REACH

I recently had an online conversation with a student who expressed some concerns about missed opportunities for interaction and subsequent lack of formation of deeper relationships as a result of online engagement. This musing led him to question how or to what extent our gathering together (too much) online fits or contradicts the Matthew 18:20 text, For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Christians who study together at a distance have a common bond of connection that transcends physical time and space. The Holy Spirit is purposely unconstrained by physical proximity and freely operates in and through ecological space to accomplish redemptive transformation. We “quench” the Spirit when we insist that “gathering together” can only occur in physical community by restraining the ability of the Spirit to transcend barriers of space and time (John 3:8; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27). Simultaneously we constrict our understanding of the church as ecclesia invisibilis and the ekklesia tou Theou comprised of all God’s people “that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one” (Westminster Confession, 1647) when we insist that only the physically gathered community represents the true church through which the presence of Christ exists. Thus through our union with Christ and our common indwelling by the Holy Spirit we are endowed with the capacity to be connected to the Trinity and to one another without being constrained by time and space.

The Holy Spirit carries out his ministry through socially constructed communities unconstrained by their form, physical or spatial proximity, or means of communication. If Paul could produce spiritual transformation in his readers through the socially constructed mechanism of written letters, should we not expect similar results when using the socially constructed mechanism of electronically mediated communication

A recent article published in the Chronicle of Higher Education outlined the Excellent Inevitability of Online Courses. It would seem natural to expect that most, of not all of us, agree with the premise. The commentator, Brooks, wrote that, “supporters of online instruction . . . believe that online courses intrinsically benefit students’ learning experiences, and are the intellectual equivalent of traditional courses” (¶ 3).

Are you gathered together?

Mary Lowe Uncategorized

It’s hard to believe a week has passed since the ACCESS conference in Virginia Beach, VA. Our time together truly epitomized the theme Networked Christian Learning. This conference brought together members of The Next Step as well as ACCESS members for what seemed like a great fit. Many of the folks from The Next Step were mission representatives involved in a number of activities related to online training, networking, and non-formal educational opportunities for a number of organizations around the world.

The presentations covered a range of topics, some of which we hope to feature in upcoming webinars. One of the sessions I found to be most helpful was led by Amanda Rockinson-Szapkiw, a Human Service instructor and consultant for online course development at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Amanda showed us how to use wikis to teach a course online. She makes use of wikis as a way of implementing community building that encourages participatory forms of learning. Students are required to collectively write their own textbook by collaborating on a research project, publishing their findings, and providing input to each other. With a background in adult education, I can certainly appreciate the andragogical principles she highlighted in her presentation.

Now if I could only figure out how to get started . . . .

Mary Lowe News & Views ACCESS, conference, wiki

Welcome to The ACCESS Blog.

We hope you’ll be inspired and informed about things happening in the field of Christian Distance Education.

Together, let’s expand our reach!

Michael Uncategorized