As I began the journey in EL3517, I choose to focus on the learning goal of gaining a better understanding of the educational theories and philosophies provided in the class and to apply the best practices to my current ministry as a Director of Youth Ministry at Cokato Evangelical Lutheran Church. Through the course readings, web assignments, blogging and writings, I have learned a great deal about media and technology and the influence it is having over our culture today.
Mary Hess’s book “Engaging Technology in Theological Education” provided a wealth of knowledge in religious education theories and philosophies, including;
• The models of learning (expert vs. knower) pg. 6-7
• A rubric for the six facets of understanding pg. 42-43
• The Dance of Redemption pg. 108
All of these models have helped me gain a better understanding on how to better formulate a plan that allows learning to take place in healthy, constructive and effective learning environments.
Clay Shirky and Michael Wesch provide a wealth of examples on how society has adopted to new technology that is overwhelming our world. People are able to collaborate at little to no cost thanks to technological advances in social media platforms. This new ability to organize and collaborate can be a huge strength for the church and its ministries. How we can utilize these new technologies is a crucial question that our congregations must face. In my own context, this class has allowed me to gain a better understanding of how to utilize these technological tools available to better spread the Good News.
This course has given me the above tools and more that better equip me to reach people in our culture today.
Nate, I like how you pulled those specific topics from Mary's book and tweaked them for your context. I think with the six facets of learning what jumped out at me is the evaluation piece. I am always thinking about this. On page 41 the question is raised, "what evidence will demonstrate that a student has achieved that goal; and then only at that point determine a learning task that will support the student in developing sufficient skill to provide such evidence." In essence we have to work backwards when planning education and faith formation opportunities. The technology/media piece is one more avenue to achieve the goals and/or allow the student (of any age!) to demonstrate competence in the topic. Constructing learning environments is key to what the student will learn. Again, what is not present (null curriculum)teaches as much as what is. This class is great for additional tools, you are correct in that! Thanks Nate! Brigette
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