I've taught dozens of adult Sunday school classes over the years, mostly during the twenty years I served in congregational ministry. Since joining First Presbyterian Church last May, I've taught a few adult Sunday School classes as a volunteer. All of these experiences were in a pre-COVID-19 world. And, all classes were taught in classrooms, libraries, sanctuaries, fellowship halls, or other physical spaces on the campus of a local congregation. Online Sunday School First Read More …
online education
Fully Online Seminary Education (#1207)
During the first 10 years of the 21st century, the number of students in higher education taking at least one online course nearly tripled (for more, check out "The Rise of Online Higher Ed"). There was also considerable growth in the number of fully online students. Just as the church tends to change more slowly than the culture at large, seminary education seems to shift more slowly than higher education in general. Like most pastors, I attended seminary in an era when online Read More …
Winning a Re-Tweet Award (#0893)
Earlier this month I attended the 18th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning. When I checked in at the registration area, I was pleased to see an advertisement for a Twitter contest. The instructions were simple: the tweet using the conference hashtag (#aln12) that received the most retweets would be win the contest. Since I planned to tweet, I kept the flier. With nearly 3,000 people attending the conference, I didn't think I would be a Read More …
Cultivating Community (#0882)
I spent the past week in Orlando, FL learning about online education. As a part of that experience, I attended (along with 1500+ in Orlando and 1200+ virtual attendees) the 18th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning. The Sloan conference offered hundreds of formal learning opportunities alongside several scheduled networking events. While I was in the minority as a first time attendee, I had no trouble finding my way into any and all of Read More …
Seminary President Discounts Online Theological Education (#0460)
Paige Patterson, President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently made remarks that counter conventional wisdom and practice in theological education. Tammi Ledbetter, writing for the Southern Baptist Texan, reports: Patterson’s definition of theological education is to expose students “to great men and women of God, to their lives, their homes, their habits and their commitments,” a process that requires sacrificing the comforts of home. If it were nothing more than Read More …