I'm a complete Duolingo addict (closing in on 1400 day streak). Gamifying something really works for me and probably for many people. I asked tech friends about making an app for my Yomi projects--Mishnah Yomit, Daf Shevui, but making it good, with games and points and competitions and leader boards, etc. Making it fun, not just read the Daf. They said it would be very expensive to set up and maintain. But I really think that like covering the pages of the book with honey for the little kids, adults need something like this. I think that Daf Yomi is already "gamified" but probably too hard of a game.
This is a great overview, David Zvi. I've also wondered for years why at least the Kabbalah Center people didn't try this in their (as you say, highly problematic) style.
My sense from some digital product experience is that we tend to underestimate how difficult and as Josh says, expensive it is to produce a truly compelling product in the way you outline. I think we'd need an applied visionary in Jewish education at the level of a Sarah Schenirer, Nechama Leibowitz or Rav Steinsaltz to do this well - with strong design abilities (rare) and of course engineering. (Maybe AI lowers the bar somewhat on those two now?)
The 929 Project is worth a mention here - it ticks some of your boxes and shows real innovation in this direction.
I think you're probably right. This is a great example of how something that appears to be a "simple" educational problem is actually a substantive problem.
I'm a complete Duolingo addict (closing in on 1400 day streak). Gamifying something really works for me and probably for many people. I asked tech friends about making an app for my Yomi projects--Mishnah Yomit, Daf Shevui, but making it good, with games and points and competitions and leader boards, etc. Making it fun, not just read the Daf. They said it would be very expensive to set up and maintain. But I really think that like covering the pages of the book with honey for the little kids, adults need something like this. I think that Daf Yomi is already "gamified" but probably too hard of a game.
Thanks for your thoughts.
This is a great overview, David Zvi. I've also wondered for years why at least the Kabbalah Center people didn't try this in their (as you say, highly problematic) style.
My sense from some digital product experience is that we tend to underestimate how difficult and as Josh says, expensive it is to produce a truly compelling product in the way you outline. I think we'd need an applied visionary in Jewish education at the level of a Sarah Schenirer, Nechama Leibowitz or Rav Steinsaltz to do this well - with strong design abilities (rare) and of course engineering. (Maybe AI lowers the bar somewhat on those two now?)
The 929 Project is worth a mention here - it ticks some of your boxes and shows real innovation in this direction.
I think you're probably right. This is a great example of how something that appears to be a "simple" educational problem is actually a substantive problem.
Nah. Seforia is pretty good. Also we have these things called books. They are amazing.
https://marlowe1.substack.com/p/action-illinois-by-mary-gaitskill
Beware of Sefaria translations. They often are very skewed interpretations, selling a a restricted outlook