Here are a few fun morsels to leaven liven up the holiday!

• Tweet the Exodus – fun, creative, and a cool model for role playing using Twitter, this is a season highlight! Check it out, even if you’ve never tweeted before – just follow along. As they say, “Relive the Exodus from Egypt, one tweet at a time. The story comes to life between March 16-29.” Check out the recent article, “Passover Meets Twitter,” in the Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2010.
  
• Projecting Freedom: Cinematic Projections of the Haggadah – 14 short videos corresponding to the individual steps of the Haggadah, offering visual commentary on the Passover story; a project of the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning and the Covenant Foundation; just launched – look for it!
• Creative Seders – crowd source ideas on a Google doc! Take it out for a spin and add your own!
  
• Legacy Heritage’s Smart Board Jewish Educational Database: Pesach Lessons – teacher submitted, downloadable resources for use with SmartBoards
• Torah Aura’s Passover resources – games, activities, and resources for the holiday
  
• iMah Nishtanah – iPhone/ iPod touch app by Behrman House
• BabagaNewz’s Pesach Central – resources galore for kids, teachers, and parents
• MyJewishLearning: Passover – articles, recipes, seder ideas; don’t miss out on their Best Seder Ever contest – the deadline is March 22, 5pm ET – can’t wait to see the entries!
  
• Jacob Richman’s Hot List of Passover Sites – Jacob’s growing list of holiday resources, including links to games and fun stuff for kids of all ages
• JVibe’s Counting of the (H)Omer Calendar - a staple. a classic. a calendar.
• The Open Source Haggadah Project – create your own customized Haggadah
  
• The Four Questions in Klingon – an oldie but goodie, and yes, continues to prove that there is something for everyone
  

Not to be forgotten, of course, is last season’s fave, Moses is Departing Egypt: A Facebook Haggadah. Alas, the link seems to be itself departed – anyone have a current one?

Any other faves out there? Share yours!

Don’t miss out! Interested in becoming a member of our growing Learning Network? Learn more about Darim here, then  c’mon down and step this way to sign up … Memberships are available for individuals and for organizations.  Questions? Comments? Ideas?  Contact us!

Develop a media library for your congregation. This library should include video, photos, and audio. It is important to organize and annotate materials so that they can be reused and repurposed into many different pieces.

• Determine what to collect for your media library. As previously suggested, review your program calendar with an eye toward collecting material. Document interesting and important things your institution does; capture what it means to be a member of your community. Collect video, photos, and audio.
• Ask videographers for the raw footage as well as the edited product. When you hire a vendor, stipulate in the contract that your organizaiton owns the footage.
• Invest time in watching video footage and logging what is on the tapes. This is a good project for a volunteer or intern.
• Be aware of privacy issues and implement policies. Ask people for their permission to be included in any video or photographs. Institutions are increasingly including photography/video releases into their membership forms. Allow people to opt out/ opt in. Parents need to provide permission for the filming of children. Be sure to have your legal ducks in a row.

For additional resources, see See3’s Guide to Online Video, especially this segment on “Building a Media Library:”

3. Building A Media Library from See3 Communications on Vimeo.

A huge thank you to Michael Hoffman and to the synagogues who participated in these webinars!

Does your synagogue have a media library? What are other tips and techniques do you have to share?

Archives of the recent webinars, “The Age of YouTube: An Introduction to Online Video for Congregations,” as well as previous webinars are available to members of the Darim Online Learning Network. Access to the archives and other webinar-related material can be found on the Darim Online website in Dirah, under “Learning Network Info.”

Not yet a member of the Darim Online Learning Network? Click here for membership information for your organization and to register.

Think of your organization’s online presence as your “channel.” As such, consider how to integrate online video into your overall organizational strategy. Online video can be an effective means to strengthen connections among your community’s members. Remember, people relate best to other people, less so to institutions. As you think about this, determine where your community members – and potential members – “reside” online and meet them there.

• Be strategic when program planning. Think in terms of telling your community’s story and use your organization’s program calendar as a guide. Determine: what do we need to capture? What do we need have professionally filmed and what can be documented by staff and or volunteers? What types of footage would be good for recruitment, for community building, for fundraising?
• Go deep rather than wide. Effective marketing involves repetition, creating conversation, portraying real human relationships, and providing real engagement.
• Meet the parents. And congregants. And staff. And lay leadership. Ask community members who they are, what they do, and why they care about the community – on video. This is a terrific way of creating transparency with the community at large, by showing them “who are the people in your neighborhood.” These types of videos also foster people-people connections which in turn create connections to your institution.
• Map your community online. Focus on places your community and potential community live online – social networks, Facebook, discussion lists, etc. Conduct a survey to see what online spaces your people inhabit. This is a great marketing exercise in general!
• Capitalize on influencers and supporters. Tap into the people who are already your constituents and empower them to share videos and other resources with their friends; be “viral” to the right audiences.
• Grab attention outside of your current membership. Reach out to potential members by alerting them to special activities in which your community is engaged. For example, a program on Judaism and the environment could be marketed to groups outside of your immediate membership… bring your community to them.
• Push and pull. For example, send out an email to your congregation’s discussion list that includes a note from the Rabbi with a link to a video clip on your website. Highlight special clips in your newsletter. Share “how to videos” on Jewish life on your website – and ask members for recommendations for additional resources.
• Reach your peeps. Use Groundswell’s social profile technology profile tool to help determine how to prioritize efforts. Who and where is your target audience and what kinds of relationships do you want to build with them?
• And… “Action.” Provide video training sessions for staff and volunteers. Invest in a good video camera with an external microphone. People are more likely to watch bad quality video with good sound, than good quality video with bad sound. A low-cost video camera, like the Flip, is good to have handy. It does not, however, take the place of a better quality camera. In general, the Flip does well at close range, with someone speaking directly to the camera in a quiet place, but it is not great for covering large events.

What are some of your strategies? Do you have a few tips to share? What is your favorite use of online video to promote your community? Post your ideas and links in the comments below!

Take a look at See3’s Guide to Online Video for more tips and techniques.

Additional Resources:

Educause: 7 Things You Should Know About Flip Camcorders

Synagogue Examples:

Chizuk Amuno Congregation, Torah Dedication, Baltimore, Maryland
Chizuk Amuno Congregation – Rosenbloom Religious School, Baltimore, Maryland (see YouTube links)
Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn, New York
North Shore Congregation Israel, Glencoe, Illinois (see link to Building for the Generations campaign video on home page)
Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, Chappaqua, New York (capital campaign video)

Archives of the recent webinars, “The Age of YouTube: An Introduction to Online Video for Congregations,” as well as previous webinars are available to members of the Darim Online Learning Network. Access to the archives and other webinar-related material can be found on the Darim Online website in Dirah, under “Learning Network Info.”

Not yet a member of the Darim Online Learning Network? Click here for membership information for your organization and to register.

Coming up… Developing a Media Library

We had the pleasure of hosting Michael Hoffman, CEO, of See3 Communications for a series of excitng webinars with the Darim Online Learning Network for Synagogues. Nearly 40 participants from 28 organizations participated in “The Age of YouTube: An Introduction to Online Video.”

What We’ve Been Hearing
Synagogues are expressing an increased interest in using online videos in various aspects of their work, including fundraising, community building, documenting community moments, and project-based learning. Some of our organizations are just beginning to explore the potential of video, others are in the midst of experimenting, while several congregations are already actively integrating video into their community’s strategic plans.

• There is a growing awareness of the power of the medium to communicate community values and events.
• Video can be used to tell a synagogue’s story in a powerful, visual style.
• Synagogues are interested in employing multiple media to connect with members and potential members.

What We’ve Been Learning
Congregations are looking at more comprehensive strategies for communicating and fostering community online. There are many reasons for including online video in your organization’s work and strategic plan. These include, but are not limited to the following:

• Video is portable – it’s online, downloadable, shareable; members can help market your community by sharing with their other social networks.
• It can help broaden a community’s reach and audience.
• Video delivers your community’s message and helps build relationships.
• Video captures significant moments in your community’s history.
• Online video makes your community accessible by bringing community to members who can access activities, events, and services that they might not otherwise be able to attend
• Video can be used to augment synagogue websites and blogs
• Video can highlight targeted campaigns
• Learners – students, youth groups, adults – can develop video projects to showcase their work

Be sure to check out See3’s Guide to Online Video for more tips and techniques.

Additional resources:

Beth Kanter’s Blog post: A Look at Nonprofits and Vlogging
Mashable’s 150+ Online Video Tools and Resources
Video in the Classroom: Digital Storytelling

Examples of Video Hosting Sites:

BlipTV hosting service for online video
TeacherTube video hosting service for teachers and students
UStreamTV hosting service for livestreaming
Vimeo hosting service
YouTube
YouTube: Nonprofit Program

Darim Online Resources: How Do I Add Video to My Site? for Darim Online members

Archives of the recent webinars, “The Age of YouTube: An Introduction to Online Video for Congregations,” as well as previous webinars are available to members of the Darim Online Learning Network. Access to the archives and other webinar-related material can be found on the Darim Online website in Dirah, under “Learning Network Info.”

Not yet a member of the Darim Online Learning Network? Click here for membership information for your organization and to register.

Coming up… Community Strategies for Integrating Online Video