Bricks

1
Bricks ClicksThe Future of Theological
Education in the Digital Age

• Indonesia AG Bible School Consultation - 2007

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Introduction

• "Faced with the invention of the telegraph, the
  Pony Express initially responded by buying faster
  horses. When that failed, the organization tried
  to hire better riders. It did not realize that
  the world had changed, and the Pony Express went
  out of business." (Twigg, 2001)?

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Introduction

• "The first ATM was located inside a bank and was
  available only during banking hours. Bankers
  viewed this technological innovation as an
  automated teller. Real innovation did not occur
  until ATMs were placed outside banks and in
  malls, grocery stores, and airports, available
  twenty-four hours a day." (Twigg, 2001)?

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Introduction

• Pony Express Trying to maintain an outdated
  theological educational infrastructure
• ATMs Not knowing how to effectively utilize a
  new technology

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A Glimpse of the Future

• The title of a 2003, Christianity Today article
  "Distance Education A Revolution in Progress"
  New Developments in Distance Education are
  breaking down the barriers of time and space that
  until recently have limited people's access to
  theological education"

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1. Theological Education The Past

• 1.1 The First Great Awakening Theological
  Education (1735-1740)
• Log Cabin College Movement
• "By the end of the 18th century, 65 Presbyterian
  log cabin academies had come into existence. . .
  ." Flynn Tjiong

• Jonathan Edwards George Whitefield

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1. Theological Education The Past

• 1.2 The Second Great Awakening and the
  Theological Seminaries (1800-1840)
• The advent of the stand-alone theological
  seminaries beginning with Andover Theological
  Seminary in 1808.
• "a classic undergraduate education" graduate
  professional education in theology Flynn
  Tjiong

• Cane Ridge Revival

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1. Theological Education The Past

• 1.3 Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition Ministerial
  Training
• Beginning in the 1880s schools for lay-training
  were established that emphasized "rapid
  deployment" called Bible schools or institutes.
  Brereton
• ". . . purposely designed to provide less
  technical theological education and often
  functioned at what was basically a high school
  level . . . ." Flynn Tjiong

• Moody Bible Institute

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3 Stages of Development

• 1. 1882-1915 2 year Bible-centered curriculum.
• 2. 1915-1930 Acquisitions of buildings
  resources.
• 3. 1940ff. - Academic accreditation,
  undergraduate degrees and teaching staff with
  advanced degrees.

• Central Bible Institute Established, 1922

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Reflections on Bible Institutes

• Primary Purpose lay training
• Primary Advantage rapid deployment
• Should the Bible Institute/School really be
  considered theological education or even
  ministerial training? Rather should it not be
  considered lay-training?

Bethel Bible School, Topeka
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Reflections on Bible Institutes

• Beginning with Martin Luther and especially with
  Zwingli who wrote, "Without knowledge of the
  Hebrew and Greek of the Old and New Testaments,
  there is no interpretation," ministers were given
  a rigorous education.
• It was the results of historical criticism that
  turned a part of the church in the UK and USA
  away from this education and ultimately to
  utilize Bible institutes.

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Reflections on Bible Institutes

• "Whereas a knowledge of the Hebrew language is
  not necessary to salvation, or the understanding
  of Divine truth, and whereas it hath in many
  instances led to the adoption of dangerous and
  unsound views with regard to the authority of the
  Word of God . . . that the teaching of Hebrew,
  and particularly Biblical Criticism, should
  henceforth be discontinued in our Colleges . . .
  ." McCraw in Rogerson

William Robertson Smith, 1877
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Reflections on Bible Institutes

• "That vain curiosity and undependence sic, and
  logic and metaphysics, and science and
  philosophy, and Greek and Hebrew, and French and
  German, must all be stamped out together."
  McCraw in Rogerson
• Flynn Tjiong argue that a "perceived . . .
  liberal slide," "influence of German higher
  criticism," and "intense missionary zeal" was
  behind the development of the BIs.

• William Robertson Smith

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2. AG Theological Education in AP

• Beginning with the North China Truth Bible
  Institute in 1922, the Bible institute pattern of
  ministerial training was offered.
• "From the mid-1940s through the 1950s, a total of
  twelve theological institutions were established
  in Indonesia (5), Philippines (3), Hong Kong (1),
  Australia (1), and Japan (1)." Sun

• Central Bible Institute, Tokyo, 1950s

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2. AG Theological Education in AP

• A 1959 Survey
• 1. Established institutions full-time faculty,
  facilities, libraries entrance requirements.
• 2. Smaller institutions part-time faculty,
  limited facilities and libraries with 4, 6, 8
  month courses offered throughout a 3-4 year
  period.
• 3. Short-term institutes low budget, training
  for laity and pastor/evangelists.

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2. AG Theological Education in AP

• 33 required only reading and writing abilities
• 33 required 3rd grade education
• 10 require high school graduation
• 12 with an entrance exam
• Most required a definite call to ministry

• Curriculum differed from institute to institute.
• 20 offered correspondence programs, but only
  half would accept these credits

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2. AG Theological Education in AP

• Pedagogy
• Classroom time 75Lecture 20-30Discussion
  Student reports
• 50 reported that syllabi was given to students
• 50 gave mineographed notes to students

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2. AG Theological Education in AP

• Pedagogy
• 25 of the institutes had faculty-training
  programs
• Most schools had faculty meetings monthly,
  weekly or as needs arose.
• 50 of institutes had libraries
• Most had practical ministry opportunities

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2. AG Theological Education in AP

• Goals
• 1. Help produce evangelistic churches
• 2. Equip full-time lay ministers
• 3. Leadership training that would develop
  indigenous church programs Sun

• Hodges's Gaps
• 1. Gap between intellectual spiritual
  development
• 2. Gap between knowledge and praxis in ministry
• 3. Gap between clergy and laity
• 4. Conceptual gap between filling vacancies and
  world evangelism / development of churches

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2. AG Theological Education in AP

• Philosophy -1970
• "First and and foremost, full place should be
  given to the moving of the Holy Spirit and the
  study of the Bible."
• ". . . have a vision to supply indigenous
  leadership for expanding churches and to
  evangelize unreached fields."
• "flexible delivery systems"

• "The trend is for the stronger denominational . .
  . seminaries to put more emphasis on church
  growth, church planting and the traditional
  mission orientation of Christianizing the whole
  of Asia." Hope Antone

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2. AG Theological Education in AP

• Newer Trends
• As in many Charismatic churches, local churches
  have established their own ministerial training
  programs that combine clergy and laity
  development.

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Reflections on AP Theological Ed

• Bible Institutes/Schools Colleges have utilized
  a dormitory system for both convenience and
  spiritual training vs. "on the job training" in
  the parish.
• The gap between clergy laity has not changed.

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Reflections on AP Theological Ed

• The training programs have not focused on the
  concept of continued education or "life long
  learning." Wingate, 2005
• The tendency has been to upgrade via quantity
  over against quality.
• The development of proper facilities has been
  expensive, housing and collecting educational
  resources has been difficult.

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Reflections on AP Theological Ed

• Evangelism Church Growth has been at the
  philosophical center of the Bible
  Institute/School/College movement in Asia
  Pacific. It would be safe to say that it has been
  successful here, with varying degrees of success
  throughout Asia Pacific.
• Do we want to shift our emphasis?

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Reflections on AP Theological Ed

• The character of theological learning /
  ministerial training should include
• 1. Intellectual Content
• 2. Professional Skills
• 3. Personal Formation
• 4. Spiritual Maturity
• 5. Cultural Connectedness
• 6. Religious Heritage
• Graham, 2002 ATS Standards

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Anti-Intellectualism vs. Intellectual Content

• "Endemic to Pentecostalism is a profound
  anti-intellectual ethos. It is manifested in a
  deep suspicion of scholars and educators and
  especially biblical scholars and
  theologians."Olson, 2006
• "Abiding anti-intellectualism is one of our
  flaws. . . . There's a kind of theological
  independence that scoffs at education. Yet you
  can't do theology without intellect. You can't.
  Spittler in Neff, 2006

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Personal Formation / Spiritual Maturity

• "Rampant Sexual and Financial Scandals"
• "Tendency to condone dishonesty on the part of
  influential and popular evangelists and
  ministers."
• "Playing fast and loose with truth is rampant in
  Pentecostal circles, and is excused and even
  joked about as "speaking evangelistically."

• Roger E. Olson, "Pentecostalism's dark side"

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.1 Research Productivity Software
• Bibliographic Software

• Build a database of citations
• Import records from online Library catalogues
• Import or link to files
• Enter Research notes
• Search, Organize and Retrieve
• Format according to academic styles
• Build bibliography

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.1 Research Productivity Software
• Bible Software
• e-Sword
• Davar 3
• BibleWorks
• Logos - Libronix

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.1 Research Productivity Software
• Word Processors
• OpenOffice
• MS Office

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.1 Research Online Resources
• Digitized Books
• Google Book Search
• MSN live Book Search
• Wikibooks

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.1 Research Online Resources
• Digitized Books
• Internet Archive
• Repositories with Specialty books

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.2 Pedagogy
• Course Management Software Web-based software /
  database that allows an instructor or a school to
  administrate course material online.

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• Resources to Offer
• Lecture Materials
• Bibliographies
• Links
• Blogs
• Instructor's website
• Articles as Course Readers
• Textbooks

• Activities to Do
• Forums
• Chats
• Assignments
• Quizzes
• Wiki
• Glossary
• Lessons

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.2 Pedagogy
• Presentation Software - ". . . typically includes
  three major functions an editor that allows text
  to be inserted and formatted, a method for
  inserting and manipulating graphic images and a
  slide-show system to display the content."

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.3 Administration
• Registrar - Trousers

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.3 Administration
• Whole School Admin Software
• Focus/SIS
• Centre

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.3 Administration
• Library

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.4 Overall Philosophy
• When Designing a Course - "We need to ensure when
  designing courses that we offer more than one
  approach to teaching and learning within the same
  course." Bates Poole

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.4 Overall Philosophy
• When Designing a Course Technology-based
  learning presupposes a strong list of explicitly
  interactive learning opportunities through the
  "use of exercises, activities, texts and
  feedback." Bates Poole

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.4 Overall Philosophy
• When Designing a Course "Although on
  conventional campuses a great deal of
  consideration is given to classroom teaching and
  interaction with students, in reality by far the
  largest part of studying in higher education is
  done alone by the student while interacting with
  textbooks or other learning media. " Bates
  Poole

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.5 Theological Educators Technological Skills
• The use of personal computers.
• Be able to survive in an internet connected
  world.
• "Information literacy for research and ministry."
• Utilize technology for face-to-face instruction.
• "Technology for asynchronous teaching and
  learning."
• Delmarter, 2005

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3. What can the New Technology do for Us?

• 3.5 Future Pressures
• "The pressure to meet student expectations."
• "The pressure to enrich the classroom experience
  by engaging the visual learner."
• The pressure to enhance the traditional course
  through richer pedagogical strategies available
  with technology."
• "The pressure to offer distance programs."
• Delmarter, 2005

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.1 Teaching Theology with Technology
• PowerPoint-ization of the Lecture 75 of
  lecturers in theological schools in the USA use
  presentation software. Delamarter, 2004

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.1 Teaching Theology with Technology
• It is now unusual for a Seminary not to have at
  least one online course, while CMS usage is
  standard, with a few notable exceptions.

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.2 Questions Objections to Teaching Theology
  with Technology
• David Kelsey has argued that from a
  theological-anthropological perspective, online
  theological education is contrary to an
  incarnational understanding of theological
  education. Kelsey, 2002 response - Gresham,
  2006

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.2 Questions Objections to Teaching Theology
  with Technology
• Amy Pauw warns about presentations software's
  "tendency to produce a disembodied,
  decontextualized learning environment" Pauw,
  2002 See also Cormode, 1999 Tufte, 2003
  Atkinson Mayer, 2005

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.2 More Questions Objections
• "How can people be formed for ministry when they
  don't even meet face-to-face? Isn't it easy for
  people to hide in this sort of an environment?"
  Delamarter, 2004 See Nicholls, 2003

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.2 Questions Objections to Teaching Theology
  with Technology
• "How can we give the student the experience of
  our seminary, our identity and ethos, when they
  can't even be here to be immersed in it
  themselves? Delamarter, 2004 See Frame, 2003

• "Research shows that initial face-to-face
  interaction develops a sense of community. Our
  distributed-learning programs then give the
  student the technological tools to sustain and
  build that community around specified content."
  Cannings

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.2 More Questions Objections
• The use of technology is time consuming.
• Interactive teaching demands more prep-time!

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.3 Advantages
• Tomlinson from Northwestern "While the
  incorporation of technology isn't necessarily
  going to make education better, it most certainly
  makes education more accessible to more people
  than ever before." Frame, 2003 Graham, 2006

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.3 Advantages
• The "on-the-job-training" model may be utilized
  without sacrificing quality of learning.

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.3 Advantages
• Warning "Good teaching matters . . . . Good
  teaching may overcome a poor choice in the use of
  technology, but technology will never save bad
  teaching usually it makes it worse."
• "The use of technology in teaching is generally a
  means, not an end." Bates Poole, 2003

• However, technology may encourage the teacher to
  use better pedagogy!

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.3 Advantages
• eLearning and many technological tools may assist
  in "Lifelong-Learning." - Together with the
  principle of "on-demand" learning is helpful here.

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.3 Advantages
• Some experiments in discipleship training of
  laity via an online program seems to have have
  great success. Nicholls, 2003

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Advantages of Online Learning

• 1. Eliminates travel time and expense
• 2. Permits flexible scheduling
• 3. Provides convenient access to course materials
  and the instructor
• 4. Provides access to distant expert instructors
• 5. Provides lone learner access to group
  knowledge and support
• 6. Enhances opportunities for class interaction
• 7. Provides for an egalitarian atmosphere
• 8. Stores communications for convenient access,
  reflection and responses
• 9. Provides instruction inexpensively once
  instructional hardware and software have been
  acquired.
• Cheng, Lehman Reynolds, 1991

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.4 Realistic Expectations
• Web - course content, lectures, assignments,
  communication, and other activities are
  distributed and accomplished using the Web.
• Web Enhanced - similar to a traditional course
  with Web course elements, but has a reduced
  number of class meetings.
• Web-supplemented - regularly scheduled
  face-to-face (f2f) classes with some material or
  activities online.

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4. Is Technology the Answer?

• 4.4 Realistic Expectations
• Blended Learning (hybrid) A combination of
  active learning techniques in a F2F setting with
  a social web presence online.

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5. Administrating Techno-Change

• 5.1 Leading toward Technology
• Institutions that have made the change
• "First, they have discovered a mission hook that
  requires them to use technology to solve a
  particular distance challenge." Delamarter, 2004

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5. Administrating Techno-Change

• 5.1 Leading toward Technology
• "Second, technology for teaching and learning has
  been mainstreamed. Among other things, this means
  that some form of online or hybrid teaching is a
  standard part of every faculty contract and
  facility in the medium is is a consideration of
  faculty promotion and tenure decisions."
  Delamarter, 2004

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5. Administrating Techno-Change

• 5.1 Leading toward Technology
• "Third, the institution has worked to identify
  and use technology that is appropriate to the
  need." Delamarter, 2004

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5. Administrating Techno-Change

• 5.1 Leading toward Technology -
• "Interestingly, I do not know of a single one of
  them that got there through faculty initiative.
  It has taken either institutional crisis or a
  mandate from a board or an all-powerful leader to
  get seminaries to move distance technology into
  the mainstream of their mission pursuits."
  Delamarter, 2004

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5. Administrating Techno-Change

• 5.2 Technological Development
• Lone Ranger Approach
• Team Effort
• Professional Assistance

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