master’s program studies last year. I am excited to share my Instructional Design and Technology skills and help other Morim develop them in turn. For this coming year, one of my goals and desires is to create global connections through Design Thinking Projects in our Incubator, and this opportunity would be ideal to foster such connections. I would love to help students and educators capture and share their learning. It would be exciting to “be like Steven Spielberg” and capture audio stories and history shared (if permitted) in order to set up web resources that could be further shared and developed. Having worn many hats over the years, I developed an ability to help mentor students and would love the chance to help guide ours and theirs through this “once in a lifetime” exciting learning opportunity.
One final note I would like to share is that I continue to be passionate about helping students make connections with Jewish History and Cultures around the world. With having been afforded this opportunity, I look forward to what we could design and build together for all of our teachers and students.
