Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Stuart Masters on 9th mo. 4, 2009 at 1:12pm

Dear Sarah, this looks very interesting. At Woodbrooke we are beginning to think about on-line learning using moodle. In time we hope to develop this on a national (and maybe) international scale. However, this is really only at a gestational stage just now. I will speak to colleagues here and keep an eye on this conversation. If I can get more information about we are doing, I will post it here.

Stuart.

Permalink Reply by Ian Hughes on 9th mo. 4, 2009 at 7:06pm

This is a great development. Australian Quakers have just opened our Australian Quaker Centre (http://www.aqc.quakers.org.au/) and are slowly developing an on-line learning site (http://www.qla.quakers.org.au/) but no on-line courses yet. It would make sense in lots of ways for us to collaborate internationally to provide on-line Quaker studies. Are you able to manage international enrollments?
I taught action research and related courses on-line for about 15 years before retiring from University of Sydney, and I currently facilitate Friendly Study Circles (http://friendly.wikidot.com/) for Quakers and researchers, and would be very interested to explore any potential for cooperative inquiry or building a Quaker research community on-line. I will hold Quaker Studies in the light and follow this thread with interest.
In friendship, Ian Hughes (New South Wales, Australia)

Permalink Reply by Martin Kelley on 9th mo. 4, 2009 at 8:55pm

Hi Sarah,
Thanks for starting this group here. Various of us here at QuakerQuaker have also been doing bits and pieces of this. Over 10,000 visits are coming through here a month now, many of them from Friends and seekers isolated in one way or another. wonder if there's any sort of possibilities of various groups working together and co-sponsoring here. I'd love to see some models of what this would look like!

Permalink Reply by Sarah Spencer on 9th mo. 5, 2009 at 3:49pm

Hey,
Good to hear there are others interested. We (Quaker Studies) have run 2 online courses - one on Mark and 1 on Sabbath/Jubilee and are running 4 more this fal winter and spring.
We started out on CRTeacher, which was good as far as it goes, but didn't offer much flexibility or support for the subscription we went in for (5 classes for 1 year for $150 US)
So we've upgraded the Beacon Hill Friends House web site and installed moodle. (By we I mean me.) And so far I love it!
We offer courses with instructors (not self-led learning) at least so far. Students register, pay a small fee, and are enrolled in a class. The instructor develops the materials, sets up the course site, and leads the course.
Anyone can enroll. We have had one student from Kenya, but that was not a glorious success. She was on a very slow internet connection and it took me too long to figure out some of the ways to eliminate bells and whistles.
You can look at our general web site at www.bhfh.org/qsp
There will be a link there to our moodle installation immanently.

So there you are.
Sarah

Permalink Reply by parise on 9th mo. 6, 2009 at 9:57am

it's wonderful you are doing this. i'm going to sign up for two of the classes. it will be interesting to see how it goes. I've never done anything like this online but it seems like the prefect use for a computer. hopefully it will grow like crazy with more and more people involved both as students and teachers.

Permalink Reply by Ian Hughes on 9th mo. 6, 2009 at 8:31pm

I will let people know through our New South Wales Quaker newsletter. It is a bit late for me to enrol in 'teaching online with Moodle' as it starts tomorrow, but you may offer the same course later. Quaker Learning Australia is considering using the same software. I would like to explore how it might be used for Friendly Study Circles, in which I hope we are led by our 'inner teacher'.
Ian

Permalink Reply by Sarah Spencer on 2nd mo. 9, 2011 at 11:34am

Just thought I'd update you. (Once every year or so doesn't seem too often!)

This year we have 6 offerings online  - 3 that would loosely be termed Quaker Practice, one on theology, one on spirituality and the arts  and one on the Bible.

 

The one on spirituality and the arts greatly expanded our sense of how to use moodle. The course leader prepared short videos. Participants shared their art, music and writing. Some were able to show how their work evolved. We handled the technical challenge of providing space for sharing work by using various online services. It was a wonderful course.

 

We are in the midst of our second 'hybrid' course. We team up with a Quaker retreat center to offer a weekend gathering followed by an online offering. The gathering lets us plant the seeds of community so that we can go deeper online.

 

Both those efforts have led us into the use of groups.  Some aspects of this are frustrating. It would be nice to be able to open up a forum discussion to two groups at the same time, without having to create a third group!

 

I'm interested in what you have been doing with online learning and wonder if giving each other some access to some of our courses would be of interest?