Tech Resources

Available tools

As more and more teachers around the world share their experiences with teaching and learning online, a whole host of resources are becoming available. One of my favorites recently is the set of videos and case studies available from the Australian Teaching and Learning Council.

There are many electronic tools available to use in supporting your desired learning outcomes. Some examples include (but are not limited to): e-mail listservs, blogs, instant messaging, presentation software, wikis, digital sound, digital video, e-portfolios, Google docs, LibraryThing, social bookmarking, media production resources, concept mapping, social media more generally.

Teachers have been experimenting with these tools in various ways in their courses, to support specific learning outcomes. Examples include: constructing debates, game-based learning, designing problems, writing fictional touchstone churches, collaborating on commentary, and encouraging embodied reflection. There are other examples available as well. Some professors are pondering lecture capture. Others use very simple digital storytelling. Lately I’ve also been trying to find examples of a variety of resources that other people make available, such as this biblical Greek resource site, or this this set of digital tool tutorials put together by NACMP, or the School of Open from creative commons.

Other people have created websites that encourage public participation, such as the ShareMyWorld site, the Live, hope, love project, or the Virtual Casebook Project. Some have created CD-ROMs that bring a multitude of resources into easy reach, such as Beyond Borders. Others have compiled resources that have a global reach, like the Pulitzer Center’s Global Gateways, or the wiki that supports Yochai Benkler’s Wealth of Networks book.

At least six opportunities present themselves:

supporting collaborative and participatory processes (exegesis, debates, Enter the Bible, Feautor.org, Teaching the Bible)
insight into student learning (CMS, blogs, Danish caricature wiki)
access to primary sources (Canadian treaty primary documents, First Nations and Environmental Issues in BC,Jesuit Plantations Project, US-Dakota War)
overcoming geography and time (Global Voices Online, ALN)
attending to cultural contexts (CBC Archives, Cultural competence)
support for multiple intelligences (Almond Springs, Share My World, DailyShow clips) (also more here)

Important issues

Love to Share a booklet on intellectual property issues and copyright in the context of communities of faith, recently put out by the World Council of Churches and the World Association of Christian Communicators

A Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in Media Literacy Education

The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy a booklet/research report funded by the MacArthur Foundation

ELCA social media guidelines (as an example)

Yochai Benkler’s Wealth of Networks wiki

Project New Media Literacies

Instructional design principles

A few examples of social media policies for churches: ChurchCrunch’s suggestions on developing a policy, the PCUSA’s guidelines during a national meeting, Episcopal Diocese of CT, Holy Trinity Catholic Church in DC, a church weblog policy, the LCBC policy, Justin Wise’s list of church social media policies

Podcasting in the Canadian context

Happy Birthday song copyright page