1. What can Educators Learn from Online Religious Communities? TCC Worldwide Online Conference 2008

2. Presenters are Doctoral Students at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, USA Amy Dee, Visiting Professor at Linfield College Sue Phillips, Professor at Rogue Community College Tricia Meyer, Principal of Freemont Christian High School Jeanette Eggert, Professor at Concordia University Scot Headley, Professor at George Fox University

3. What and Why? In the Fall semester 2007, 16 doctoral students and their professor participated in a one-hour Faith Learning Seminar entitled Christians in a Networked World. The course format permitted individual students the opportunity to explore the use of electronic media by religious and faith-based groups. Students were asked to be participant-observers, and as a result, the following project emerged. 9 wikis for school, church or other 4 research and evaluation projects 1 conference presentation 2 online groups, non-wiki 1 ill-defined project

4. http://edfl675b.wikispaces.com/

5. As a Result….A question emerged for our practice as educators. Satisfying and effective education in the online environment includes strong relationships amongst the participants. Could online religious communities be models for online educational experiences?

6. Framework for our Stories Our experience with online religious communities offers some lessons that are applicable for educators. Lessons learned include the challenges and opportunities for encouragement and accountability online, practical aspects of learning new technologies, and philosophical and practical aspects of online religious practice.

7. Wiki-mania Are we ready to give up E-mail? Amy Dee

8. Purpose of Project: Gain familiarity with a wiki site. Introduce a church committee to a wiki. Use a wiki for communication and for conducting business. Assess the effectiveness of such a tool.

9. Valley Community Presbyterian A committee is growing and in need of new ways to communicate and a wiki was introduced… Different levels of technological skill was represented in the group. Different levels of commitment was represented in the group. The group has operated the same way for many years.

10. VCPC.Wiki.com News and announcements were posted New church purpose statement was posted Ideas were solicited Agenda was posted Committee minutes were posted The site was presented to session Few comments were received

11. Are we communicating and was the wiki effective? When an e-mail was sent directing folks to look at the wiki! The individuals are accustomed to checking e-mail not a wiki site. When the chairperson prints the agenda. When the current youth director checks to see posted comments. Most viewed the wiki as a novelty or passing trend. Leadership, instruction, time and patience are key to success in integrating this type of technology into church or educational settings.

12. Tricia Meyer

13. A Strong Spirit & A Sense of Community: The Platform – Moodle Open Source Software http://moodlerooms.c om http://moodlerooms.c om Approx. $150 per year for 5 courses

14. The Participants Invited 10 students who would feel comfortable with one another All in 10 th Grade 3 Boys/7 Girls Actual: 2 Boys/4 Girls Recruited 5 Guest Hosts All employees of my school/church Month of November

15. The Layout Session 1: Truth Session 2: Guard Your Mind Session 3: God’s Will Session 4: Reliability of the Bible Session 5: Feedback

16. The Successes & Failures Successes Idea rec’d positively by students Thoughtful posts on spiritual issues High quality information shared by guest hosts Good feedback from students Failures 50-60% involvement Minimal interaction No evidence of learning from others’ posts Found that my messages didn’t go through/Tech. problem

17. My Reflections & Conclusions Students have minimal time but they like this format! This forum is good for giving students the time and space (and anonymity) to think carefully and explain themselves.

18. My Reflections & Conclusions We need to schedule the time and the means for students to engage in learning in a way appealing to them. Progressed in building “strong spirit;” not directly in “sense of community” but gave insight for how to build community with FCS online.

19. Sue Phillips

20. Bible verse of the day (to profile, iPod, cell phone or e-mail), Bible blogs, religious videos, Christian music, forums (chat-type sessions by topic- religion is in the top 3). Of course all types of religion are represented, as well as sexual innuendo. So caution is advised. Even though it is not set up as a Christian site, per say, it had the most Christian amenities to offer of any of the social networks I checked out- even those dedicated to Christians (like MyChurch) MySpace

21. Christian social network MyChurch.org  New site within the past year  Patterned after MySpace, but does not offer everything available in MySpace  Offers blogs, videos, discussion groups, evaluation of videos/music  Join your church Would be good for small groups Would be good for small groups Communication between churches Communication between churches Set up specifically for Christians- not as evangelical tool Set up specifically for Christians- not as evangelical tool

22. Christiango.com  Search engine sponsored by Google  Can search for Christian topics (prayer, Bible, etc.)  Searching for “Web 2.0” brought up many websites that suggested various uses for these applications.

23. Godtube.com (Christian offshoot of Youtube)  Offers Christian videos, sermons, website development tools, online conferences, online magazines  Started as a support to churches and has exploded in use (4 million visitors in Oct)  Expanding to video policing tools, developing entertainment programs and creating new Christian social networks  Started by seminary student from Dallas Theological Seminary

24. Final Comments  Christian versions of most Web 2.0 applications are available Many are new and may improve in few years Many are new and may improve in few years Appeal mostly to Christian audience Appeal mostly to Christian audience May be helpful to Christian students at school May be helpful to Christian students at school  Christian add-ons within secular applications May offer more options May offer more options Offer a way to include non-Christians Offer a way to include non-Christians Need critical thinking and evaluation while using Need critical thinking and evaluation while using

25. Jeanette Eggert

26. Cyber Prayer Purpose: Looking for ways the Web can enhance our lives Interested in exploring options for a Christian social community

27. Lack of Prior Experience Had not used a “Chat Room” Had not used Instant Messaging Had not used Facebook or MySpace

28. OurPrayer.org

29. Looking for a Group

30. Prayer Time in the Chat Room One person leads One person “ushers” All who are present can contribute We close with the Lord’s Prayer

31. Fellowship Time Both before and after our prayer time, we have some fellowship time as each person’s schedule permits

32. My Reactions I joined as a “stranger,” but technology has connected me with others. Provides opportunities for isolated individuals to experience community.

33. Scot Headley: The Quaker Meeting in Second Life

34. Lessons Learned Focused attention in a multi-tasking world Respect for all persons Consensus decision making with regard for group discernment, not compromise Constancy, consistency and commitments The virtual world is populated by real people with needs, hopes, concerns and purposes.

35. Finally… Encouragement and accountability online Learning new technologies Philosophical and practical aspects of online practice.