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- What is JSkyway?
- What is interactive distance education?
- How does JSkyway work?
- What types of courses are offered?
- How does JSkyway deal with the concerns of different denominations and the differing education levels of teachers and schools involved?
- How much computer experience does a participant need?
- Why is JSkyway something I should be interested in?
- If I have a question, who is there to help me?
- How much time should I expect to spend on my course?
- How can I get my school involved with JSkyway?
- Can I see a demonstration of a JSkyway course?
- What makes JSkyway different from bringing an expert for an in-service training session?
- What is JSkyway? JSkyway (www.jskyway.com)
is the leader in online professional development for educators in Jewish schools.
JSkyway provides busy teachers with flexible, tailored opportunities to gain
new skills and become more effective educators. With our high quality online
courses, resources and personal support, we strive to bring professional development
opportunities to every Jewish community. We have had over 400 teachers participate
in a JSkyway course since 1999.
- What is Interactive
distance education? Interactive distance education allows for multiple
learning formats: a group of learners can work with a teacher, with a wide
range of materials (including resources on the World Wide Web), and with one
another to acquire new knowledge, develop skills, share insights and ideas,
and explore problems of practice.
- How does JSkyway work? JSkyway
works using an Internet based educational program called WebCT. In order to
participate, teachers must have access to a computer with an Internet connection.
All materials and resources are provided to you online, so no extra books
or supplies are needed. Courses are 8 weeks in length and led by a facilitator.
All readings and assignments are completed online.
- What types of courses are
offered? Courses are offered in both Judaic and secular subject areas;
all have Jewish themes woven throughout. Courses are chosen and developed
based on feedback that we received from administrators and teachers through
the application, consultation and evaluation processes we have in place.
- How does JSkyway deal with the
concerns of different denominations and the differing education levels of
teachers involved? Educators often deal with multiple learning styles
and intelligences, differing backgrounds, and diverse belief systems in their
classrooms, and JSkyway does the same in its professional development offerings.
JSkyway is very sensitive and respectful to meeting the needs of the observance
level, educational level, values and traditions of each teacher and school.
We encourage each participant to gain a deeper understanding and knowledge
of one's own affiliation while gaining an appreciation of religious and educational
differences.
- How much computer experience
does a participant need? Participants need to know how to log on to a
computer, email, download and post attachments, and surf the Internet. All
other necessary skills will be taught to the participants, and our support
staff is always ready to help. No need to worry!
- Why is JSkyway something I should
be interested in? Few Jewish day schools have the resources readily available
to provide their teachers with as broad a menu of professional development
activities as they would like - a menu including subject-matter courses taught
by master teachers, workshops focused on pedagogic approaches, opportunities
to develop and test new curricula with colleagues from other schools, and
torah lishma (learning for its own sake). Through cutting-edge technology,
JSkyway is able to overcome the barriers of distance and limited resources
and enable participants to partake in high quality professional development
and become part of a community of learning with peers and colleagues from
around the world.
- If I have a question, who is there
to help me?The JSkyway staff is always available to answer your questions
and provide technology support.
- How much time should I expect to spend
on my course? You should expect to spend 3-4 hours/week on your course.
- How can I get my school involved
with JSkyway? To get your school involved with JSkyway, please contact
Monique Cuvelier at info@jskyway.com
or (617) 581-6847. In addition to our course offerings, JSkyway provides workshops,
demonstrations, co-branding opportunities and customized courses.
- Can I see a demonstration of
a JSkyway course? To arrange for a demonstration of a JSkyway course,
please contact Monique Cuvelier at info@jskyway.com
or (617) 581-6847.
Also, check out our "Tour the JSkyway experience" movie of the JSkyway classroom
by clicking here. (To view this
file, you'll need to install Flash, which you can do from the following Web
site: http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/.)
- What makes JSkyway different
than bringing in an expert for an in-service training session?
- In-service sessions are usually "one-shot" deals, while JSkyway provides
for ongoing learning. Courses take place during the school year, over
an eight week period, allowing for immediate and direct applicability
to the classroom. Discussion boards and assignments encourage feedback
and evaluation. JSkyway's online Teacher's Resource Center allows teachers
to go back and review any materials from our archives.
- In-service sessions usually occur during a pre-set time period; JSkyway's
online platform allows teachers to participate when it is most convenient
for them.
- In-service sessions treat schools as isolated institutions, but JSkyway
helps to create a community of teachers with common interests who can
direct their own professional development and learn from each other's
best practices.
- In-service sessions are expensive; JSkyway is cost-effective and efficient.
-
When I go to the JSkyway site, I don't see any link for logging in. How do I login?
- When I try to login, the password dialog repeats three times and then I get an "Error: Authorization Required" message. What is going wrong?
- I have a hard time reading from the computer. What can I do?
- How do I print pages from inside the JSkyway tutorial (or any other JSkyway course)?
- How do I login to JSkyway?
- How do I configure my browser?
- Where do I download new software and upgrade software such as Internet Explorer?
- When
I go to the JSkyway site, I don't see any link for logging in. How do I login?
Courses are only available to login during the time the course is running.
During an active semester, the login button can be found on the top right
hand corner of the JSkyway homepage www.jskyway.com.
- When I try to login, the
password dialog repeats three times and then I get an "Error: Authorization
Required" message. What is going wrong? JSkyway passwords are case sensitive.
Usernames all begin with one (or two) initial capital letters. Passwords are
all lowercase. Either you don't have the correct password, or you are typing
extra capital letters.
- I have a hard
time reading from the computer. What can I do?The easiest thing to
do is to change the text size. In Explorer, click on the View Menu - Text
Size/Larger/Larges option at the top of the screen.
- How do I print pages from inside
the JSkyway tutorial (or any other JSkyway course)?If you prefer to print
out the course content rather than reading it online, all JSkyway course pages
have a print icon at the bottom.
- How do I login to JSkyway? To
login to JSkyway use the "current participants login here" icon in the top
right hand corner of the homepage screen www.jskyway.com. On the next screen,
click on the Login link next to the course you are taking. A box will pop
up asking you to enter your UserID and Password. You should have received
these when you registered for the course. Your username always has an initial
capital, and your password is always lower case. If You Don't Have a Username:
If you have not received a username and password, please verify with us that
you are registered by Monique Cuvelier at info@jskyway.com
or (617) 581-6847. If you are registered, then email support@jskyway.com
and request a username and password. Please include in your email your
- school
- full name and title
- the class you are taking
- the email address where you would like to receive JSkyway mail.
- How do I configure my browser?
There is no additional work you need to do to your internet browser as
long as you are using IE 5.5+ and Netscape 6.2.1006 or higher. We recommend
downloading IE 6 or Netscape 7 for best results.
- Where do I download new software
and upgrade software such as Internet Explorer? You can get the latest
browser at one of the following websites: Microsoft Internet Explorer - Select
Internet Explorer version 6(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en)
Netscape (http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp)
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