Send Richard a voice mail message

Friday, July 11, 2014

Introduction to Clker.com, a website that provides free Jewish clip art which can be used to promote Judaic instruction and train/mentor Jewish educators



When mentoring our pre-service and in-service teachers we need to describe and model both research-based and clinically tested best practices, and demonstrate how these best practices can be applied in the real (i.e. physical) and virtual (i.e. online) classroom for both teaching and teacher training. The combination of face to face instruction in a physical setting and online learning is called blended learning. In this section of the blog we will describe how the internet can serve as a supplemental resource for instruction and the mentoring of pre-service and in-service Jewish educators. In this post we will discuss how Clker.com, a website that provides free Jewish clip art, can be used to promote Judaic instruction and to train/mentor Jewish educators. 


Assumption: The teacher or mentor teacher has an interactive white board (i.e. SMART Board, Promethean, etc.), a Tablet PC (also called a Slate or Blade), a computer presenter or computer with internet access attached to an LCD projector in the classroom. It would be ideal if students or mentees had access to their own laptop computers or Ipads. Given parental and school approval, and the development of specific guidelines, smartphones can be used to enhance instruction as well.

Note: Although Clker.com can be applied in the Judaic Studies blended learning classroom, it can be also be used for training pre-service and in-service Jewish educators for professional or staff development. It is our hope that Jewish educators around the globe will form an online community of practice, a CoP, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession, to enhance the delivery of instruction and training of Jewish educators. For example, here is a CoP you might want to join.

What is clip art and how can it enhance instruction?

From an educational technology perspective, clip art is a collection of simple pictures that can be downloaded onto one’s computer.

Assumption. The clip art we will be sharing on this blog all have a Creative Commons License, and thus users are free to copy.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clip_art  Clip art refers to pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively in both personal and commercial projects, ranging from home-printed greeting cards to commercial candles. Clip art comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However, most clip art today is created, distributed, and used in an electronic form. Since its inception, clip art has evolved to include a wide variety of content, file formats, illustration styles, and licensing restrictions. Clip art is generally composed exclusively of illustrations (created by hand or by computer software), and does not include stock photography.

Here are some examples of Clip Art:


How can clip art enhance teaching and learning?

Teachers can use clip art for worksheets, lesson plans, quizzes, and too enhance bulletin boards, classroom assignments, and student and class journals. Clip Art can also be used to support phonics and English as a Second Language (ESL)  instruction. In addition, students can use clip art for their homework assignments, classwork and projects.
Click on the link below  and find clip art related to  different grades (K-12)  and subject matter:

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/links_grades_kindergarten_12/clipart_resources_graphics.htm

What is Clker.com?

Clker.com is a website that provides free Jewish clip art that can be used to enhance Judaic instruction and teacher training.

Where is Clker.com located on the internet?

Where can I find tutorials demonstrating how to use Clker.com?

Click here to find a tutorial on how to use the free Jewish clip art website, Clker.com to promote Judaic instruction and to train/mentor Jewish educators:



On the next blog post we will explore a new topic, web tools and resources on the flipped classroom.

1 comment:

Jewish Education News Blog

Richard D. Solomon's Blog on Mentoring Jewish Students and Teachers

http://nextleveljewisheducation.blogspot.com/