The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) announced a three-year pilot project to have CCNMTL support JTS faculty in the purposeful use of technology and new media in teaching and learning.

As part of the agreement, CCNMTL will open a satellite office on the JTS campus staffed by a JTS-funded full-time educational technologist. The recruitment for this position has begun and focuses on candidates that have familiarity with Jewish Studies and Judaism. CCNMTL will promote educational technologies at JTS by raising awareness and fostering a culture of use. The range of services provided will be similar to those currently offered to faculty at Columbia University.

Alan Cooper, the Elaine Ravich professor of Jewish Studies and provost of The Jewish Theological Seminary, indicated that the partnership offers enormous potential for the institution. “One of our highest priorities at JTS for the next five years is to develop, gather, and transmit essential Jewish learning to a broader range of constituencies than ever before. The marvelous resources of the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning will enable us to accomplish that goal through the innovative and exciting use of new media and new technologies.”

An initial discovery period will allow the two organizations to learn from each other and to effectively promote the technical and pedagogical possibilities of the partnership. The prospects include bridging other Columbia resources and staff to create new synergies between the two organizations.

“We are excited by the opportunity the satellite office at JTS offers us to work with faculty who are committed to teaching and who can provide new perspectives and contexts for using technology and new media in an innovative and pedagogically effective manner,” added Frank Moretti, CCNMTL's executive director.

About CCNMTL
The Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) was founded at Columbia University in 1999 to enhance teaching and learning through the purposeful use of technology and new media. In partnership with faculty, the Center supports efforts ranging from basic course website management to advanced project development. CCNMTL also extends the scope and reach of its work with strategic initiatives that engage educators, researchers, librarians, partner institutions, and the community in the reinvention of education for the digital age. For more information, please visit https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu.

About JTS
The Jewish Theological Seminary, one of the world’s leading centers of Jewish learning, integrates rigorous academic scholarship and teaching with a commitment to strengthening Jewish tradition, Jewish lives, and Jewish communities.

JTS articulates and transmits a vision of Judaism that is learned and passionate, pluralist and authentic, traditional and egalitarian; one that is thoroughly grounded in Jewish texts, history, and practices, and fully engaged with the societies and cultures of the present.

The leaders trained by JTS—rabbis, cantors, scholars, educators, communal professionals, and lay activists imbued with this vision and prepared to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century—serve Conservative Judaism, the vital religious center for North American Jewry, and our society as a whole. For more information, please visit www.jtsa.edu.

Related links:
CCNMTL-JTS Partnership Press Release PDF