In the previous part, we looked at the first mark of a true school: genuine learning. We continue here with a discussion of the second mark: what makes a proper faculty. A second objective mark of the quality of a faculty is . . . Continue reading →
Distance Education
Education True and False (Part 1)
Americans are busy people who continue to conquer a big place which has, since the eighteenth century, offered wealth and great influence to those who work hard and who produce a product or service valued by others. Education, per se, has not . . . Continue reading →
How Not To Train Pastors (Part 3)
I wrote this and “How Not To Train Pastors (Part 1)” and “How Not To Train Pastors (Part 2)” near the very beginning of the Heidelblog in 2007. This portion of the essay began as a response to a correspondent on the . . . Continue reading →
How Not To Train Pastors (Part 2)
I wrote this and How Not To Train Pastors (Part 1) near the very beginning of the Heidelblog in 2007. As high-speed internet service was becoming more widespread, online education was beginning to catch on and many seminaries were beginning to adopt it. . . . Continue reading →
How Not to Train Pastors (Part 1)
I wrote this near the very beginning of the Heidelblog in 2007. As high-speed internet service was becoming more widespread, online education was beginning to catch on and many seminaries were beginning to adopt it. The world has changed since then. The . . . Continue reading →
Why “Distributed” Pastoral Education Is Not The Solution
There are problems with the traditional model for preparing pastors but some of the proposed alternatives are worse. One of those is “Distributed Education” model. The traditional model is that you have 20 professors on campus and all the students have to . . . Continue reading →
Distance Ed: After The Hype
Tamar Lewin (HT: Kendrick Doolan) writes in Tuesday’s NYT “two years after a Stanford professor drew 160,000 students from around the globe to a free online course on artificial intelligence, starting what was widely viewed as a revolution in higher education, early . . . Continue reading →
What Is A Seminary?
The question arose on a discussion board as to how a theological seminary relates to C. S. Lewis’ distinction between “education” and “vocational training.” The premise of the question was that one had to choose between the two, relative to a university I . . . Continue reading →
Selling Short
My argument is not that learned monographs have no value (of course they do, whether widely read or not), or that blog posts are somehow superior as “scholarship” (of course they’re not), but simply that we might be selling online publications short . . . Continue reading →
When Philosophers Rebel Against Dystopia
Philosophers at San Jose St are speaking out about the problems associated with Distance Ed. Here are some excerpts from their open letter, published May 2, 2013, in The Chronicle of Higher Education (HT: Chris Chelpka). They are reacting to a move . . . Continue reading →
Online Classes: Just Because They’re Hip and Convenient Doesn’t Mean They Educate
One of the primary purposes for the HB is to but there are limits to what can be done online. The limits of online education/distance ed is has been a frequent topic here and here on the HB. The maxim is this: . . . Continue reading →
Resources for Those Thinking About Seminary
Prospective seminary students frequently ask whether it’s advisable to try to save money by getting a degree by distance or by attending a non-accredited school. Here’s a resource page: Why Pastors Need A Seminary Education And Now for the Rest of the . . . Continue reading →
And Now for the Rest of the Story
CT Online has a piece today touting the virtues of online seminary education. I expected there to be, somewhere in the story, someone to present the other side opposing online seminary education but I didn’t see it. Perhaps I missed it? In . . . Continue reading →
How Not to Train Pastors (2)
Part 1 There has been considerable discussion about this post over at The Puritanboard The PB thread was started my my friend Jerrold Lewis. I haven’t read his blog post, so I’m only responding to the discussion on the PB. I see . . . Continue reading →
How Not to Train Pastors (1)
I wrote this near the very beginning of the Heidelblog, in 2007. As high-speed internet service was becoming more widespread, online education was beginning to catch on and all many seminaries were beginning to adopt it. The world has changed since then. . . . Continue reading →