Boston — July 11, 2017 — The Virtual High School (VHS, Inc.) today announced the newest Online Teaching Methodologies (OTM) graduates for its Online Judaic Studies Consortium (OJSC). The graduates are all face-to-face Jewish day school teachers who completed the graduate-level OTM teacher training course to learn best practices for online instruction and learning. Having passed the rigorous four-week course, graduates will now collaborate with their peers to help develop and deliver high-quality online Judaic studies courses to day school students across North America.
OTM focuses on teaching strategies for building community, encouraging discussions, and providing insightful feedback in an online classroom. The graduates experience online learning in the same manner and pace as their future students, including having to work collaboratively with one another and with their course instructors.
“This has been an eye-opening experience in a number of ways,” said Rabbi Richard Schindelheim, an OTM graduate and educator from the Fuchs Mizrachi High School. “More than anything, it has helped me realize that I have so much more to learn about education in general and online education, in particular.”
The new OTM graduates and their affiliated institutions are listed below:
Rabbi Reuven Travis
Atlanta Jewish Academy
Yonatan Rosner
de Toledo High School in Los Angeles
Rabbi Nitzan Bergman
Etz Chaim: The Center for Jewish Living and Learning in Maryland
Rabbi Richard Schindelheim
Fuchs Mizrachi School
Dr. Robyn Blum
Krieger Schechter Day School in Baltimore
Rudy Stoler
Chizuk Amuno Congregation Inc., Congregation Beth Shalom and Baltimore Hebrew Congregation in Maryland
Etan Kelman
de Toledo High School in Los Angeles
Kimberly Callaway
de Toledo High School in Los Angeles
“This course has helped me realize all the parts needed to make an online course successful,” said Kelman, a Jewish history teacher at de Toledo High School in Los Angeles. “The comments and discussions have been incredible and this cohort has been amazing.”
“The OJSC is honored to be a program of The Virtual High School, a three-time winner of the United States Distance Learning Association’s (USDLA) award for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices,” said Lisa Micley, Program Director of the OJSC. “The wisdom and expertise of VHS has led the way for us in creating our program. The VHS instructional design and delivery standards are the very model used by the National Education Association in their recommended standards for online learning. The OJSC welcomes these new graduates into our growing network of highly-qualified educators trained to deliver Judaic studies courses using best practices in online learning.”
About The Virtual High School
The Virtual High School (VHS Inc.) is an online learning pioneer. Since 1996, the nonprofit organization has set the standard for quality online education. VHS provides courses taught in global online classrooms for secondary school students and online professional development for educators. The organization also meets the unique educational needs of schools through custom course development and individualized course offerings. VHS design and delivery standards are the model used by the National Education Association in their recommended standards for online learning. The organization has won numerous awards, including the Stockholm Challenge Award for Global Excellence in Information Technology, and is a three-time winner of the United States Distance Learning Association’s (USDLA) award for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices. For more information, visit www.VHSLearning.org or call (978) 897-1900.
# # #