Please introduce yourself!

[Mark Nichols]

[Reposted by req
I'm very conscious that at first this group will consist entirely of
strangers... some of whom we may never actually meet. For that reason,
it would be good to have you introduce yourself. In this thread,
please say a few things about yourself addressing things such as:

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?

We look forward to getting to know you better!

Mark.

[John Robertson]

Hi Mark,

to introduce myself publicly:

My name is John Robertson, I'm a research fellow/ learning technology
advisor at the University of Strathclyde, (Glasgow, UK)

What is your involvement in theological education?

I'm not currently involved in formal theological education, but my
undergraduate degree was a BD and I've a MCS in Church history
(including a research thesis[/dissertation - depending on what part of
the world you're from] relating to the history of theological
education)

What interests you in this group?

I work in the area of digital libraries and educational technology. I
currently work for the CETIS (Centre for Educational Technology and
Interoperability Standards) and provide technical advice to JISC's
development programmes around Open Educational Resources. I'm keen,
however, to keep up with what's going on in theological education -
and specifically I'm interested in thinking through how some of the
stuff I do in my day job relates to theological education -
specifically the role and limits of technology in supporting distance,
flexible, blended courses.

What are some things you are seeking to learn about?

I'm aware i don't know a lot about distance theological education
especially the pedagogy typically used, or how spiritual formation is
typically addressed. I'm also hoping to have and venue/ critical forum
to keep myself engaged with formal theological education.

What sort of contributions do you think you might make?

I can probably offer a perspective on the tech side of some of the
issues under discussion, make some suggestions about interesting tech
ideas, and talk about related wider trends in open education/ open
courseware and open access with a little bit of education theory
thrown in. I can also offer the perspective of a serial student of
theology and someone who has engaged with some of the issues around
the development of theological education as a graduate/ second degree
discipline.

cheers,
John

http://blogs.cetis.ac.uk/johnr/
@kavubob on twitter

[Rick]

Hi everyone,

My name is Rick.
I'm an Aussie, married to a Kiwi, and living in the Middle East. We
have two boys.

I've been involved in theological education in the Arab world over the
last 12 years, initially in a residential campus context as a lecturer
in New Testament, and since 2005 as an academic consultant to the
Program for Theological Education by Extension* (PTEE), a B.Th level
programme presently serving 11 countries in the region (see http://www.ptee.org).
My contributions are in the areas of academic and curriculum
development, accreditation renewal and in kick-starting PTEE's e-
Learning programme.

I'm a member of two regional accreditation commissions and also part
of the curriculum development team for an innovative Arab world
project, known by the double acronym "TEACH-LEARN" (I'll spare you the
full title). The latter will involve online delivery of degree level
leadership training materials supported by satellite television
programming (in Arabic) developed from the same theological content.

In the PTEE we are seeking to develop online versions of all our
courses, essentially regarding e-Learning as enhancing, rather than
replacing, what we already do well. If funding allows, we hope to
develop our first online courses in 2011. Presently the PTEE is the
first of about 30 TEE* programmes in Asia to move towards online
learning, but I believe we will be followed by at least a dozen others
in the next few years.

I've now taken two two-month courses in online tutoring, most recently
one led (and written) by our group owner, Mark, through NZ's Laidlaw
College (highly recommended course!). Essentially, then, I'm a learner
in this field, hoping to learn from you all, and to gain insights into
best practices and pedagogies in the field of formational e-Learning.
I hope to contribute to the discussions from time to time, and be one
small voice helping us all to do TE better, for the glory of God.

Presently, time is rather limited, with a busy workload. I am also
trying (read: struggling to find the time) to wrap up an Otago PhD
thesis looking at some themes from a short course written by the first
Christian Distance Educator (Philippians; Paul). My supervisor is a
member of this group :-) (I'll let you figure out who he is.)

I look forward to getting to know and engaging with you all.
In Christ,

Rick


(* For those unsure of what TEE involves, it is a blend of high
quality, interactive self-study materials, small group discussion
(F2F) and mentored practical application. Our students are mature bi-
vocational adults, typically late 30's, and all, necessarily, part
time in their studies. Under some definitions TEE is not "distance
education" in that it includes tutor-led face-to-face elements;
however, if DE means decentralized education, taking place where
students already live, work and serve, i.e. in their original contexts
and communities, then TEE does qualify - more on that in my next
posting, God willing.)

[Mark Nichols]

Hello Rick and John,

Thanks for adding to the diversity of the group, and for introducing
yourselves so thoroughly. One reason I aimed to bring people together
here was to establish links in what is emerging as an important area
for theological education, so I am glad you've both invested in
introducing yourselves!

Cheers,

Mark.