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Online In-Service Training

Encarnacao Consultation Azusa Pacific University

May 11-13 2006 Presented by John Edmiston

This focuses on online in-service training of Christian workers, generally in synergy with some face-to-face interaction, and looks at the feasibility of various modes of training and the free resources that are available (which have improved greatly in the last two years) and which now rival commercial offerings such as Blackboard. The basic rubric is to put the content online and have the mentoring, supervision and relationship building offline. [Some relationship building is possible online but is rarely spiritually formative.] Online training is best for delivering standardized content to a widely dispersed audience or pulling together highly specialized experts that do not exist in one locality.

SOME ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE TRAINING

  • Can train in multiple locations and time zones

  • Asynchronous, folk do not necessarily have to be online together

  • Expert can stay in one location and train many others (with help of local tutors)

  • Multiple media (text, audio, video etc) can be used

  • Forums, egroups, discussion boards, blogs, online quizzes, gradebooks and surveys

  • Can build large interactive learning communities

  • Some very good free /low cost software

DELIVERY POSSIBILITIES & BANDWIDTHS (IN BRACKETS)
The delivery mechanism depends a) on what students have available by way of Internet bandwidth and b) on the technical competency of the instructor in preparing materials. Flash, audio and video require much higher levels of instructor skill in preparation. Most instructors can do doc, html, PowerPoint and print to PDF with PDF Creator.

  • Daily or weekly text emails to egroup (very low bandwidth)

  • Emails with small doc/pdf attachments (very low bandwidth)

  • Downloadable ebooks – pdf, KeeBoo, etc (low bandwidth)

  • Html and pdf files online (low to medium bandwidth)

  • PowerPoints, Flash (medium bandwidth)

  • Audio download (medium to high bandwidth, generally reliable)

  • Streaming audio (medium to high bandwidth, 50% reliable)

  • Video (high bandwidth, often still unreliable)

  • Torrent files / peer-to-peer networks (for very large files, improves download speed)

  • External Hard-Drives – can fit 100Gb + of information, put whole MA on HDD and give to training center.

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ONLINE + OFFLINE
There are important synergies between online and offline education. This is particularly true when you have one highly competent instructor online and many tutors offline. In Korea David Yonggi Cho preaches online and cell groups view the material and bible study leaders tutor face-to-face, church giving is by Paypal etc online. Centralized online training can help ell group and house church movements stay on track and resource church-based bible colleges. Also movement-wide material such as songs, logos, worship material, policies can be centralized. Online. Most people prefer to study in a motivating small group, but are happy to download the study materials from a website.

  • Internet resourced cell groups, house churches, & church-based bible schools

  • Standardized curriculum online, content, resources and "library" online

  • Some apostolic oversight online

  • Highly specialized discussions in egroups

  • Relationship building offline, face to face, groups

  • DVD material offline, also on external HDD

  • Worship songs online – downloaded for offline use

  • Giving via Paypal & Ikobo

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FREE EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
There are now a wide range of excellent free educational packages and UNESCO keeps track of them. Most packages include egroups, discussion forums, assessment drop-boxes, student journals and blog software. The larger packages have active support forums and you can readily get help with installation and functions and most are now "cross-platform". You can install in an hour and upload your content in a day or so. Then you have your own online bible college! Having a "friendly techie" about is a good idea though.

FREE CONTENT & RESOURCES
The following can be supplementary material to Viv and Bryan’s.

CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY COMPUTER CENTERS
Internet cafes can be revenue-earning training venues.

  • Using Internet cafes and computer centers as urban outreach and training venues

  • For inner cities (charity model) www.techmission.org

  • As missions bases in developing nations (business as mission model) www.cybermission.org/icafe/

Contact for John Edmiston Skype: johnedmiston Phone: 1-310-549-6791

Websites: www.aibi.ph, www.cybermissions.org, www.eternitychristian.com

John & Minda Edmiston are based in Carson CA (near Torrance & Long Beach)

© Viv Grigg & Urban Leadership Foundationand other materials © by various contributors & Urban Leadership Foundation,  for The Encarnacao Training Commission.  Last modified: July 2010