Transforming Education Through Technology

Join us! The Bureau of Jewish Education is partnering with the Jewish High Tech Community of Silicon Valley and featuring the voice of Jewish educator Evan Wolkenstein to explore the impact technology is having in the classroom.

DATE: Tuesday May 8th TIME: 6:30pm – 8:30pm

LOCATION: Fenwick & West, 801 California Street, Mountain View Together

BJE and JHTC assembled a panel to explore how to pair an investment in technology pedagogies, best practices and creative employment of these new technological advances, in order to really harness the potential they promise. It is imperative that investment in technology not be about the technology itself, but about enabling students to learn more dynamically and teachers to teach more creatively. How are personalization, social networks, learning analytics and other trends transforming education and learning? BJE’s Debby Jacoby will open the show, along with JHTC’s Tanya Okmyansky. Participating on the panel is Evan Wolkenstein, the Director of Experiential Education at Jewish Community High School of the Bay. The moderator is Martin Griss, Director of Carnegie Mellon of Silicon Valley. Also participating on the panel are Isaac Segal, President and CEO of Tegrity, a division of McGraw-Hill Higher Education and David Strauss, a Vice President at Kno, Inc. Click here to register, see the program and bios of the panelists. Click here to read more about Evan and his “paperless” class. JHTC and their President Tanya Okmyansky were prominently featured in the J Weekly this past week. Hope you can join us!

Apply by May 1st for the Kevah Teaching Fellowship!

If you are a current or aspiring Jewish educator in your twenties or thirties, we invite you to apply to the Kevah Teaching Fellowship to learn how to facilitate small group Jewish learning for your peers.
Kevah, a Bay Area-based organization that engages Jewish identity and builds Jewish community through study of classical Jewish texts, is proud to announce the inaugural year of the Kevah Teaching Fellowship. Made possible by a generous grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation, this prestigious opportunity will provide participants with a fully-funded professional development opportunity in facilitating Jewish small group learning for young adults. Preference will be given to applicants in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and the Denver/Boulder area, but outstanding candidates from around the country are encouraged to apply.
It includes:

• Three in-person workshops over the course of the year
• Ongoing meetings with a supervising mentor
• Opportunities for part-time paid work teaching Torah to young adults
• Personalized guidance in curriculum development on topics that interest you
• Participation in ongoing Jewish learning with other Kevah Fellows
• Access to carefully selected curricular resources
• Stipend for travel and lodging for non-Bay Area participants
• Future teaching opportunities through Kevah’s rapidly expanding network of Torah study groups

Young adults from across the religious spectrum are invited to apply to this pluralistic program.

If you are interested in applying, please click here.
For more information contact Noa Silver: nsilver@kevah.org, 510-280-5656.

Please forward to friends, family members and other potential candidates!

Application materials are due May 1, 2012.

Help JTA Create a Fantastic One-Day Event for Parents of Teens!

JTA is planning a one-day learning event for parents of teens.

In order for this to be the most helpful event possible, we are asking for YOUR input.

Fill out this brief survey and let us know your needs.

Questions?  Contact Julie Emden, 415-751-6983, ext. 125

Check Out JTA’s E-Newsletter

JTA has some news to share.  Read about it here. 

Share this with your friends, and don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook. 

Shabbat Shalom!

New Opportunity: YouthFirst Program Coordinator, Marin Region, Jewish Family and Children’s Services.

Help pre-teens and teens develop the necessary life skills to move into young adulthood smoothly, successfully, and responsibly. The Marin YouthFirst Program Coordinator will bring established JFCS programs to Marin County which help youth develop practical on-the-job skills and enhance their understanding of the steps needed to achieve career goals, and which inspire and provide opportunities for teens to put Jewish values into action and to develop a lifelong commitment to volunteering. This is a part-time position with benefits. We are looking for candidates with a bachelor’s degree in human services, two years of related experience preferred, excellent communication and organizational skills, knowledge of Jewish traditions, holidays and customs, and demonstrated ability to relate to teens and parents.

Please see job description at http://www.jfcs.org/jobs/positions-available/youthfirst-program-coordinator-marin-region.

Email resume and cover letter to nancym@jfcs.org

SFTOP Meeting at JCCSF TONIGHT!

Tonight, at the JCCSF, we will celebrate a momentous occasion for JTA.

Four years ago, to the date, (on May 16, 2007) JTA convened San Francisco teens, leaders and program directors to dream of ways to deepen and strengthen teen engagement in our Jewish community in San Francisco.  JTA spearheaded the effort to receive funding that resulted in a collaborative community-wide program in the city, based at the JCCSF, to reach Jewish high-school aged teens who are not aware of the many and diverse opportunities that are available to them to engage in Jewish life and to create a network of Jewish teens in the city.  With the support and guidance of the newly hired San Francisco Teen Outreach Coordinator, Lauren Greenberg, a group of teens from public schools in the city renamed the outreach program JUST – Jewish Union of San Francisco Teens.

Tonight over a dozen teens from public schools (JUST), private schools, and Jewish teen-serving organizations in San Francisco will meet one another for the first time and begin to design concrete programming for the coming academic year that will reach their friends in new and innovative ways! In addition, 20 community leaders, advisors, teachers, and teen program providers will join the teens to help formulate plans for sustaining the program for the longterm.  We are so excited!

For more information about this program, contact Lauren Greenberg!

See you after Pesach!

All of us at JTA wish you a happy Passover!  We’ll be back posting new content on Wednesday, April 27th.

Chag Pesach Sameach!

Teens, Parents, Educators: J-Serve is THIS Sunday!

This Sunday, April 17, is J-Serve 2011, the annual day of Jewish teen community service. This is a community-wide event co-sponsored by BBYO, the Oshman Family JCC, the Addison-Penzak JCC, Yavneh Day School, and the Diller Teen Fellows. All Jewish teens in grades 6-12 are invited and encouraged to join hundreds of their peers from around the region for a morning of community service, followed by a free lunch and service-education programming led by other teens and guest educator. The day runs from 9am to 3:30pm in the Sunnyvale/Palo Alto area. We are also providing bus transportation from various sites around the Bay Area to the events and back.

Individual teens should register to here: http://is.gd/jserve, and we’ll send them an email with more details. If you’d like to register a group of teens, find our more info, or get involved as an adult, please contact Aaron Bock at abock@bbyo.org or 415-751-6983 x270.

Parents, teachers, educators, and other adult volunteers are welcome as well, and should also contact Aaron. The attached flyer (click below) may be shared with teens, parents, and any community partners you wish.

J-Serve Flyer

Upcoming Screening of Films from SFJFF, NFJP and Reali School!

Wednesday April 6th, 2011

6:oopm- 8:00pm

145 9th Street, San Francisco, CA

Israeli teen filmmakers meet their Jewish American counterparts for an exchange of Cinema, Questions and Ideas.

Showcasing short films by:

New Jewish Filmmaking Project— Produced by Citizen Film, a program of the SF Jewish Film Festival

The Reali School Young Ambassadors from Israel

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Followed by a Q&A with the NFJP filmmakers, SFJFF Executive Director Peter Stein, and Reali School Young Ambassadors

For more information or to RSVP contact Alma Schneider at:  aschneider@bjesf.org / 415-751-6983, ext. 152

Check out Jewish Heritage Night with the Oakland A’s– May 17th!

Whether you’re a Giants fan, an A’s fan or not a huge Baseball fan at all, take advantage of this great opportunity to join the A’s for their inaugural Jewish Heritage Night. Your Plaza Infield ticket will include a special Jewish Heritage giveaway AND a delicious food item served in the Westside Club. In addition, all participants will receive FREE PARKING as part of Chevy Free Parking Tuesdays.

Click here for more information!