(Courtesy of CIJE) Jewish day school teachers and administrators are exhausted and challenged by their new teaching reality during the current pandemic; however, more than 100 teachers and administrators attended a two-and-a-half hour online “unconference” on a Sunday night. CIJE (Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education; www.thecije.org) organized the event that took place on May 3, as a unique avenue for schools to collaborate during these times, in addition to its growing menu of virtual classes for students and teachers, and student competitions.

An unconference is where the topics for the sessions are suggested and selected by the attendees. There are no expert presentations, but rather the participants in the room share their knowledge and expertise, and ask probing questions of each other. Someone assumes the role of discussion leader: moving the conversation forward and/or digging deeper into a conversation thread that sparks a lot of feedback. Another person takes on the role of secretary, maintaining notes from the conversation.

On Sunday evening, each session sparked impactful conversations and provided opportunities for sharing and commiserating. “I think that some great ideas for future initiatives were born Sunday night,” said attendee Baruch Noy, managing director of STEM and Educational Technology at HAFTR.

Session topics, determined by the participants, included: “Zoomtember vs. September,” “Ed-Tech: Tools to Dazzle,” “Beyond Zoom Zombies” and “Remote Inter-school Collaborations.”

In response to the expressed desire of teachers and administrators to continue getting together, we are excited to announce that the next CIJE Unconference will take place on Sunday May 31, from 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. (EDT). Once again, the agenda will be driven by the suggestions and recommendations of the attendees. Go to www.thecije.org/unconference� to provide ideas for discussion topics.