Envisioning healthy congregations
engaged in effective

Christian Ministry
locally AND globally.

E - Learning

Christians grow through community. Christians do not grow without study.

What we learn is anchored in us as we practice it in community and outreach.

God's Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path...I "hide" it in my heart that I might not dishonor/sin (against) God...Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

A church's web site is a natural place for "on-the-go" learning of God's Word, our callings, learning what it takes to practice our gifts, clarifying God's call to mission and ministry AND maintaining an online community of sisters and brothers.

What software does it take to construct an online learning experience?

Online learning is much more than typing in Bible Study outlines and lectures. It is more than putting the printed page on a web site. The web is a natural because it offers interactive "programmed" learning. This is one of the best types because there is opportunity for immediate feedback about one's answer to quizzes and other review instruments.

To have a rich online learning experience, a church could . . .

put up a section on their web site that would contain brief reading materials in the form of both a web page and a PDF (for those who rather print it off and read it). Needed: web page editor, word processing, and pdf conversion

 

video tape - or just audio tape - a teacher's presentations, convert it to web video, and write some interactive exercises to help those who view it review and learn the material. Needed: video camera, computer with Windows XP or newer for Windows Movie Maker or Apple's I-Movie on Apple computers.

 

acquire a link to a chatroom for the students so that 2 or more could converse about the material in the lesson in real time. Needed: chatroom service (many free of charge), or chatroom software to work with the web page software

 

list a page of resources - books, journals, web sites, and other electronic media that would help the students go further in their studies. Needed: word processing, web page software,

 

set up a "blog" for the teacher and students to interact in not real time about the material. Needed: Blogger or other free material.

 

When a number of courses have been published/uploaded, it is time to manage them. Needed: Learning Management System (try A-Tutor open-source (read: free) or a Course Management System (try Moodle, an open-source software suite used by many corporations, government agencies, and non-profits). Would you like to bring your entire web site together under one umbrella? Try Joomla!. (At least one of our ABC Regions does their entire web site with this.)

 

Doing online learning using the church web site does not need expensive software, just the time, passion, and creativity of a church called by God to do so. Yes, there are sofware packages that are specifically designed and marketed to help corporate, non-profit, and government training. These include RapidIntake, Articulate, Impatica, Inspiration. One of the best is still free download add-on for DreamWeaver: CourseBuilder. To see a course built with this go to the GRR's online course on American Baptist History and Polity.

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