Miami: Blackboards No More

Before relocating to the Miami area recently, David and Eda Schottenstein paid a visit to Lubavitch Educational Center—the largest Chabad school in South Florida—as they considered where to enroll their children.

A tour of the school and a meeting with Elementary School Principal, Mrs. Chaya Sara Dalfin, and English Language Arts Director, Mrs. Staci Berry, left the Schottensteins with a positive impression and a strong desire to become involved in the institution’s growth.

“What can we do to make a positive difference in the curriculum and the quality of education the school offers?” was the question the Schottensteins posed.

In response, the principals focused on their long-time desire to technologically upgrade the classrooms, a step that would benefit all students on every level.

The Schottensteins were enthusiastic about the idea, and graciously committed their support, expressing one request—secure the best product available in the area of Learner Response Systems for every student, and provide ongoing support to ensure that the teachers are using them.

Rabbi Menachem Tauber, a teacher who had already some experience using a Smart Board and other technology in the classroom, was given the task of researching the interactive board market and accessories and helped the school find the very best product that would benefit both the Judaic and English departments.  

Over the summer, thanks to the combined effort of hard working technicians who installed the boards, and the teaching staff who spent their summer months learning how to use them, 25 classrooms are now fully equipped with the top-of-the-line Promethean Interactive Boards. Each room is also supplied with Activ Expression Clickers for each student.

When asked how the upgrade has affected her class, 4th grade teacher Mrs. Nechama Tauber said,

“Aside from the boards, which make my lessons more visual and exciting, my students love using their Activ Expression Clickers. They add a game-show-like element to lessons and allow all students to participate simultaneously. This is especially helpful for those students who do not frequently raise their hands or who are uncomfortable sharing in front of the whole class.

“The Learning Response Systems gives me immediate feedback from all students and allows me to check frequently for understanding and follow-up to assist children who may be having difficulty.  Activ Expressions also enables me and other teachers to create self-paced assessments where students answer a series of questions directly on the device.

“Teachers can track responses during the assessments and export the results to Excel. This technology provides hard data instantly available to help teachers plan and differentiate instruction on the fly.  The possibilities of what we can achieve are very exciting.”

Although the change was initially hard for some of the less technologically savvy teachers, with support, training and patience Rabbi Tauber brought all teachers to a level of comfort using the boards, and are learning more techniques and resources to help them engage and educate their students.

The school said the Schottenstiens have truly raised the bar and through their generosity they have made an enormous impact on the education of the over 400 students in LEC Elementary. 

Last week Rabbi Benjy Korf held a ceremony to thank the Schottensteins. David Schottensteins spoke to the students and “It’s now up to you to make sure that that the technology is utilized, and we are not done yet, we are already working on our next project, to ensure that every one of you will be computer literate”, The Schottensteins were given a tour of the classrooms and sat and observed two classes using the boards and clickers.