What can we learn?

Our students are growing up in the 21st-century. Their lives are connected to
technology in many different ways outside of the classroom, this does not have to
be perceived by parents negatively. Hayes (2015) states, by depriving them of
positive exposure to technology in the classroom, teachers may be missing out
on the opportunity to (a) show them all the good and positive things that can be
accomplished through its usage, (b) train them to differentiate between useful
and not useful information on the internet, and to train and habituate them to
healthy internet usage, and (c) reap the benefits that technology offers with
regards to raising academic performance, as many recent studies have shown.

The impact of incorporating technology into Torah lessons in the classroom is

huge. Students learn firsthand what an amazing tool it can be for their lifetime of
learning and the advancement of their connection with Judaism. As far as
computers being a distraction to students are concerned, students have and
probably always will find things to do when they are not engaged. If not a
computer then something else. When done right, incorporating technology into
classrooms will raise the level of student engagement and classroom
participation (Hayes, 2015).

In the last few years, the leaders of Israel's educational system have come to
realize that technological developments have created a gap between modern
adult society and the school environment.

If Israel's advanced technological level is to be maintained and enhanced in the

future, scientific know how and familiarity with modern tools must be introduced
to students as early as possible.

An outcome has been the introduction of a revolutionary program to saturate the

schools from kindergarten upwards with computers. The program is part of an
overall plan known as "Tomorrow 1998", aimed at upgrading the teaching of
mathematics, science and technology throughout the school system. According
to the authors of the program, computers will become the fourth basic element of
education, which, for generations, included the proverbial "three 'r's" - reading,
writing and arithmetic.

The program, which was launched in 1992 and is still in the process of
implementation, calls for the installation of a computer in every kindergarten and
of one terminal for every 10 students in primary and secondary schools.

In the three years since the program was initiated in 1993, 33,400 terminals had
been installed for the country's 1,200,000 schoolchildren, and 1,160 computers in
the country's 4,000 kindergartens.

According to the Ministry of Education, the program is aimed at creating a

"technologically-saturated learning environment," which will help introduce
technology into the schools.

Hayes, Schneur. (2015). Technology Integration for the 21st century Torah Student. The Times of
Israel. Retrieved from http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/techniology-integration-for-the21st-century-torah-student/