Authored by Richard D. Solomon and Paul A. Flexner

Over the last decade, distance learning has taken on a new and exciting look as the educational world is quickly moving from a print and classroom based experience to e-learning. Hardly a year goes by without someone introducing a new platform that expands the opportunities and ease for instructors and learners to explore serious topics without ever seeing each other in a face-to-face traditional classroom environment. Many universities are taking the lead in these new endeavors with academics being the first to both explore the new possibilities and to examine the results in their research.  This is not to discount the contributions of the corporate world which often is at the forefront of adopting new technologies for meetings and training purposes.

In the last few years, the technology that is behind these new approaches to learning has taken a leap forward with the advent of Web 2.0 technology, a collection of internet tools for information sharing, data analysis, collaborative writing, knowledge construction, and dissemination. These new internet tools provide an ever expanding base through which instructors and learners can explore their topics, ideas, and insights in both asynchronous (i.e. not at the same time) and synchronous (i.e. at the same time) formats. Blended online learning  (BOL) ,a term created by Dr. Nellie M. Deutsch, is used to describe this form of learning program.  

Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the interface of this new technology with Jewish education. Toward that end, we will explore five key questions:  

1)    What is online learning?
2)    What is blended learning and how is it similar to and different from face-to-face learning in a traditional classroom?
3)    What does research tell us about the effects of blended instruction on teaching and learning?
4) To what extent is online learning being incorporated in Jewish education?
5) Can blended learning enhance Jewish education?