SPRINGFIELD, NJ – Behrman House, the leading publisher of textbooks and digital learning materials for Jewish religious schools in North America, has entered a collaborative agreement with Israel’s Center for Educational Technology (CET). CET developed Israel’s premier and biggest online library encompassing over 1,000 Hebrew textbooks and information sources. The partnership will bring a first-of-its-kind online library to Jewish schools in the United States, giving students and educators access to both companies’ vast repository of educational offerings.
“This is a giant step forward in our mission to reshape Hebrew education for a younger generation,” said David Behrman, Behrman House president and publisher. “The array of learning materials CET brings to us from Israel is endless, and its Kotar online platform provides that content in an immediate, easy to access format.”
In April 2010, CET launched its Kotar digital platform to enable Jewish schools, institutions, and communities abroad to access English and Hebrew resources fast, simply, and in a user-friendly manner. The Kotar platform allows students to comment and share their ideas with teachers, other students, and at home with their families. Today it receives hundreds of thousands of hits per month, with tens of thousands of Israeli pupils using its textbooks on a daily basis. In addition to licensing the Kotar platform for North American religious schools, Behrman House will also develop curricular materials using the resources of CET’s Lexicon of Jewish Culture and Judaism, a vast repository of text materials, videos, and other educational materials, which CET will translate and Behrman House will adapt for the North American market.
CET CEO Gila Ben-Har commented, “As part of CET’s expansion strategy into markets outside Israel, we welcome the partnership with Behrman House and are proud to bring the innovation of digital books to Jewish schools, educators, and students throughout North America.”
For more information on Behrman House and its Online Learning Center, visit www.behrmanhouse.com.
About Behrman House
Founded in 1921, Behrman House is a family company with a long and rich history of developing and providing educational materials for Jewish supplementary schools in North America. Behrman House is the leader in providing the education community traditional and digital tools as well as support to make Jewish history, language, culture, and religious practices accessible and relevant to a younger generation of students. The company was the first to introduce online Hebrew teaching materials, exercises, and educational gaming with its groundbreaking Shalom Uvrachah primer and Hineni: The New Hebrew Through Prayer over a decade ago.
About Israel’s Center for Educational Technology
Founded in 1971, The Center for Educational Technology is a non-profit organization that has promoted education in Israel for 40 years. CET develops and assimilates digital teaching models, amasses, and adapts high quality textbooks and websites and provides professional development for education, including measurement and evaluation tools.