You're in high school, and you want to learn Hebrew. But your only choices are the basics: French, Spanish and Latin. What to do? If you're like a group of students at Spanish River High School in Boca Raton, Fla., you don't settle-you contact Hebrew College for help.

Last fall, the die-hard Florida high schoolers presented their plight to their principal, who contacted Nathan Ehrlich, dean of Hebrew College Online (HCO). Ehrlich responded by coordinating the HCO team and Prozdor faculty to develop an online high-school Hebrew language program that Spanish River incorporated into their curriculum. Students work at their own pace, apart from a weekly class discussion led by Prozdor instructors and conducted through an Internet-based audioconferencing system. Individually, students learn Hebrew through a variety of methods, including online practice quizzes, interactive Hebrew text software, instructor feedback on written work via a fax-to-email service, and oral assignments through an asynchronous oral discussion forum.

The course was so successful last year that it has expanded beyond Florida. Fourteen students are enrolled this academic year, half from Spanish River, the rest from high schools across the country.

As more students sign up, Ehrlich says the benefits transcend learning Hebrew: "An important component in high-school programs of Jewish study are the social and cultural benefits of a peer community. But what about teens who don't have access to such opportunities locally? We know that rich interaction and support happen in a diverse range of online settings. While they're often described as 'virtual' communities, I wouldn't call them anything but real."

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