Getting More From Your Adult Education Offerings

By Yoram Samets

The synagogue I belong to  in Vermont has an Adult Education committee that does a great job putting together classes, speakers, and other opportunities to learn about a variety of Jewish and secular topics. This group of volunteers develops the programming, finds the educators, promotes the offerings on the website and in printed materials, and successfully sponsors many interesting programs. But I've often wondered, why not take one more step and offer the programs online? Whether in real-time or anytime.

Winters in Vermont can be cold and snowy and after a long day at work I sometimes struggle to get to the synagogue in the evenings. By 7:30 p.m., when many of the Adult Ed classes or special events begin, I am delighted to be home with my family. Actually, I think it is all about my slippers... While the classes and programming sound interesting, the thought of leaving the comfort of my home (and my slippers) makes the idea a lot less appealing. Wouldn't it be delightful to be able to go my synagogue’s website and view the latest Adult Ed program or special luncheon speaker on my time -- and -- in my slippers?

Developing online programming takes a little imagination -- and the right tools. There are a number of free or low-cost options such as JoinMe.com or AnyMeeting.com that are great places to start. GoToMeeting.com's webinar product is a little pricier, but it will enable you to present a one-time class or a series of classes to large or small groups. You can also choose whether you want to provide live video of the presenter, or just provide the content (such as Powerpoint slides) with a voice over. Best of all, once you've created your program you can save it on your website and make it available for future viewing by your membership.

Think about the value you could bring to your congregation if you had a cooking class for the holidays that was always available online, or a weekly online class presenting the Parsha, or a special guest speaker lecture that was available at any time! This is one of the ways you can be building content for your website and eventually have a library of programming that’s accessible to your members 24/7/365!

The days when everyone lived within a couple of blocks of the shul are long past. Why can't we figure out ways to make it easier to educate and engage members of our community -- and keep our synagogue connections strong?