This year I attended a Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration. There were hundreds of kids from Israel, San Francisco, New York and Turkey eating falafel and dancing to Hadag Nachash, Israel’s premier hip-hop band.

I happened to be in my living room, and this dance party was taking place on computer screens against the backdrop of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The dancing students were avatars created by Jewish students from across the world. The context was a course being taught in several Jewish day schools and supplemental programs about Jewish peoplehood — and it was all taking place within a virtual world.

Technology has always impacted classrooms. In the 19th century it was the introduction of the chalkboard, in the 20th century it was the radio, followed by television and the VCR. But despite these additions, instruction in most schools remained largely unchanged. The teacher, invariably positioned at the front of the classroom, imparted her (let’s be honest — it was typically a her) wisdom to students, albeit with the addition of some chalk, or an audio-visual broadcast.

In the virtual Yom Ha’Atzmaut dance party, however, we are witnessing something very different.

Already many of our classrooms are filled with computers, smart boards, wireless routers, iPods and iPads. However, the power of today’s technology is fundamentally not an issue of hardware. Technology in the 21st century has radically changed the way people live, and in doing so education has had no choice but to adapt accordingly. These changes are also reflected in the Jewish world, with Jews “doing Jewish” in very different ways. Some Jewish educators are beginning to modify their practices. And despite taking place in cyberspace, for many of these learners, the experiences are very real.

Read the full article in The Jewish Week...