Monday, December 10, 2007

Want to Read Hebrews with Me?

I'm teaching Hebrews next semester at IWU on the undergraduate level. Which led me to a thought--why not do it on the web at the same time?! In fact, why not offer the possibility of graduate credit as well!

Thus a plan has hatched in my mind and, having secured the appropriate permissions, is now going to be a reality.

The Concept:
Here's the deal. Want to get three hours of graduate course credit mainly by watching online videocasts and blogging with me in public (and a little in private)? Okay, okay, there is a little more to it than that, but not much more.

Are you...
1. Someone who's never really thought about taking graduate courses because you can't "up and move somewhere"... or who didn't want to commit to an online program somewhere?

2. A current IWU grad ministry student looking for a Bible elective?

3. A student at some other seminary who wants to hang out with Schenck for 13 weeks in public online and transfer the credit back to Asbury, Gordon Conwell, Bethel, Duke, or Princeton (heh, heh, heh)?

4. A second semester undergraduate senior at IWU?

Basically, if you have a bachelor's degree already from somewhere (with all the usual yada, yada, yada), you can do one course with me this Spring online on the book of Hebrews.

And if you don't care to get credit, you can listen in to most of it--for free!

How it will work:
1. Once a week I will post an hour long videocast lecture both here on my blog and on IWU's public iTunesU site. It will be my talking head in a box, embedded in a powerpoint presentation.

2. There will be a public "commentary" blog for the graduate students in the class. You will be expected to choose three of the major commentaries on Hebrews and post responses to questions both in relation to them and Schenck's videocast there.

3. There will be private team blogs for those in the graduate class where the primary goal will be to apply Hebrews to today in theology, practice, preaching and teaching.

4. There are some miscellaneous assignments, like a survey of Hebrews, a notebook on Lindars' Theology of Hebrews and Schenck's Understanding the Book of Hebrews, a mid-term and a final, probably taken online.

Anyone interested? Feel free to email me or IWU's grad min office.

More specifics on the way, especially after I finalize the syllabus. Of course I'm not expecting a run on the bank. I couldn't handle much more than 15 people.

4 comments:

Pascalian Awakenings said...

YES! I want to read Hebrews with you. What about auditing. I really don't need the credit, but I would like access to all the material.

Yvette

Ken Schenck said...

Everyone would be able to listen to the videocasts and read the commentary blog without paying anything. The only private material will be the team discussions on application. So you don't really need to do anything to listen in!

Keith Drury said...

Great idea Ken... "open source education!"

Anonymous said...

I'm attending YWAM in Boston next semester and will be internationally abroad as well... I thought I would go crazy without some Schenck in my life.

And now I can put you on my iPod.

yes.