The field of education on the Internet is a wide one, encompassing a variety of different sources on the subject of Jewish heritage. There are many sources, spread over the Internet without a unifying language, and without an educational “core program.”
There is no central site or portal from which it is possible to access all the material in all the disciplines connected to the Jewish tradition, through linkage to a structured curriculum in these disciplines from a pluralistic perspective.

 Building a pluralistic Jewish Internet library that contains all the databases relevant to the world of Jewish content
      (Bible, Rabbinic literature, literature, poetry, art, cinema, etc.)
 Developing a catalog and a unique presentation of the items, which will allow for multiple contexts and for the 
       expansion of information on each and every item
 Constructing a portal based on the library and containing a system of Internet learning, teaching, development,
       and dialogue, in the field of Jewish education from a pluralistic perspective
The website will become the central focus for a pluralistic Jewish dialogue on the Internet, for anyone seeking to expand both his knowledge and his practice.

 Building a pluralistic Jewish language vis-?-vis the Jewish heritage and its varied aspects in terms of:
       a) the curriculum of Meytarim
       b) a knowledge tree of concepts in the fields of: the yearly cycle, life cycle events, the Jewish bookcase, notable
       figures, and the value concepts in Jewish culture
 Presenting subjects, concepts and values through varied items that will be linked to one another in multiple links.
       Each item will contain metadata that will allow links to key words, commentaries and interpretations, time
       periods, rationale, skills, curricula, and more
 Making the connection between the library and a portal that will allow for individual learning, dialogue between
       colleagues, and developing personal curricula
 Building an Internet pedagogical center for educators all over the world. The center will contain activities,
       courseware, distance learning, and more.
 Multi-lingual: The site will be translated into many languages, and will thus make possible pluralistic Jewish
       discussion embracing all Jewish communities.

The information structure of the Internet library and portal will be divided into two fields:

a. Concept knowledge tree: A detailed breakdown of the world of pluralistic Jewish knowledge, down to the derivation of a single concept that is related to one of the following fields of knowledge: ways of life, the calendar, value concepts, the Jewish bookcase, and notable figures
b. Curricula: A detailed breakdown of curricula by field, age, and spiraling development, down to the derivation of a single lesson in one of the following fields: Bible, Rabbinic literature, ways of life, prayer-morning sihot, Jewish thought, Jewish music and art. Similarly, there will be a reference to all study subjects that are taught, and it will be possible to link them to relevant aspects of Jewish learning.
Each item of information will be cataloged and presented in every field according to the search path of the user.

The site is intended to serve and help the educator/teacher who requires learning and teaching materials in the various fields of Jewish learning. The library and its search options will allow the end user both wide and specific searches. Searches will be performed by informational axes, by subject, by key word, by the age of the students, and by the curriculum. A wide search will present a wide range of learning related to each subject, and a specific search will present focused learning in terms of a specific lesson plan matched to the class and the curriculum.

The information items in the system will be linked both to specific curricula (by subject and age) and to the concepts knowledge tree structure. In terms of both these fields, all the relevant texts and sources, both traditional and cultural, will be presented.
Each subject, concept, value, etc., will be presented by a variety of items, from text files, through media files, to software files or any file containing relevant information, knowledge or experience, with the aim of presenting a wide array of texts in an interdisciplinary fashion.
Each information item will be presented with links to rationale, skill, commentary and interpretation, key words, and more. Similarly, the user will be able to copy it into any function in the portal that contains: a personal system for lesson plans, courseware, distance learning systems, forums, and more.
The database will be constructed with an emphasis on user convenience, both in terms of how to search for material and how to find the information required, and in terms of use of each and every file by the individual user.
 

The portal’s instruction center brings together all the materials and capabilities connected to the development of instruction at “Meytarim.”
At the core of the instruction center are the “activities.” An activity is defined as a collection of learning material and content brought together into one subject.

An activity consists of six parts:

1. General. Information specifications about the activity: a short description, relevant skills, relevant fields of knowledge, relevant curricula, grade level, suggested order of studying the various materials
2. Central items. In this grouping, central items from Meytarim’s knowledge world, connected to this activity, will appear.
3. Lessons. A list of lessons relevant to this activity, as characterized in the individual environment section
4. Courseware and simulations. A list of courseware and simulations relevant to the activity
5. Files. Relevant files for downloading, including zip, pdf, Excel, ppt, and doc files
6. Additional contents. Various pages of contents, containing contents and links relevant to the activity
In addition to the activities, the instruction center also maintains an archive of courseware, relevant forums, the possibility of contacting Meytarim’s instructional experts, and additional relevant contents. 

The project will be under the academic monitoring of Professor Yoram Eshet, Chairman of the Chais Research Center for the Integration of Technology in Education at the Open University.  In addition to Professor Eshet's direct involvement, one of his graduate students will be writing a thesis on this program.  We at Meytarim are excited to have such a well renowned academic participate in this new venture.

The Meytarim site is the place to find a wide range of educational materials for individual learning, for curricula building, for educational discussions, or for any other purpose on the part of the end user (teacher, parent, child, principal, etc.), who is interested in learning about Judaism from a pluralistic viewpoint.
The main power of the Meytarim portal lies in the information it manages and publicizes, both because of its sheer quantity and also because of the varied contexts, the choice of specific information, and more. Without this mass of information, the portal will be “just another community portal,” offering certain Internet tools. Meytarim will link these tools with the information that it supplies, and therein will lie the uniqueness of the Meytarim website.