Online Educational Programming

Virtual Learning Series

Online Pirkei Avot Learning

Details

Background: Kesher Israel Congregation is a Modern Orthodox Synagogue in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.. In addition to prayer services, the community hosts many other forms of programming, including educational, social, and volunteer opportunities. Toward the end of March, 2020, the building closed indefinitely, and all in-person gatherings were postponed or canceled in accordance with health guidelines surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The digital landscape of community programming quickly evolved to meet the new needs of the congregants, through innovative programming like the “Online Pikei Avot Learning program.”

Project: For 6 Wednesday nights between 4/22 and 5/27, ~15-25 participants gathered online for an hour-long interactive lesson. Discussion questions and sources were prepared each week by a different leader from the community, along with an introduction and short wrap-up lesson. The bulk of the program took place in Zoom Breakout room, where participants studied the text together and responded to its themes and questions. Participant engagement was supported through interaction design, which informed the discussion materials and group activities. Examples of this include “choose-your-own-adventure” tracks in source sheets, prompts to produce drawings to share with the group, and a weekly question asking participants to reflect on and share resonant themes, words, phrases, or verses. Responses from this weekly exercise were then compiled and designed with an online word cloud generator.

Role/Responsibilities: Producer and coordinator; researched and collected data based on previous online programs, designed concept, curated resources, set up schedule of educators and leaders, integrated technologies (ie. Zoom Breakout Rooms, online polling, word clouds etc.), created promotional material, planned lessons with technological affordances in mind (ie. discussion questions, choose-your-own-adventure, digital interactions, etc.), collected feedback, and refined project as it progressed.

Earlier models of online programming provided reference points for content, structure, and visual deign

User research informed development of online programming

Sample source sheets; weekly sources included sections for group study, breakout room discussions, and wrap up sessions

Participant engagement through https://poll.excitem.com/ ; attendees submitted responses, which were displayed via screen share

Weekly poster with familiar elements; includes weekly details as well as overarching schedule

“The six squares in the image correspond to the six chapters of Pirkei Avot. Over the course of six weeks, members of the community gathered online to study and discuss lessons from the text. After each session, participants responded to the questio… — “The six squares in the image correspond to the six chapters of Pirkei Avot. Over the course of six weeks, members of the community gathered online to study and discuss lessons from the text. After each session, participants responded to the question, “What themes, words, phrases, or verses stood out to you in your learning?” Responses to this survey were collected, formatted, and designed on https://www.wordclouds.com/, as was the text of each week’s chapter of Pirkei Avot. The original Hebrew text fills the corners of each square, serving as a frame or lens through which participants explored. The input from participants sits at the center of the first five squares, highlighting the emphasis that was placed on reflection, interpretation, meaning-making, sharing, the individual, and community. The sixth square, however, displays the weekly question (as participant responses had not yet been gathered at the time of publication), and invites viewers to to engage and participate in the learning experience as well. The resulting Pirkei Avot Word Cloud Quilt stands as a collaborative and reflective piece that bridges discrete units within a whole, and is in dialogue with both a rich tradition in the past, and extends into the endless possibilities of the future.
Created by members of the community; compiled by Estee Ellis.”

Digital Community Publication

Kesher Israel Shavuot Reader

Details

Background: The Kesher Israel community typically celebrates the Jewish holiday of Shavuot with a night of communal gathering and learning. Due to health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the community was not able to gather in person. As an additional constraint, Orthodox observance of many Jewish holidays involves refraining from actively using digital devices, and analog alternative experiences were sought. Kesher Israel’s Shavuot Reader project invited online community collaboration in the weeks leading up to Shavuot (06/28/2020), and the published collection allowed members to learn with and from each other and connect on the holiday itself.

Project: A call for submissions was released in early May 2020, and community members were encouraged to share written works, reflective pieces, artwork, and recipes. Contributions were reviewed, organized, and formatted into a 121 page publication. Content included articles and images, as well as a substantial section of self-guided learning material. A PDF of the published Shavuot Reader can be found here.

Roles and Responsibilities: Producer and co-editor with two additional co-editors; coordinated outreach efforts to encourage engagement; communicated with stakeholders; contributed content; reviewed submissions; oversaw publication.