The Office of Digital Learning
Candler School of Theology
As online learning becomes more and more accessible, so does the possibility of a more isolated educational experience. Building community, especially in theological education, is essential to student learning. It is important that the online environment be just as welcoming, hospitable, and supportive for online students as it is in the in-person classroom. A well-designed Read More …
What does a business concept have to do with teaching theology? Tom Kelly writes that a “Hands-on, user-centric approach to problem solving can lead to innovation, and innovation can lead to differentiation and competitive advantage.” As theological educators, our work is not inclined toward competitive advantage. Our work is to be present, embodied, and full Read More …
Traditionally, peer review involves bringing papers to class, swapping, and finding time in class to read and review them. Now, we have Canvas LMS! A peer review assignment enables students to provide feedback on another student’s assignment submission. Peer reviews are a tool that allows communication between students and can help students master the concepts Read More …
Simply put, peer review assignments enable students to provide feedback to each other. They are another tool to put in your pedagogical tool belt. There is a lot of research on peer review in the classroom. We will cover some best practices later in this article. The following Benefits to Peer Review we present here Read More …
I recently spoke with a colleague who was curious about academic twitter (#AcademicTwitter). She mentioned how it has become a repository of resources. Everything from book launches to news articles – it’s so valuable. Our conversation shifted, however, once we began talking about Twitter best practices and how to use it. For many academics, Twitter Read More …
For many classes, Discussion Boards serve as the primary means of assessing a student’s participation and preparation for class. Did they do the reading? Are they paying attention in class? Many faculty who teach online use discussion boards as a way to continue the conversations of the class outside of the classroom. This article is Read More …
If the pandemic has shown us anything about education, it is that learning can often become a passive experience. This is true for both face-to-face and online instruction. Students will get into a “TV watching” mode and not actively engage in discussion. Now, this is not intentional and it is not something to assign blame. Read More …
Often when students are assigned a reading, they gloss. They will see a name, a term, a concept… and skip it. Not because they aren’t engaged. Not because they don’t want to learn. But because it is one of seven articles to have read by the end of the week. Put simply, collaborative annotation is Read More …
In March of 2020, the world of higher education shifted from teaching classes on campus to Emergency Remote Teaching — How do we take exactly what we do in the classroom and teach effectively online? Online education has often been looked down upon because of the assumption that it does not generate the same interactive Read More …
Associate Professor of American Religious History, Alison Greene, teaches a course called “History of Christianity in America.” In her course, she assigns a cultural analysis project through the lens of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristen Kobes Du Mez. In this text, Du Mez provides Read More …