Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Now for the rest of the story: more on distance seminary

One of my first posts was a link to a blog series by Westminster Seminary California professor R. Scott Clark. In that series, Dr. Clark expressed his hesitancy (if not his opposition) toward distance seminary. One of his main points concerned the biblical languages and the way in which online/distance courses (in his opinion) could not compete with courses taken in residency.
It is on this note that I found the following article fascinating. It is from Dr. Joel Harlow (formerly of Reformed Theological Seminary in Florida, now at Gordon-Conwell). In it, Harlow discusses the successes RTS has had in training students in the biblical languages via online formats, and how they obtained these successes. A large part of the equation, according to the author, is simply recognizing the difference in learning style between traditional on-site seminarians and those who go the distance route. They are really two different types of creatures when it comes to being taught, a fact that has to drive the way online courses are developed and administered.
You can find Harlow's article here:
wwwnew.rts.edu/Site/Resources/Articles/teth_302.pdf

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