CHREDITS Reintroductions...

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Mark Nichols

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Jan 16, 2013, 4:46:35 PM1/16/13
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Hi everyone,

It may surprise you to see this message - CHRistian Education
(Distance) in Tertioary Settings (CHREDITS) has been quiet for most of
its short life! However I have had two new membership requests, and
with that comes a great opportunity for us to get to know who's new
and update one another as to our circumstances and interest in
theological distance education.

So, let's go through our initial exercise again:

What is your involvement in theological education?
What interests you in this group?
What are some things you are seeking to learn about?
What sort of contributions do you think you might make?

I look forward to learning what's new for you, and seeing new
connections take place.

In Christ,

Mark.

David Greeff

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Jan 16, 2013, 5:05:07 PM1/16/13
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Hi Everyone,

My Name is David Greeff. I am a CMS (Australia) missionary serving in Namibia. I work for NETS (www.nets.edu.na) an interdenominational theological college in that country.

The leadership team has asked me to coordinate the project of making our first year theological certificate (called CCM - Certificate in Christian Ministry) available for study online. This is a new venture for the college, and quite new in Africa, i believe. Although I am studying an MA (Min) online through the ACT in Australia, my exposure to online study is otherwise minimal. 

I would like to learn as much as possible from this group - including:

the benefits of online study - and how to maximise them;
its pitfalls and how to minimise them;
how to design courses so that they can be completed and passed by online students;
how to motivate online students;
how cultural background and learning styles can and should affect the way online study is offered;
whether anyone in the group has exposure to ITSlearning as a LMS;
resources which can help staff at NETS offer their courses in a more appropriate way for online study;
how to implement online study in a developing world context;
anything else at this stage!

As a novice, possible contributions i can make are probably extremely limited. 
However, online study in an African/developing world context and its peculiarities may be something what can be shared.  

Thanks for letting me be part of the group.

David Greeff
24 Bishop Crescent
facebook: Casting the Nets



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Mark Nichols

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Jan 16, 2013, 10:53:39 PM1/16/13
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Hi everyone,

Seems only proper to update my own entry...

What is your involvement in theological education?

Before starting with Open Polytechnic mid 2010 I was involved with setting up online learning with Laidlaw College (previosuly Bible College of New Zealand). While there I started a PhD investigating spiritual formation for theological distance education students with the University of Otago, and I hope to complete this year. Once I'm a (non-medically useful) doctor I aim to do some theological distance education myself...

What interests you in this group?

Theological distance education mixes two of my life's great loves. It has fantastic potential for bringing Christians to new levels of spiritual maturity and service, yet it's woefully overlooked and frequently done poorly. I'm hoping this group might connect like-minded people to enthuse, share, explore, complain and grow together around this subject of timely importance.

What are some things you are seeking to learn about?

How to best strategise, develop, facilitate and manage theological distance education.

What sort of contributions do you think you might make?

I'm keen to share key readings, ideas, organisations, etc and provide some facilitation for the group.

More on me at http://tinyurl.com/mnichols.

Cheers,

Mark.

Mark Nichols

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Jan 18, 2013, 10:04:26 PM1/18/13
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Hi David,

Here’s a response to your questions. Actually, I see you’re based close to Sydney. Are you at ODLAA in two weeks? If so let’s catch up.

the benefits of online study - and how to maximise them; its pitfalls and how to minimise them; how to design courses so that they can be completed and passed by online students; how to motivate online students; how cultural background and learning styles can and should affect the way online study is offered; whether anyone in the group has exposure to ITSlearning as a LMS; resources which can help staff at NETS offer their courses in a more appropriate way for online study; how to implement online study in a developing world context; anything else at this stage!

 That's a mighty broad set of interests! Probably the best I might do at this stage is suggest a reading list:

  • ·         Cleveland-Innes, M, and D. R Garrison. An introduction to distance education : understanding teaching and learning in a new era. New York: Routledge, 2010.
  • ·         Laurillard, Diana. Teaching as a design science : building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology. New York, NY: Routledge, 2012.
  • ·         Maddix, Mark A., James Riley Estep, and Mary Ella Lowe. Best practices of online education : a guide for Christian higher education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing Inc., 2012.
  • ·         Nichols, Mark. “Student Perceptions of Support Services and the Influence of Targeted Interventions on Retention in Distance Education.” Distance Education 31, no. 1 (May 2010): 93–113. doi:10.1080/01587911003725048.
  • ·         Nichols, Mark. E-Primer series. http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/eprimer-series.

Others will likely add more. My name is there twice – not just vanity, more that I’ve had good opportunity to publish in this area and have filled some gaps! The E-Primer series (last link) is arguably the best place to start. It's really important to filter what you read through the context you're facing. One problem with literature in this area is that all authors tend to use the terms 'online' and 'distance' inconsistently. I note you're planning 'online' delivery. What does this actually mean? No face-to-face contact with learners? No print materials? It's important to be clear on these sorts of things.

I haven’t tried ITS Learning however it looks interesting and the introductory videos are helpful. Most providers I’ve worked with (and most here in New Zealand) make use of Moodle. As a fully-hosted solution ITS Learning looks promising. Do you know how much it is to license? 

Cheers,

Mark.

David Greeff

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Jan 18, 2013, 10:44:20 PM1/18/13
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Hi Mark,

Thank you for the leads.

I had never heard of ODLAA. Thank you for the lead!
I need to talk to my superiors about whether they think i should attend.
It would be great to catch up i can be there.

Will let you know!

With sufficient grace, 

David Greeff
24 Bishop Crescent
facebook: Casting the Nets


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David Greeff

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Jan 20, 2013, 4:38:33 PM1/20/13
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Hi Mark,

I am looking at your primers.
May I take the liberty of asking some questions?

in the first primer you say:

Assessment, a major component of learning, should also be integrated in both formative and summative forms.  

what do you mean by that?


David Greeff
24 Bishop Crescent
facebook: Casting the Nets


On Jan 19, 2013, at 2:04 PM, Mark Nichols <nich...@gmail.com> wrote:

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Mark Nichols

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Jan 21, 2013, 2:14:00 PM1/21/13
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Hiya David,

 

Fair question. In my mind the key difference between formative and summative assessment is that the former is not graded. Both should give the student opportunity to learn from their submission however in the case of formative assessment there is no formal mark awarded.

 

There are other definitions, but I’ve always found it helpful to differentiate based on formal grading.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

Mark Nichols
Executive Director, Faculty
Faculty

Phone +64 4 9155822 or 0508 650200 extn 5822 | Fax +64 4 914 5278
3 Cleary Street | Private Bag 31914, Lower Hutt 5040
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David Greeff

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Jan 21, 2013, 4:05:27 PM1/21/13
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Thanks Mark.

As you can see, my pedagogics is not up to scratch!

as far as ODLAA is concerned …

It is quite pricy, especially as regards our mission organisation who would have to pay.
Do you have any comments as to how you perceive the cost benefits of attending it?


With sufficient grace, 

David Greeff
24 Bishop Crescent
facebook: Casting the Nets

On Jan 22, 2013, at 6:14 AM, Mark Nichols <Mark.N...@openpolytechnic.ac.nz> wrote:

 
Fair question. In my mind the key difference between formative and summative assessment is that the former is not graded. Both should give the student opportunity to learn from their submission however in the case of formative assessment there is no formal mark awarded.
 
There are other definitions, but I’ve always found it helpful to differentiate based on formal grading.
 
Cheers,
 
Mark.
 

Mark Nichols
Executive Director, Faculty
Faculty

<image001.gif>

Phone +64 4 9155822 or 0508 650200 extn 5822 | Fax +64 4 914 5278
3 Cleary Street | Private Bag 31914, Lower Hutt 5040
http://www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz

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From: chre...@googlegroups.com [mailto:chredits@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of David Greeff
Sent: Monday, 21 January 2013 10:39 a.m.
To: chre...@googlegroups.com
Subject: primers
 
Hi Mark,
 
I am looking at your primers.
May I take the liberty of asking some questions?
 
in the first primer you say:

Assessment, a major component of learning, should also be integrated in both formative and summative forms.  

what do you mean by that?

 

David Greeff
24 Bishop Crescent
facebook: Casting the Nets

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