2014 Online Workshop for
Theological Faculty Teaching Online

Description
This workshop is designed in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison for theological faculty to gain online teaching experience. It will be conducted in a “hybrid” design, with two face-to-face sessions bookending a nine-week online component. The workshop will expose participants to technologies that may be used in online or blended learning, and attend to questions relevant for the design and implementation of curricular programs with significant distance elements.

This workshop will present major elements involved in using the Internet for instruction. The online component provides hands-on experience and will use a “principles-to-practice” approach that presents guidelines and strategies for applying principles of online learning to the participant’s courses. It attends to the issue of how teaching and learning changes when the class format includes geographic separation between and among learners and instructors, mediated by technologies and pedagogical theory. The primary focus is on developing and implementing a successful, free-standing fully online or hybrid course. The primary focus is on the pedagogical and sociological dynamics that make for a successful, free-standing fully online or hybrid course, as opposed to issues of web design where participants would create videos, websites, wikis, etc.

No prior experience is necessary, yet course material will be valuable to those at advanced levels as well. It is a concentrated, resource-rich learning experience where participants will have the chance to review additional resources related to the topics, and address issues relevant to their teaching context.

Goals

• To experience a hybrid course under the guidance of three experienced teachers
• To learn online teaching strategies that promote interaction and engagement
• To learn how community building, ministry, and spiritual formation take place within this format
• To come to an understanding of the major differences and similarities between online and face-to-face teaching and appreciate the unique opportunities and challenges of the online environment
• To apply what is learned about online pedagogy to individual online courses

Stipend
The Wabash Center will cover all local expenses and travel to Crawfordsville for the two face-to-face sessions. Participants will receive a stipend of $1,500 upon completion of the online and face-to-face sessions. We are prevented from paying stipends to participants who are teaching in the U.S. under an H-1B visa.

Front Row (left to right):  Merrill Hawkins (Carson – Newman College), Javier Alanis (Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest), Stanley Saunders (Columbia Theological Seminary), Jon Pahl (Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia). 

Second Row:  *Bridgett Powell (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Susan McArver (Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary), Mary Young (Virginia Union University), Beverly Wallace (Interdenominational Theological Center), Elaine Robinson (Saint Paul School of Theology), Lincoln Galloway (Claremont School of Theology). 

Third Row: Michael Newheart (Howard University School of Divinity), Sheri Prud’homme (Starr King School for the Ministry), Gilson Waldkoenig (Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg), Debbie Roberts (Bethany Theological Seminary), Carmen Págan Cabrera (Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico), *Richard Nysse (Luther Seminary), *Steve Delamarter (George Fox Evangelical Seminary), *Thomas Pearson (Wabash Center). Not pictured Liza Rankow (Starr King School for the Ministry).

*leadership/staff