Automating the sharing of Google Sheets data

EdTech

We all know that we can share Google Sheets with people but, at least in my life, those people are often not regular spreadsheet users, so they aren’t comfortable opening a Google Sheet to look for updated data. For example, when we set up online forms (for event registration, lunch signup, etc), the parent volunteers or business office staff don’t interact with Google Sheets every day, so I end up fielding regular requests for updates.


What I usually do is add a sheet to the Sheet (heh) which summarizes the data into a simple table and then use the Email Collaborators command in Sheets to send them an update. But, today, I found a cool Add-On called Email Spreadsheets which makes it super-easy to automate this regular sharing.

Read More

Students, not Technology

EdTech

A short piece published in the November, 2012 issue of EdJewtopia, a monthly newsletter on complementary Jewish education published by PELIE, the Partnership for Effective Learning and Innovative Education. It followed up on a presentation I gave at Kadima South Florida, a conference on EdTech in Jewish Education they co-sponsored along with Avi Chai.

When I work with schools on technology integration, there are standard questions I expect. In almost every educational institution, primary or secondary, secular or Judaic, formal or supplementary, public or private, administrators are asking: “How can I convince my more traditional teachers, those uncomfortable with technology, to use it in their classes?”

Read More

Teaching Talmud with Technology

EdTech

I just had a remarkable conversation with a remarkable teacher about the remarkable things he and his remarkable students are doing with remarkable tools at a remarkable school. Can I tell you about it?

The class is Grade 9 Talmud and the school is, of course, Hillel. The teacher is Hillel’s Rabbinic Head, Chaim Albert, and the tool they are using is our new Mobile iPad Lab.

For their latest unit, Rabbi Albert identified two kinds of learning goals: content goals and skill goals.

  • The content goal of the lesson included identifying the tractate, chapter name, chapter number and page number of a particular page of the Gemara, as well as the location of the major commentaries and other content on the page.
  • The skill objective was that, given that location information, the student be able to locate a specific piece of content on a specific page among the almost 13,000 pages in the Talmud.

How did Rabbi Albert accomplish these goals?

Read More