International Jewish Education Technology Challenge
- December 23, 2015
- Posted by: Pincus Fund Staff
- Category: Informal Education

This project uses the internet to encourage high school students to undertake Jewish learning, and facilitates their study. It is intended to serve as an extra-curricular enrichment activity. The project builds teams of 2-4 students. Each team, supported by a coach, develops a project which involves Jewish learning. A Steering Committee will approve the project designs before the students begin work. The Committee is comprised of senior professional staff from World ORT, the content providers (Matach Israel), representatives of regional bodies involved in the project, and an academic partner which oversees quality assurance and evaluation. A website is being developed for the project and student projects will be posted on this website.
New materials are being developed to provide guidance for students on the subject areas of their projects. Some of these materials are adapted from existing resources of partner organizations, and other materials will be created specifically for this project. The educational content is provided by Matach, the Israel Center for Educational Technology. Three Matach staff members conduct research and prepare material for the project in Spanish and Russian.
Initially, the project will be implemented in the FSU and in Latin America, in at least 10 schools in each region. Each school provides 1 to 5 teams, each comprised of 2-4 students. The activities of the team/s in each school are expected to impact the school as a whole.
The project is guided by 2 local coaches in each school. Coaches include Jewish Studies teachers, and teachers familiar with technology used in the project. 6 regional training courses taught by World ORT and Matach are provided for the coaches. The coaching is implemented within the school’s extra curricular programs, and the majority of activities take place during students’ free time.Many projects supported by the Pincus Fund for Jewish Education such as World ORT’s International Jewish Education Technology Challenge are an excellent method for teaching Judaism while also encouraging the development of creative skills in future leaders within the Jewish educational world.