Jones CED 511 Spring 09

SHAW UNIVERSITY=

Divinity School=

Techn= ology for Religious Educators

CED51= 1-01 (3 credit hours)

Instructor: = Cassandra Aline Jones, PhD

Classroom: Leonard 201

Office Hours (by appointment):

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Telephone: = 704.502.2653

Email: alinecj@yahoo.com=

&= nbsp; = jtrob@shawu.edu

tclark@shawu.edu

Mission of= M.Div. and M.R.E. Degrees

The mission of the Master of Divinity degree is to pre= pare persons for ordained ministry, for chaplaincy, general pastoral and religio= us leadership responsibilities in congregations and other settings, and to pre= pare some students for admission to advanced programs oriented to theological research and teaching. The purpose is consistent with the mission of Shaw University Divinity School; the Master of Divinity program focuses on leadership in the “practice of ministry,” particularly in the African American church.

The mission of the Master of Religious Education degre= e is to equip persons for competent leadership in Christian Education to serve congregational ministries and other religious institutions. This purpose is consistent with the mission of Shaw University Divinity School; the Master = of Religious Education program focuses on leadership in the “practice of ministry,” particularly in the African American church.

Program Go= als for M.Div. and M.R.E. Degrees

The program goals for the Master of Divinity degree pr= ogram are to:

Provide students with an intellectual atmosphere and a comprehensive, discriminating understanding of our religious heritage;
Enhance student training for Christian ministry, mindful of global, and diverse cross cultural, and non-American Christianities, and interaction with other faith traditions;
Support students' development in the personal and spiritual capacities necessa= ry for pastoral and religious leadership, advancing growth in personal fa= ith, emotional maturity, moral integrity, and public witness
Expand programmatic activities, services, and academic programming to enhance student capacity for ministerial and public leadership

The program goals for the Master of Religious Education degree program are to:

Equip students with the capacity for critical and constructive theological r= eflection regarding the content and processes of educational ministry;
Help students understand the educational, social, and behavioral sciences t= hat undergird educational practice, as well as the cultural contexts in wh= ich educational ministry occurs;
Assist students with personal growth and spiritual maturity; and
Provide skills in teaching and in design, administration, and assessment of educational programming.

Course Description:

This course e= xplores the use of technology in an experiential learning context, both personal and institutional. Participants w= ill be required to have Internet access, and work with a group of at least three (= 3) Context Associates from their local church. 3 hours

Student Learning Outcomes:

Student Lea= rning Outcomes = At the comp= letion of this course, students will be able to:	Assessment of Student Learning Outc= omes (Assessment Tools)	Linkage to MDiv Program Learning Ou= tcomes	Linkage to MRE Program Learning Out= comes
Facilitate a session of personal information managem= ent needs and current habits		1,2	1,2
Assess the Christian Education needs of their minist= ry context		2	2
Conduct a critical assessment of the available techn= ology to facilitate Christian Education learning		3	2,3
Develop a proposal to address the needs of the minis= try context		3,4	3
Present the proposal in a convincing manner to the leadership of the ministry context		4	4

Required R= esources:

Biblical Studies Progra= ms

&= nbsp; Logos Research Systems

&= nbsp; WordSearch

&= nbsp; http://www.blueletterbible.org/

&= nbsp; www.e-sword.net/

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Theological Education Resources

http://www= .wabashcenter.wabash.edu/resources/default.asp http://www.christianleaders.org/theo-ed/index.htm

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; http://www= .firstmonday.dk/issues/issue5_3/mathew/index.html

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&= nbsp; &nbs= p; http://www.academiccommons.org/ctfl/

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&= nbsp; Evaluating Websites

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http://www= .lib.lfc.edu/help/evalweb

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http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/= eval.html

http://www.ithaca.edu/library/tr= aining/think.

http://www= .library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/discipline.htm =

Course Format and Requi= rements:

1. <= b>Reading.<= /o:p>

Required r= eadings will come from assignments done in class through BlackBoard. Beginning with the recommended resources above, students are required to report on programs and projects using Information Technology in Religious Education. Projects and Programs found will be explored, discussed, and then examined for use in the Black Church. Class discussion will = be based on the content of these programs and projects. Students are expected to be conver= sant in the content of these readings. The final paper must show evidence of knowledge of the conten= ts of the class dialogue.

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2. R= eflection/Response Dialogue Participation

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Each stude= nt is required to engage in dialogue in the class. Failure to engage in dialogue is equivalent to failing the course. Students will prepare a one-page Reflection/Response (R/R) to the required readings. Students will post their R/R= to the BlackBoard Discussion Forum for the topic in discussion.

3. C= lass Attendance

<= /span>Physical class attendance will be required on a minimal, as scheduled basis. Dean Roberson will meet with the class on specific scheduled dates to introduce appropriate technology programs available for religious educators. Also, these sessions will allow for further discussion and clarification of assignments.

4. W= ritten Assignments

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All papers= are to be presented as formal graduate degree papers which conform to Turabi= an 7^th Edition. As a graduate student, you should have = your own copy of this book. If you= do not have it, I strongly recommend you purchase a copy. The following papers will be required:

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Assignm= ent 1 &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; <= /b>= DUE: Feb 13

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        &= nbsp;           &= nbsp;   Define your context associates

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      &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;     Determine information needs and methods

·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      = Your context

·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      = Your context associates’

·<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      = Your church’s

Paper I=         &= nbsp; = My Ministry Context.         &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;                         =          DUE: March 6

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Working wi= th your Context Associates, develop a paper describing your ministry context and the Religious Educational Needs of that context:

1. Descrip= tion of your personal information management needs and current habits

2. Descrip= tion of the community the church serves

3. Descrip= tion of the church and its ministries

4. Definit= ion of the Religious Education needs of the church
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Paper I= I      State-of-the-art in Technology in Reli= gious Education.



        =            DUE: March 27

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Students w= ill develop a paper which begins with the description of your own personal information management habits and goes on to describe the state of the art = in technology for use in Religious Education, . This paper will list several syste= ms used for Religious Education, will examine at least one system in detail, a= nd critique it for its application in the home church of the student.                =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =          <= /span>

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Paper III      Final Research Paper        =             &nb= sp;           DUE: April 24

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You will d= evelop a formal research paper describing a proposal for your church to use one of t= he systems you have described in Paper II.&nb= sp; You will explain how this technology is expected to make religious learning easier or better. In= this paper, you will address the educational needs of your church and propose a solution that uses Information Technology to address those needs. You will justify any position you = take regarding methodology, pedagogy, and epistemology with cited references.   This is your major paper for= this class.   You are expected= to adhere to the Proposed Outline and Format for the Final Paper, which will posted on BlackBoard. You will demonstrate your knowledge of the State-of-the-Art in Technology for Religious Education.   Each student is required= to present their proposal to their church context and record the reaction usin= g an instrument that will be developed in class. Students will present their semest= er project in class before your peers prior to presenting it to the church.

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Evaluation= :

The course grade will be determined as follows:

Gr= ade Range: A, B, C, D, = F, I

Class Participation (2= 0%),

First Paper (15%),=

Second Paper (15%)= ,

Final Paper (25%)<= /p>
Final Presentation (25= %)

In addition, Peer Evaluation will be used. Each student will compl= ete a Peer Evaluation Form after each class presentation. You will recommend a grade for you= r peer and your peer will recommend a grade for you.

The following grading scale will be used:

A =3D 90-100

B =3D 80-89

C =3D 70-79

D =3D 60-69

F =3D 59 and below

Note: The minimum passing grade for students in the Divinity School is C.

Use of Technology:=

All students in this course a= re required to have regular access to email and to the internet. The Shaw Blackboard site (http://shawu.blackboard.com) will= be heavily used in this class. A= ll course handouts (including readings, guidelines for completing assignments,= and grading rubrics) will be made available via Blackboard. Students will also submit assignments and receive feedback using Blackboard’s Digital Dropbox or in the Forum created in Discussion Board.

Email will be the instructor’s primary mode of contacting students outside of class hou= rs. Thus, all students must set up the= ir email address on Blackboard. Directions for doing so are below:

Go to http://shawu.blackboard.com.

On the Tools menu on the left side of the screen, click Personal Information.

Select Edit Personal Information= .

Under section 1, enter your email address.

Click Submit.

Click OK.

We will be using the following sections of Blackboard = for this course:

Course Information: Contains an electronic copy o= f the syllabus and all rubrics used to evaluate assignments for this course.= Any updates to the syllabus w= ill be made available here.

Course Documents: Contains electronic versions = of articles and chapters that are not in required texts (generally in PDF or HTML format). You will need to download the free Adobe Reader to access these forms (http://www.adobe.com).

Discussion Board: Forums for your weekly postin= gs are here.

Communication: Allows you to send email to t= he class.

Tools: Provides access to the Digita= l Drop Box, which you will use to submit your weekly reflection papers and ot= her assignments.

Follow the instructions below to submit assignments vi= a the Digital Drop Box:

Once you are in the course site, click the Tools tab on the left.

Select Digital Drop box.

Select Send File.

In the Name box, enter Last name, first name, assignment name

(For ex= ample, if your name is Jane Smith and you’re submitting the case study, enter Smith Janecase study).

Click the Browse button beside = the File box.

Locate and select the file on your computer.= Click Open.

Click Submit.

Academic Integrity:

Students in this course are expected to abide by the Shaw University Code of Conduct. The university po= licy on plagiarism will apply to all assignments given in this course (see Stude= nt Handbook). Plagiarism involve= s the intentional or unintentional representation of another person’s words and/or ideas as one’s own. Students are expected to cite all materials, including scriptural references, using the formats described in Kate Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, T= heses, and Dissertations, Seventh Edition.

If you need help determining whether to cite, see the guide on avoiding plagiarism at http://libr= ary.duke.edu/research/plagiarism/index.html.

Class Decorum Policy

To enhance the learning atmos= phere of the classroom, students are expected to dress and behave in a fashion conducive to learning in the classroom. More specifically, students will refrain from wearing clothes that impede academic learning such as but not limited to, wearing body-revealing clothing and excessively baggy pants; ha= ts/caps, headdress. Students will turn off telephones prior to entering the classroo= m. Students who exhibit the behaviors described above, or similar behaviors wi= ll be immediately dismissed from class at the third documented offense. The student will be readmitted to class only following a decision by the Dean of the Divinity School. The student may appeal the decision of the Dean to the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and then to the Presiden= t of Shaw University. The decision of the President will be final. Failure to fo= llow the procedures herein outlined will result in termination of the appeal, and revert to the decision of the Dean.

Each behavior construed by the teacher/professor as non-contribute to learning will be recorded, properly documented, and appropriately reported to the student and to the Dean of the Divinity School. The report w= ill be in written form with a copy provided to both the student and the Dean of the Divinity School. The instruct= or will retain a copy for her own records.

Special Considerations:

Disabilities: Students with disabilities that may require extended = exam times or other accommodations should contact Student Disability Services (Counseling Center 546-8284). The instructor cannot alter the course requir= ements for any disability without certification from this office.

Psychological Services: If at any time you feel that emotional distress is interfering with your class performance, please speak with the instructor. = If you would prefer to speak with s= omeone else, you may contact the Counseling Center at 546-8284.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Readings will be assigned as well as specified on-line discussions.

DATE

TOPIC & READINGS

DUE