Links to various ministries that offer training resources online [usually free]. Most don't have a good way to do the training with a group, hence why something like a Moodle course would be a win-win situation.
- I just landed on ThirdMill a few weeks ago. I didn't know it existed before then. However, the videos are too long in my opinion...at least for most lay people. The material looks top notice though. One of the reasons I like Faithlife's mobile Ed is because the videos are short. I think having a short video, along with a reading assignment, and perhaps response or reflection would be good. Of course, it would depend on the topic. Another dimension important for education is connecting with peers. I would love to see some weekly/bi-monthly gathering of students through Zoom or some other video conferencing means. Of course it means you would need a live facilitator, convener, or teacher to gather the students. Also, you wouldn't want to do that for more than 7 or so. I'm also a ICF ACC accredited coach and there are coaching groups that meet virtually. Would be nice to have a virtual class do that as well.
- David Mullens Agree about ThirdMill being too long on their videos for a lot of circumstances. I've been researching the last year for a friend, who is a Bishop, who wanted to do a three-year deacon/disciple training program that would have people onsite and also remotely. Where she would be able to track their progress with the materials and also confirm their participation. That she intended to hold audio teleconferences at least once a week to discuss the material and maybe even watch the training together [via rabb.it]. The reason I ended up recommending the Faithlife+MobileEd solution to her after my year of research was because of the short video segments. They are short enough to be done in burst when one is alone but also short enough to watch either in person with a group or via a remote video/audio session. Each break, providing a time to discuss or not before continuing. Also, as you noted, being able to connect with peers is important - if anything, to find the motivation to finish a course. I spoken with staff at ThirdMill and also http://biblicalelearning.org/ and one of my takeaways from that conversation was that they started including the certificate programs because they found it motivated the individuals to complete the course. Without the cost or carrot, many people find it hard to do biblical studies independently. Our group has been meeting for over a year, in the beginning we were meeting three times a week for an hour to three hours on a teleconference. Last couple of months, we are done to twice a week due to some life changes with members. It has been a very rewarding exercise, having this type of regular fellowship that isn't inconvenient around my family life. We'll be moving into beta testing these next couple of months and hopefully will have the project up and running by Easter with our first year curriculum. I'm also spinning off the work I've done for my friend this last year and hope to setup another Moodle server to serve as a educational fellowship hub for the county I live in. I've already discussed with my assistant pastor, some members of other faith charity groups, and so forth. We'll see how it evolves though; it's always hard getting open source projects off the ground. You just have to keep trying until the dam breaks, so it seems.
- Thanks for your perseverance Adam Cody. The use case I have in mind is for people who may not be able to spend three times a week, two times a week, or even once a week. More drip learning than anything. I like Faithlife's short videos but some of the courses have 100+ videos. I see the need to help people keep moving toward the end or they will probably stop in the middle somewhere. A learning community would be important to promote movement. In my congregation once every two weeks has been working well, but I haven't had any assignment in between sessions. Assigning a few videos for the week we don't meet and coming together to discuss it could be a good option. Also, with a LMS there could be some reflection responses, bringing in other online material etc. I see that Faithlife will sell bulk licenses for Faithlife Groups. That could be helpful as well.