The Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission, a non-governmental organization exploring the opportunity to use technology to improve education in the United States, recently released the results of a poll on the opinions of teachers and parents about educational technology in K-12 education. Findings include: 96% of teachers and 92% of parents believe that schools’ integration of technology in teaching and learning is important to the education of American students Read More …
Trends
Smartphone Habits (#0861)
The Pew Research Center's Pew Internet & American Life Project has been tracking cell phone ownership and use for the past eight years. Earlier this month they released a new infographic on our smartphone habits: So What? More people today are buying smartphones than traditional cell phones. Smartphone ownership has been increasing for some time, and all indicators suggest that continued growth is likely. In addition to more people having smartphones, more Read More …
Weekend Activities (#0860)
Lam Thuy Vo's recent piece explores just how Americans actually spend their weekends. The data contained in Vo's infographic comes from the American Time Use Survey, which is conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So What? The average American spends a little over half an hour every weekend volunteering and/or participating in religious activities. Is this number higher or lower than you would have guessed? What are the implications of this statistic for your Read More …
Largest & Fastest Growing Churches (#0859)
Outreach Magazine's new special issue focused on the largest and fastest growing churches in America is packed with information. While I always look at the lists of the 100 fastest growing and the 100 largest congregations (based on worship attendance), this year I was struck by the classification of the congregations making both lists. More specifically, both lists are dominated by churches characterized as nondenominational or interdenominational. They comprise Read More …
Less Generous Than We Think (#0847)
According to the Science of Generosity Survey, self-reported data about how much people give to religious causes is significantly inflated. While roughly 25% stated they tithed (gave 10% of their income) to charity, actual giving records revealed that just 3% gave 5% or more to charity. And, not only do people have exceedingly favorable self-impressions, many are anything but generous: only 57% of respondents claim they gave more than $25 in the past year to charity. So Read More …
Flat Earth & Creationism (#0843)
On CNN, William Sanford Nye (better known as Bill Nye the Science Guy) recently compared teaching creationism to teaching that the earth is flat. He suggested that tax dollars should not be used to forward either claim under the guise of science education. More specifically, when asked about the harm of children learning the biblical creation story, he answered: "Learning the story is fine. That's great. It's not science. Tax dollars used for science Read More …
More Teens Are Sexting (#0842)
A recent study led by Jeff Temple from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, shows how common sexting has become among teens: 28% have sent a naked photo of themselves via text or email 31% have asked someone for a sext 57% have been asked to send a sext So What? In recent years, churches have gotten more involved in educating youth and their parents about technology. Sexting is too significant and has become too widespread an issue to ignore. How is Read More …
Who Are Americans? (#0837)
In the Sunday paper, I encountered a half-page AP article written by Calvin Woodward and Christopher S. Rugaber that offers incredible insight into our changing nation. Consider these facts: Closer Together: Cities and closely surrounding suburbs are growing faster than farther-off suburbs for the first time in over 20 years Less Mobile: Mobility (defined by the percentage of population that moved in the last year) is at lowest it has been since the Census Bureau started Read More …
Spong on Seminaries (#0830)
John Shelby Spong served as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. In retirement, he has been a prolific writer and speaker. After teaching a weeklong intensive course at the Pacific School of Theology, he reflected on how that school has changed to more effectively meet the demands of preparing people for ministry in the early twenty-first century. He is hopeful that this institution's current intentions will Read More …
Religious Engagement via Social Media (#0824)
While America remains a country with high levels of belief in God, most Americans are not talking about religious matters via social media. According to a recent (July 2012) survey of 1,026 American adults: 13% have downloaded a religious podcast of a sermon or listened to a sermon online 11% have posted status updates about being in church 10% have used a cell phone to take pictures or record video during worship 6% belong to one or more religious groups on Facebook 5% Read More …