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Backer, James A.

Senior Faculty
Nova Southeastern University
Boston
School Affiliation

Cambridge College School of Education

Educational Technology Committee

Academic Focus

Educational technology, support for teachers of English language learners, linguistics

Community Involvement

Trustee, The Jack and Paula Freeman Foundation (charity, USA) - 1993-present

Vice President, The Jack and Paula Freeman Foundation - 2000-present

Instructor of Educational Technology for EFL teachers in Druze, Arab, and Jewish pedagogical centers, Ministry of Education, Israel (2009-2014)

Director of Educational Services - Kibbutz Gadot, Israel - 2003-2008

Kibbutz Gadot Executive Committee (town council), Israel (2003-2009)

Chairman of the Kibbutz Gadot General Meeting (town meeting moderator) - 1991-2009

Chairperson of National CALL Committee, Ministry of Education, Israel - 1992-1998

Member of National CALL Commmittee, Ministry of Education, Israel - 1988-1990

 

Courses Taught
  • Technology for Linguistically Diverse Classrooms
  • Legal and Ethical Internet Issues for Educators
  • Linguistics and Language Variations
  • Professional Seminar: Instructional Technology
  • Professional Seminar: Teaching English Language Learner
Education

Ph.D. - Nova Southeastern University - Computer technology in education

M.A. - University of Massachusetts Boston - ESL/Bilingual education

M.A. - Stanford University - Latin American studies

B.A. - Brandeis University - Politics and Latin American studies

Insight

"You can't always get what you want; but if you try sometime, you'll get what you need." - The Rolling Stones

Professional Experience
  • Teacher of ELLs - Colombia, USA, Israel
  • Instructor of teachers of ELLs - various institutions in the USA and Israel
  • Instructor of educational technology - various institutions in the USA and Israel
  • CALL (computer aided language learning) counselor - Northern District, Ministry of Education, Israel
  • National CALL counselor - Ministry of Education, Israel
Awards & Recognitions
  • Recipient of grant from Fund for the Encouragement of Educational Initiatives (Israel)
  • Recipient of the "Ancora Award" for the best book published in Costa Rica in 1974
  • Recipient of National Language Fellowship (USA)
  • Recipient of Sachar Scholarship (Brandeis University) for Latin American studies research
Research & Publications

Backer, J.A. (2001, May). Online education in a war zone: Websites serve students in Israel when violence keeps them from classroom. Learning and Leading with Technology, 28(8), 50-53.

Backer, J.A. (2001, May). Using a modular approach to schMOOze with ESL/EFL students. The Internet TESL Journal, 7(5). [online]

Backer, J.A. (2001, Winter). Instruction delivery during a protracted international crisis. Journal of Instructional Delivery Systems, 15(1) 7-11.

Backer, J.A. (2000, October). The new curriculum in the age of the Internet. English Teachers' Journal (Israel), (53), 50-51.

Backer, J.A. (2000, Summer). A web review of four art history mysteries for ELF. ETAI Forum, 11(3), 41-42.

Backer, J.A. (2000, Spring). The importance of Hebrew touch typing for EFL. ETAI Forum, 11(2), 32.

Selected Presentations

Various presentions about educational technology at ETAI (English Teachers' Association of Israel) conferences.

Professional Memberships & Affiliations

ETNI - Elish Teachers Network of Israel

Teachers' Union of Israel