This summer the PresenTense Institute held its first ever professional development seminar. The program was so successful it is now being replicated and taken on the road throughout North America and Israel.

Known for its creative magazine and 6-week fellowship program for young entrepreneurs, PresenTense added another dimension to its work scope: from June 30 - July 3, PresenTense offered a seminar in Jerusalem for leaders in Jewish life – including educators, lay leaders and program professionals - which focused on hands-on training in how to bring their work into the 2.0 world.

“Education must keep up with the contemporary mode of communication in order to remain relevant to the target audience,” says Ariel Beery, co-founder of PresenTense. “It's crucial for educators to understand how young people are forming communities and developing relationships if they want to impact their lives and generate a passion for learning.”

Workshops offered in the seminar included: how to build a website and create a platform for collaboration; blogging; managing contacts and networks; sharing resources online;  and tools on how to engage target audiences and accomplish organizational or educational goals using the web. Seminar participants were able to start working on their projects right on the spot.

Beery’s goal was for participants to leave the seminar feeling that they gained the tools necessary to reach the generation they want to reach, and to run programs that are energized, effective and inspiring.  The seminar helped participants acquire the skills they need to communicate with and reach people in today’s age, he says. 

According to PresenTense resource materials: “Web presence has become the modern day equivalent of a phone number: the first thing most people do when hearing of an organization or an event is search for it on the web.&rdquo Thus, the seminar and the organization stress the importance of online tools in engaging and connecting with those who – while potentially interested in knowing about an institution’s work – might not have the resources to find it.

Aware that participants would arrive with different skill sets, PresenTense engaged in a good deal of assessment prior to the seminar. PresenTense was thus able to target the seminar directly to the specific needs of individuals. “This is what we do within our own organization,” Beery says. “We are able to work with people in all walks of life to help them immediately apply new skills to their work.”