By: Alicia Post
Last Wednesday night history was made. Over 50 Jewish educators, practitioners and thought leaders from around the country got together on a twitter chat. This first ever Jewish educators chat or #JEDCHAT was organized by Rabbi Akevy Greenblatt, Rabbi Dov Emerson and Rabbi Meir Wexler.
If you are already lost or even twitter-phobic I recommend reading Caren Levine’s blog post, Pull Up a Hashtag and Chat Awhile! and Dov Emerson’s blog post, So what is #JEDCHAT anyway?
This interactive and live conversation opened with introductions from around the country. The main objective of this first chat was to establish goals and priorities of future chats. Is it a forum to talk about education technology or solely to network Judaic Teachers? Is the purpose to discuss the obstacles specific to Judaic studies such as 21st century skills / blended learning? What is the difference between the many #hashtags being used in the community? How does one differ from others?
My personal highlights were the discussions on the potential of twitter; how it can save you time, establish collaboration, shared resources and professional development. Many tweets focused on how to encourage other educators to join and become involved. Arguably the most important creation to come out of #JEDCHAT was the building of relationships or a PLN (Personal Learning Network). Rabbi Wexler’s blog post, Want a P.L.N.? Try #JEDCHAT explains the tremendous significance of these connections.
Want to know what you missed? The entire chat is archived here. Plan on joining tonight? Vote on what topic you want to discuss.
Is twitter still foreign to you? Ken Gordon from the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE) posted a tutorial that can help, You Can Speak the Language of Twitter.
If you are on twitter be sure to join us this and every Wednesday night at 9pm EST.
Kol Hakavod to Akevy Greenblatt (@Akevy613), Dov Emerson (@dovemerson), and Rabbi Meir Wexler (@RabbiWex) for starting what promises to be an important gathering of ideas and information to enhance the future of Jewish education.
Alicia Post is the Social Media Manager at The AVI CHAI Foundation (@AVICHAIFDN).
AVI CHAI concluded its general grant making on December 31, 2019.