Educational Technology Conference in Technion, Israel
I had a very special opportunity to take part in an Educational Technology Conference organized at Technion by Professor Orit Hazzan and her colleagues this December. The conference focused on various uses of technology in STEM and engaging students in STEM learning both Face to Face and onlne. It also discussed STEM teacher education at Technion: they invite all Technion STEM graduates to pursue a STEM teaching certificate FOR FREE. They also view teacher education nt as “TEACHER ONLY EDUCATION” but as education of people capable of educating others in STEM. Thus, brining back their own graduates to pursue “Tehudat Horaa – Certificate in Teaching” is a very smart move. Many Technion graduates today occupy leading positions in the industry and academia, thus bringing them back into a special program is a very special initiative. It is aimed at reducing the shortage of STEM teachers in Israel and bridging industry and academia.
In addition the conference dealt with flipped classrooms, MOOCS and helping first year students to close the mathematics gaps. The MOOCs discussion was especially interesting. The most successful MOOC currently offered at Technion is in Engineering and it is offered in Arabic and is taken by thousands of students who could never attend Technion, yet they can participate online. I found it very inspirational. I am grateful for having an opportunity to attend this conference and I hope I will be able to collaborate with these inspiring academics in the future. Many thanks, Prof. Hazzan!