We are excited to announce the completion of the Umm el-Jimal Education Manual. Created to teach Jordanian and international students about Umm el-Jimal, the manual is designed in two sections with four main content categories. The first section introduces the site and explains its vast history and occupations. The second half is a series of lesson plans for each of four common subjects required in all Jordanian schools: Arts and Architecture, Civics, Geology, and History.

Written by project director Bert de Vries and designed by Open Hand Studios, the rich content is both engaging and informative. Its 125 pages are filling with detailed information, stunning images, and dozens of instructive drawings and illustrations.

Best yet, as one product of the Umm el-Jimal Project’s Virtual Museum and Educational Curriculum grant from the Archaeological Institute for America’s Site Preservation program, the book is free to download and use. (The curricula and accompanying content are licensed via a Creative Commons 4.0 International, Non-Commercial, By-Attribution, Share-Alike copyright. This means they are free to implement and share for noncommercial purposes, as long as credit to the authors is cited.) The English version is posted here:

http://ummeljimal.org/en/curriculum.html

The UJ website is designed as a complement for the curriculum, so while students from the region can visit the site on field trips, students across Jordan, the Middle East, and the globe can visit the site virtually:

http://ummeljimal.org/en/tour.html

The Arabic version is currently in translation, and has been submitted to the Ministry of Education of Jordan, which plans to roll it out across the country in the coming years.