January 5 4:30

metro

PM

EXHIBIT OPENING PROGRAM

Nazi Persecution
of Homosexuals

21st-Century Learning

WITH KEYNOTE PRESENTATION BY
THE HONORABLE
(Massachusetts — D, Retired)

BARNEY FRANK

Stacy Gittleman

Guests are invited to enjoy refreshments and
view the exhibit beginning at 3:30 pm
ADMISSION: Tickets required ($18 non-members / $10 members)
by phone 248.553.2400 ext. 24

Special to the
Jewish News

PRE-RECEPTION:

Affirmations

JCC

Jewish Gay Network
of Michigan

Anti-Defamation League

Jewish Studies
Eastern Michigan University

A

Henry M. Grix and
Howard W. Israel Fund

University of Michigan-Dearborn,
Office for Student Engagement
(LGBTQ and Inclusion Initiative)

Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor
Oral History Archive

JSS A EM 0/i94,

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Ruth Ellis Center

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER ZEKELMAN FAMILY CAMPUS

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December 19 • 2013

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Find the Root (Shin-Lamed-Mem)

MISSI ■

Sponsored in part by Between The Lines

American Civil Liberties
Union of Michigan

Temple Israel pilots ShalomLearning
technology-based Hebrew program.

sk a Jewish adult
to recall their
Hebrew school
days and their eyes may
MlZEIMS
glaze over with a look of
absolute boredom. They
remember the tedium of
children sitting in rows, prayer books
open and a teacher running through
reading drills line by line, one student
at a time.
These experiences may have con-
tributed to the bleak findings in the
Pew Research Center's latest study
on American Jewry. According to the
study, two-thirds of American Jews are
not affiliating with a synagogue. The
study also revealed that 76 percent of
those Jews with no religious affiliation
surveyed said they had no knowledge
of the Hebrew alphabet.
To reverse the trend, Jewish educa-
tors in North America agree: The old-
school methods of teaching Hebrew
must be reinvented and reinvigorated
for today's students growing up in the
digital age.
Rabbi Arianna Gordon, director
of Jewish education at Temple Israel
in West Bloomfield, said that 21st-
century technology in a Hebrew school
setting is a "must have That is why
she enrolled Temple Israel as the first
synagogue in the Detroit area to pilot
a digital, online Hebrew curriculum
called ShalomLearning.
"ShalomLearning is designed to
engage students through technology
and offers the flexibility for students
to fit learning into their own sched-
ules:' Gordon said. "After all, they
use technology on a regular basis and
are so comfortable with it in their
secular education. We wanted to meet
them there, to keep them excited and
engaged and using technology in their
Hebrew education:'
According to Gordon, the school
is slowly implementing the online
Hebrew decoding program — a cur-
riculum created by Los Angeles-based
Torah Aura Productions and digitized
by ShalomLearning in Bethesda, Md.
— into one class of 10 fourth-graders
this fall. As the school year goes on,
the rest of the congregation's 150
fourth-graders will be incorporated
into the program. Gordon expects to
roll out ShalomLearning to the fourth
and fifth grades in the fall of 2014.

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Practice hewing when practicing the prayer.

Then Select "Add Attachments" > •pecord Audio•.

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ShalomLearning, developed by
two entrepreneurial Jewish educa-
tors, is not connected to any Jewish
affiliation. It is customizable to each
congregation's needs. Though the
ShalomLearning curriculum contains
different modules, such as a com-
prehensive Jewish values component
that can be implemented in class-
room, home and community settings,
Temple Israel for now is only using
the Hebrew decoding module.
When class is in session, the
teacher gives students weekly online
homework assignments. As students
read in Hebrew, their voice is record-
ed and stored in the program to be
later reviewed for accuracy by the
teacher. The child can do their com-
puter work either independently, or
ideally, within the earshot of a parent,
Gordon said.
Jewish educators believe this
self-paced method of learning will
increase student confidence and
enthusiasm.
"We have heard from some con-
gregations [in Virginia] using the
Hebrew program that, since the
beginning of the year, have experi-
enced 100 percent attendance said
Debbie Himelfarb, vice president of
operations at ShalomLearning.
"When you allow students to move
at their own pace, you have their buy-
in. You have increased student con-
fidence as well as engagement from
the families, and that's when you find
kids choosing to come to Hebrew
school over a soccer game:' ❑