St. Jon of D.C.

Well, I find my self in a predicament this afternoon.  I worked most of the summer on a syllabus for a class I won't be teaching until next year (it's a Fall even ).  As it turns out, it looks like I'll be teaching a different course.  I led a student through it as an independent study so I have a basic outline and idea. Anyway - I am excited to see how well this "method" works as I scramble to map out this course, create some learning objectives, guides, tasks and assessments.  Here I go again! I am beginning to "chunk out" the main ideas for at least the first section so I have a place to begin.  It is much easier (lazy way) to take it chapter by chapter from the book like we did in the independent study.  I am now processing how to not only "teach" the course, but move it to an online presence as well. As a musician (and punk rocker at heart) I have some issues with copyrights.  People are getting rich and they aren't always the mu

Pun intended. I think this week's lesson gets at the crux of what bothers me and so many people about the online learning community.  How does technology work to engage people in relationships and communication? I actually wrestled a lot with my professor in Homiletics about this idea.  If I preach the "unadulterated Word of God in its full counsel" but no one listens because I give no consideration to my presentation, am I a faithful preacher?  How much responsibility is on the hearer and how much is on the speaker?  If I have 20 hours to spend on a sermon, how much time do I devote to my study of content and how much to my presentation and "communication" skills?  (This tensions plays out with the "mega-church-watered-down" preacher reaching thousands vs. the small town "theologically-sound-egg-head" pastor of a dying church who reads his manuscript).  What if the best form of presentation doesn't even look like a pulpit? In many

My revelation this week is somewhat embarrassing.  I do a lot of relationship counseling (marriages, roommates, folks in churches and even work places relationships), and more often than not, I encourage people to: "communicate their expectations".  The better one becomes at articulating what they expect, the easier it is for the other party to respond.  I've taught two classes now (one each semester last year) and I cringed as I read this week's readings, especially Conquering the Content .  I ended up moving about 4 or 5 major deadlines because students were "unclear" about what was expected of them for the assignment.  It was a dose of my own medicine. As I move forward, I will definitely use the formula of: 1. Objectives (what I want you to learn) 2. Learning guide (these are the ways you will do it) 3. Learning tasks (here is exactly what I want you to do and what it will look like) and assessments (now that you've done this work, what is your at

This week I got kind of excited about this online class/teaching idea.  As I began making the "map" two things came into focus: The first was that I saw it begin to take shape in my mind.  I got a vision for what this could look like. Until this point, I was basically scratching my head and feeling overwhelmed.  I am still overwhelmed in that I have no idea how to use any of the technology, but I can see it coming to life in my head.  I think this is the major obstacle to overcome. The second revelation was that I found great peace in seeing how "my" style and pedagogical approach can fit within an online setting.  When reading and viewing examples, I kept trying to "fit" myself into other molds and I was having trouble seeing how that was going to work.  As I brainstormed and sketched out my draft for the map I was able to organize my thoughts in a way that reflected how I think and teach. I know I have the hard work of learning the tools and hittin

Several things "popped" out to me in this week's readings. 1. Mayer's Personalization Theory (pg xviii in the introduction) suggested that our uploading videos helps the learner feel a sense of "connection" with the instructor.  My experience agrees.  The classes where I saw my professors (even if only on screen) seemed more genuine and gave me a more positive approach...as long as their videos weren't too long. :) 2.  The idea that it is "easier" to teach online is a myth.  I think that the online curriculum might actually force us to be more prepared.  I find that it is easier for me to just create a rough outline of objectives and get up in a live environment and "talk"...eventually getting to the point.  It is more uncomfortable for me to have to map it out and provide an online plan, but likely more effective and efficient for the learner. 3.  I liked the idea of "competency" based curriculum designed to go a th