The NEAR Social-Educational Network is the flagship (along with TEC Island) of the unique, original, and innovative developments created by TEC Center in conjunction with the NEAR Educational Organization.

The dual meaning of the name, NEAR, in memory of the late Nir Diskin, is not accidental. It is the only social-educational network in the world that is devoted to learning and bringing people together. Its specifications and features are designed to support and promote collaborative multicultural learning in accordance with the TEC Model.

Characteristics of the NEAR Network

The NEAR Network supports and promotes collaborative multicultural learning in accordance with the hierarchy of the TEC Model: Learning clusters of schools from different population sectors, comprising mixed groups of pupils from the schools in the cluster. The teachers in the cluster are not only responsible for their classes, but also for the mixed learning groups. Every three or four cluster teachers are accompanied by an instructor, who supervises the process and the transitions to the next learning activities, and the program director oversees them all and controls the Network’s administrative aspects.

Removing the language barrier!

In order to promote multicultural collaboration, each child types in their mother tongue, and the text is automatically displayed in the other language. The system recognizes the user’s mother tongue, and displays the content in their language – here the pupils no longer need Google Translate because the Network uses this feature as a built-in tool.

So simple, and it also produces a photograph album!

There is no need for multiple menus, as in other social media, because the tasks are structured in a suitable format, and apart from pressing a button to start, there is almost no need for anything else. Towards the end of the school year, the system generates a photo album of the children’s products for the parents, and for display in the school hallways. The children work on a poster-like collaborative screen, onto which they post pictures, texts, recordings, and videos they have created, and also respond to each other.

Our teachers have eyes in the backs of their heads!

There is no need for reports and lists; teachers who log onto the Network can immediately see everything: a picture of the present situation in the cluster on the annual task timeline, and of each group – which task they are working on – and the situation of each child within it – at what stage they are.

The Network manager has a control panel (dashboard) on which learning analytics are performed.

If you have ideas for additional programs to be included in the Network, you’re welcome to write and partner with us in planning and designing it!