Kadima Technology Conference

July 19, 2011 • Cleveland, Ohio

PELIE, the Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative
Education, knows that in order for Jewish educators to
effectively connect with their learners, it is imperative that
they understand 21st century technologies. Through
harnessing technology within the classroom, educators will have the tools to
greater impact student learning. In order for Jewish education to remain
current and relevant, we need to “leapfrog” ahead, rather than spending time
catching up. Jewish children are already immersed in technology. To bridge the
gap between student and teacher, PELIE will be hosting regional “Kadima”
(Hebrew for “Forward”) technology conferences.

Jewish educators need to make an attitudinal shift regarding the use

of technology, from an attitude of fear to one of excitement about the potential
that technology brings. This issue is one that all educators: public school
educators, private school educators and Jewish educators need to address. And
since one voice alone does not create a groundswell for change in a
community, the conference is designed to be attended by teams of three.

These teams of three may be at varying levels and will apply via an
application (attached). They must meet a minimum requirement of skill sets
and interest in technology to attend the conference, and the team might be
comprised of a combination of principal/education director, the institutions’
technologists or “techies”, teachers, clergy, or an education committee
chair/lay person. The conference design will provide a keynote by a thought
leader on the field of educational technology as well as breakout sessions
which offer participants a chance to experiment with technology tools in a safe,
small group environment --meeting the learners where they are.

As technology is constantly changing, Jewish educators need more

accessible opportunities to stay current. The Kadima conference will be
held in three regions each year, the first of which will be hosted in Cleveland,
Ohio. Kadima will be consistently visiting new cities and literally meeting
educators where they live. There will be no cost for participants to attend.

As technology changes, so too will the needs of Jewish educators.

Therefore, in order to assure that the Kadima conference is meeting real
needs, each conference will conclude with an “evaluation and insights”
session to discover how future conferences can best serve attendees. And with
each new conference, the host region can have input on the design, and
several local technologists will be hired to lead breakout sessions, in order to
create a cadre of local resources.

CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
Conference attendees will represent complementary Jewish education
settings. Participants will register for the conference in teams. A maximum of
25 teams will be accepted. Each school will be required to send a team of at
least three people. The team might be comprised of a combination of
principal/education director, the institutions’ technologists or “techies”,
teachers, clergy, or an education committee chair/lay person.

The one day conference will take place from 10 am - 6pm on July 19,
2011. All attendees must meet certain technological guidelines. Each attendee
is required to bring a laptop or tablet.

CONFERENCE FOLLOW-UP

• Conference attendees will be required to “teach forward” what

they’ve learned at Kadima within the educational environments in
which they work and online with fellow Kadima attendees.

• A virtual network (Ning or other platform) will be created to

connect the educators who have attended the conference will allow
attendees to continue to share resources and join in conversations.

• PELIE will summarize the data collected at the “evaluation and

insight” session at the end of each conference.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
• A keynote speaker that helps school teams shift their attitude about the
use of technology, encouraging risk taking, letting go of control, etc.
• A safe environment in which participants can try a few tools at their own
levels, so they can immediately implement the tools in their classrooms.
These sessions will be taught not only in terms of where to click, but also
how to implement these tools into teaching pedagogy.
• A chance for school teams to inform what is needed to advance the field
of Jewish education and technology.
• The chance for schools to create a ripple effect by teaching out what
they've learned to their school/community.
 • The opportunity for individuals interested in bringing technology to their
schools without worry about individual cost, institutional cost, or
accessibility.

Applications will be accepted through June 14th, 2011 or until the conference
reaches capacity. Please submit the attached application to info@pelie.org.

Questions? Contact Adena Raub, PELIE Information Manager at

araub@pelie.org

Kadima Technology Conference

Application

Team Name (Be creative!): City: ___________ State:_____

Applicant #2:
Applicant #1:
First Name:
First Name:
Last Name:
Last Name:
Email Address:
Email Address:
Phone Number:
Phone Number:
Job Title or Lay Position:
Job Title or Lay Position:

Applicant #3:

First Name:
Last Name:
Email Address:
Phone Number:
Job Title or Lay Position:

Institution/Program/Community Group:
Address:
Website:
Phone Number:

TEAM ESSAY

Please collaborate as a team to answer the following three questions

1. Why is your team the best team to attend the Kadima Conference? (Max 250 words)

2. How do you envision that this experience will impact your community? (Max 250 words)
 3. Describe the setting in which you work, including if the institution/program has a website, has
wireless Internet, has a technology plan, and other relevant information ---and this will not make or
break your attendance. (Max 250 words)

PERSONAL ESSAY (to be completed by each team member)

Please provide individual answers to the following questions:

Applicant Name:_____________ Team Name:__________________ City, State:__________

1. Tell us about your character in 250 characters (not words!).

2. How would you characterize your technological skills, broadly defined?

-Novice
-Intermediate
-Expert

3. What are the three takeaways that you’d like to get out of the Kadima conference? (Max 150 words)

4. Do you have any advanced technology skills that you’d like to share with us? (Max 150 Words)

5. How familiar are you with the following tools?

• Unknown, I do not know nor have I ever encountered this before.

• Basic, I know what this is and have used it with assistance.
• Intermediate, I have had training or experience doing this.
• Mastery, I am fully proficient in this skill.

Social Media

Facebook Unknown Basic Intermediate Mastery

Twitter Unknown Basic Intermediate Mastery

Virtual Communities Unknown Basic Intermediate Mastery

(Ning/Buddy Press/SocialGo)
Downloading files from the web Unknown Basic Intermediate Mastery
and retrieving them on a
computer

Skype Unknown Basic Intermediate Mastery

Browsing the internet Unknown Basic Intermediate Mastery

Text Messaging Unknown Basic Intermediate Mastery

Sharing online material (web Unknown Basic Intermediate Mastery

pages, documents, photos)