Building Community that Transcends Time and Distance

1. Building Community that Transcends Time and Distance Tools and Technology from the Kehilliyot CoP Naava Frank and Rebecca Egolf (with gratitude to the Covenant Foundation)

2. Goals – CAJE VERSION- needs to be redone • Learners will enrich their understanding of the unique theory and practice of CoPs for professional learning. • Learners will become aware of the challenges and successes of 13 diverse projects and experiments taking place with CoP in the Jewish community and unified in the Covenant Foundation funded Kehilliyot project. • Learners will try out and take away ideas, tools, tips, protocols and technologies that are being used successfully by Kehilliyot CoP that can be adapted to strengthen the learning and engage their own constituents. • Learners will build connections to organizations and professionals who can be tapped as a resource after the session (social capital).

3. Agenda • Opening • Sharing Practices • Beginning a CoP • Benefits of a CoP • Technology Tools • Evaluation • Wrap Up

4. What is Kehilliyot? Kehilliyot is a “place” where Jewish professionals meet to gain support, continue to grow their skills and strengthen their practice of community facilitation. We are grateful to The Covenant Foundation for supporting the growth of the new and emerging professional field of community facilitation

5. What is a Community of Practice? A Community of Practice is a community of professionals who share a common set of problems and systematically share their knowledge, expertise and tools in order to improve their practice and the performance of their organization by interacting on an ongoing basis. From Cultivating Communities of Practice, Wenger, McDermott and Snyder

6. “Wisdom resides in the skills, understandings, and relationships…as well as in the tools, documents, and processes of practitioners in the field.” From Cultivating Communities of Practice, Wegner, McDermott and Snyder

7. Kehilliyot Member Activities • Participate and lead teleconferences • Attend and design face-to-face meetings (in New York City or at national conferences) • Post and receive information of interest on the Kehilliyot Google Group listserv • Share resources and build a shared knowledge base using the Kehilliyot wiki (our electronic home) • Dialogue using Skype chat • Engage in one-on-one “backchannel conversations” with Naava the community facilitator and Caren and John the technology stewards. • Present case-studies, share challenges from your practice, gain input from peers, and look over each others shoulders for ongoing learning.

8. Founding Organizational Members of Kehilliyot • Board of Jewish Education of New York (BJE Westchester) • The Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) • Darim Online • Foundation for Jewish Camping (FJC) • Institute for Jewish Spirituality (IJS) • Jewish Communal Service Association (JCSA) • Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI) • Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) • Jewish Outreach Partnership of Greater Philadelphia (JOP) • Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE) • The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life (PJLL) • Professional Leaders Project (PLP) • Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal (STAR)

9. Additional members

10. Opening • Sit for a few minutes and write down questions (explain it helps many learners) • Whip around – name, why are you here, question?

11. Beginning a CommunityExamples from Kehilliyot members • Darim Application Process • Welcoming new members – Kehilliyot Buddies

12. Defining the Scope of the Community and Recruiting Members

13. Why Learn in Community?Benefits • Research: DRAFT • Peers • Reflection • New Ideas • Knowledge Construction • Moral Support

14. Technology tools

15. Evaluation

16. Conclusion • What did this raise for you? • Make a commitment: What are you going to do as a result of this session (short term / long term)? • What questions were not answered?