Richard D. Solomon's Blog on Mentoring Jewish Students and Teachers: Introduction to Paper 53, an Apple App that can be used for digital scrapbooking, and writing and drawing for the flipped classroom

Friday, September 18, 2015

Introduction to Paper 53, an Apple App that can be used for digital scrapbooking, and writing and drawing for the flipped classroom

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 begin our discussion on how Paper 53 , a digital scrapbook app, can be used to promote Judaic instruction and to mentor/train Jewish educators. Paper 53 can also be used for writing and drawing assignments for the flipped classroom. For more information about the 'flipped classroom' click here.

What is a digital scrapbook?

A digital scrapbook is similar to an e-portfolio; it is a curated collection of online artifacts (e.g. photos, images, documents, fliers, videos, audio files, etc.) that capture the life experiences and highlights of its creators.

For more information on digital scrapbooking click here.

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 Paper 53 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.

Note: Paper 53 can be used in a face to face and virtual classroom.

What is Paper 53?

Paper 53 is digital scrapbook web app. It can also be used for writing and drawing for the flipped classroom.

Where is Paper 53 located on the internet?