The other day I opened up my print copy of the New York Times (yes, I still rely on that ancient form of technology: The printed newspaper.) I couldn’t help but notice the article on the front page, above the fold: Grading the Digital School: In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores. The piece described how […]

“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing”.  This little piece of wisdom was uttered by Thomas Jefferson in 1787. What does this have to do with Jewish education and social networks?  Everything.  At the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference I was immersed in a sea of digital technology.  I […]

I remember, as a kid, lying on my back on the side of hill looking at the sky, finding a dragon, George Washington and a tree floating amidst the white, billowing clouds.  I’m going to bet that most of us have had similar experiences, finding disparate symbols in the mist that resides in the sky.  […]

My head is spinning.  My first 36 hours at the ISTE 2011 conference have left me intellectually exhausted. And my feet hurt.  I need to tell you that the Philadelphia Convention Center is BIG.  Really.  So what have I learned that I can share with you? Well, let’s frame it in this context:  What are […]

There’s something about airports. I find them exciting. For me I think they represent travelling into the unknown.  I mean I know that I’m flying to Philadelphia to participate in the ISTE11 (International Society for Technology in Education) conference, but I’m not exactly certain what to expect.  That’s a thrilling prospect.  What I understand is […]

One of the blogs I follow is Jewschool.com– a site that presents fascinating, and at times challenging, perspectives of the current and future state of Judaism. I just read this piece by Dan Ab questioning conventional wisdom and the view that Day School education is the primary Jewish educational tool.  The writer reiterates the point […]

“The medium, or process, of our time – electric technology – is reshaping and restructuring patterns of social interdependence and every aspect of our personal life…Everything is changing…Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men [sic] communicate than by the content of the communications.” (Marshall McLuhan) These prescient […]

I had a conversation with a Rabbi recently.  He was upset because a cantorial colleague of his had decided to strike out on her own, performing “destination B’nai Mitzvah”, divorcing herself from synagogue life, and setting up private Hebrew schools in community club-houses.  He fretted that this is antithetical to the idea of community and […]

“I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!”  I feel like the white rabbit.  You know, rushing hither and yon, trying to figure out how to get where I need to go without being too distracted by all the tweets, network posts, and blogs I follow; not to mention the old technologies like the […]

Howard Schwartz is a storyteller, a folklorist, a scholar, and a poet. He’s collected many Jewish stories, my favorites being found in Lilith’s Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural, Elijah’s Violin & Other Jewish Fairy Tales  and Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism. He has a new collection of poems out: Breathing in the […]