|
Article 1: In Their Own Language --Kids, Computers and Christian Education Article 2: Nope, we're not drunk --educators share their computer success stories. Article 3: They All Laughed --A list of great ideas that were first scoffed at.
Printing this web page will get you all three articles. |
|
Article 1:
In Their Own Language:
Computers, Kids, and Christian Education At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the gift of speaking in a different language, -the language of the hearer. In today's church that includes sharing the Gospel through the language of multimedia and computers. Since 1990, thousands of churches have supplemented their curriculum with Christian software -bringing excitement and learning to their classrooms. Is it any wonder? Kids love computers. They are eager to use them, give the screen their full attention, and want to come back next Sunday to do it again. FACT:
Churches don't have the luxury of compulsory attendance and making students pay attention by grading them. We must be more attractive, and this is what computers do.
I first began experimenting with computers in my Sunday School back in 1990. I was the Associate Minister and in charge of Sunday School. We had just started the Workshop Rotation Model which teaches Bible stories through various media. We were looking for new kinds of media when several members suggested "why not look at computers" I was skeptical. Back then, computers were slow and expensive, and the software left a lot to be desired. So we started an experiment, and couldn't get the kids out of the room. They hovered around the computer, -eyes wide open. And when their parents arrived and hovered, they too became part of our wonderful problem.
Objections? YES, computers and Christian software are more expensive than construction paper and popsicle sticks, ...but they also get better results. The most expensive type of Sunday School is one that gives families another excuse not to show up, and bores young people into membership oblivion. --And we pay for it with struggling youth groups. We pay for it when our kids don't come back to the church as adults, and don't bring their kids. But the biggest expense is to the kids themselves. Sunday School is a big part of their faith formation. When we bore-away a kid from church, statistically, we are boring them away from God. Barna Research did a 2001-2003 study of spiritual formation and the church. George Barna admits that going into the study, he vastly unappreciated the importance of children's ministry to both the child's need, and the church's future. The 3 year study concluded that we have until age 13 to make our best faith impressions on children. Yet, as their study pointed out, 7 out of every 8 dollars in the church are spent on adults. You can read their poll and other stats at www.sundaysoftware.com/stats.htm. That said, computers are not as monetarily "expensive" as you might think. The math shows that they actually cost less than donut holes for the kids and all the free coffee we give the adults. See my article on the "real cost" of computers and software. It has a lot of real math, and naysayers hate math! The results of not attracting and teaching our kids are far more expensive in the long run for our churches than software or computers. The Church needs to improve many of its approaches to young people. And without a doubt, reaching them through "their" language, is one great way to attract and raise up this next generation. In fact, it seems so obvious as to be indisputable, -especially these days. The only question is "how to do it right" ...and that's why I created Sunday Software. Getting started often easier and less expensive than most people realize.
When I first wrote this article, I needed to convince people that computers could attract the mind's attention in a powerful way and were more than a fad. Seems silly to waste time on that argument today, doesn't it. Today's families immediately understand why computers in Christian education make sense. They are using computers in unprecedented numbers and ways. They have them at home, use them at work, and support their use in the schools. They are eager to support a Sunday School experience that puts smiles on the faces of their children. Few parents want their children to go through the kind of Sunday School they themselves experienced. And when they see their kids eagerly learning with software, the parents are thrilled. But this isn't just about attracting kids. If it were, cable tv and donuts would be cheaper and just as attractive. It's about teaching them with an attractive tool. I've spent a lot of time with kids at the computer in my Sunday School. Something special happens when students begin to interact with software. They are eager, they are cooperative, they are intrigued, and they ready to open up. And because they enjoy software, they will happily go over the material more than once. Teaching with software...
We begin every class with Bible study, and after using some software often find ourselves in discussion or some other related activity. Typically, we have two or three students per computer. Any more and they become passive observers. My small church has four computers in our lab. My co-teacher and I will each sit between two computers. Usually we're all working on the same program. That means we have to have four copies of it. That's a bit expensive, but you can't copy the software, and it would be very difficult to lead one class using four different programs at the same time! Each week a new group of students is rotated into our lab. We might have preschool/early readers one week, teens the next, and grades 3-5 after that. It depends on the schedule and the software we have.
We use interactive Bible story software which often has discussion questions built right in. These are kid-friendly, animated and interactive multimedia programs. We also use scripture memory software, creative writing software for reflection, and Christian game software that has content. Many pastors and educators are surprised such software even exists. The denominational catalogs and corner Christian bookstores rarely carry much of a software selection. And now you know why I had to create Sunday Software Inc. We needed to get the word out! ...and we needed to provide the teaching support and teaching design that the medium deserved. Most Christian education software is designed with an ecumenical flavor. 100% of the good Christian software runs on Windows, but only about half of that runs on a Mac. We recommend getting started with nothing older than a "5 year old PC". This will run most of what's out there for the next couple of years. Antiquated equipment creates frustration. Like the disciples at Pentecost, every teaching innovation has its nay-sayers standing off to the side slinging arrows. Some say we are drunk on technology. Some say the kids don't need our best efforts ("Back in my day a Bible and a folding chair was enough for me!") But those of us who have experienced computers in the classroom are reveling in a new language that connects with this generation.
|
For more discussion about HOW and WHERE to use computers in Christian
education,
read the
book,
Teaching with Computers in
Christian Education
Read "How to Get Started" teaching with computers in C.E. at www.sundaysoftware.com/starting.html
|
(Fourth in a Series on Computers in Christian Education article I wrote for ALERT magazine, November 1997) By Neil MacQueen |
It has been something of a secret ---until this year and this ALERT series. A growing number of Presbyterian churches are successfully using computers in their Sunday Schools. This fourth article about computers in Christian education describes this exciting grassroots movement in the words of several of its pioneers. Their comments are representative of those coming from educators and pastors around the country. The word is out! Computers are proving to be powerful tools in attracting students and improving Bible literacy. They are part of a fresh wind of education ideas and innovation stirring in local congregations coast to coast.
Linda's church isn't the only one experiencing the warm reception and support for computers in Christian education. Diane Jones, D.C.E. at First Presbyterian Church in Circleville Ohio has also been pleasantly surprised. "Our parents have expressed their appreciation at our willingness to risk being innovative and creative. We haven't had one negative reaction and there is a general sense that we are moving in the right direction by modernizing our teaching methods. And of course the kids think it is very cool." Kitty Dobbs, Church Educator at Shepherd in the Hills in Lakewood Colorado almost literally missed the bus on teaching with computers. She attended an APCE convention only to find that the computer workshop she wanted to attend was full. A last minute open seat on the bus trip out the workshop site, however, became the "beginning of something new and exciting." "Frankly, our kids were shocked by the introduction of computers. Soon, so were we. They grew quite attentive, willing to learn and happy to share. Our parents were impressed by our commitment to their children's education. Our computer lab drew a whole new group of people to help teach." Bill Allbright at St Croix Valley United Methodist Church in Lakeland, Minnesota sent me this terrific success story about his computer lab....
The Presbyterian Church in Erwin Tennessee didn't even own a computer until recently. Pastor Tom Wade enthusiastically tells the story of the night he put some C.E. software on a borrowed computer and set it up at the church's potluck supper. "The kids didn't eat. They mobbed the computer. It was like a magnet. Our Session decided at its next meeting that anything so powerfully attractive was worth exploring. A lot of our kids out here don't have computers, but that only made the decision easier to make." With computer
skills becoming ever more prevalent in our congregations, educators are
finding help and support readily available, --even from quarters you
might not expect. Carol
Davis at First Presbyterian in Beavercreek Ohio
began computing over a year ago in her Sunday School. A number of her
Bible Computer Lab teachers come from the retirement center next door to
the church! Other churches have their specially trained teachers
assisted by Sr. High "Bible Lab Buddies." Youth are eager to help with a
tool they understand and enjoy using. The new recruits not only bring
their enthusiasm and technical expertise, but new teaching insights as
well. Says Ron Friedman, computer techie and teacher at the Presbyterian
Church in Park Ridge Illinois, "with computers we are learning to be the
‘guide by the side' rather than the "sage on the stage.'"
This grassroots revolution in teaching technology comes at a providential time in the educational ministry of our Church. Amid a growing sense of frustration with traditional methods and curriculum comes a tool that kids (and adults) love to learn with. Computer hardware is coming within reach of the average church. Computer skills are becoming ubiquitous. Christian software suitable for Sunday School is growing in quantity and quality. Like the disciples at Pentecost, those of us teaching with computers believe the Spirit is leading us to speak not in our own traditional language, but in a language that appeals to others, the foreigners in our midst, the children, youth and adults of the electronic age. Those locked in the past, laboring under misconceptions, or afraid of the future may say we're drunk on technology. But like the Apostle Peter in the second chapter of Acts, we declare "its only 9 o'clock on Sunday morning! ...a time for amazement and astonishment and an outpouring of the Spirit, ...a time for dreams and visions." If you'd like to know more about teaching with computers in Sunday School contact Neil MacQueen via www.sundaysoftware.com. Neil is a Presbyterian minister and founder of Sunday School Software Ministries, a validated ministry of the Presbytery of Scioto Valley. Neil has been a seminar leader at the annual APCE conference, in Presbyteries events, and other denominational gatherings around the country. Read more customer comments about us and about their use of computers in CE at www.sundaysoftware.com/praises.htm |
Compiled by Neil MacQueen from various sources
|
|||||||||
"It is now
definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as
in the atmosphere."
"IBM, RCA,
and GE." "The
automobile has practically reached the limit of its development." "They're
junky."
"In the
future, computers may have only 1000 vacuum tubes and weigh less than
one and half tons!" (All of the above quotes come from Ira Flatlow's book, They All Laughed...the stories behind great inventions, and Roger Burns' Almost History.) "Radical
and strange." "They're drunk on new
wine." "Surely life was better in
Egypt." "It's a fad." ..and..
"Churches won't be able to afford them."
"We're not interested."
"It won't amount to much." "It's a fad." "It's just fun and games."
View our latest newsletter for sale discount info, software notes, teaching tips and interesting links. |
|||||||||
|
In addition to my work with Sunday
Software, I write a Church Tech Blog
at www.SUNDAYRESOURCES.NET
Here are some of the blog posts you'll find there. |
On
this Page...
I'll
never forget the day one of my teachers said to me,
"Imagine what this is going to be like when we learn how to
actually teach with these things!" That began my
quest to better understand what was going on in front of
those screens, and how best to harness it for teaching God's
Word. After a few years, I started writing articles and
speaking about our experience and insights. Eventually,
other churches wanted to know how-to, so myself and some
volunteers started Sunday School Software Ministries Inc. to
field questions, recommend software, and distribute our
manual. By 1996 it had exploded into a full time labor of
love. I started speaking at seminars, sold about a dozen
different titles, and created this website. Then in 2001 we
started developing the kind of software we wanted to teach
with. 
1.
Our pews are filled with computer literate members. 
A
lot of people assume that the computers and software get in
the way of the teacher-student relationship. But nothing is
farther from the truth --if you do it RIGHT. Software is a
tool for the teacher and students to use together.
It doesn't replace the teacher. At the computer, the teacher
becomes the "guide by the side." We go through the software
with our students. The software does not replace us or the
lesson plan.
Other
than the "lab" model, many churches simply support a teacher
who has a computer in their classroom, or brings in their
laptop from time to time. Some pastors bring software into
their Confirmation programs. Others provide software for
families to take home. Software is one type of Christian
education material that families are eager to use.
Here
is a range of popular titles that also demonstrates the wide
variety of content styles found in Christian software. Each
of these can be found on the Internet at our website,
www.sundaysoftware.com. We're picky about our own software,
and about including other people's software in our catalog.
We're even more persistent about providing free teaching
materials for most titles we carry. You can view outlines
and graphics and video demos of all these and more at
sundaysoftware.com.
No
other comment so typifies the reaction churches are getting to computers
in Christian education as I wish there had been something like this when
I was in Sunday School. "This is the one comment I hear over and over
and over again in my congregation." says
Linda Beckham, D.C.E. at the Palma
Ceia Church in Tampa.
"We have experienced a lot of excitement about our Bible Computer Lab
among the kids and parents. Even our adults are clamoring to get a crack
at some of the software. Our staff, teachers and church leaders have
been very encouraged by the response and the results.
One
of the popular misconceptions being dispelled about computers in
Christian education is that they are beyond the means of the average
Sunday School. In the Dayton Ohio area, a number of small and medium
size Presbyterian, Methodist and Lutheran churches are using computers
in their programs and have found hardware rather easy to get.
Jo Doelker's church in Middletown
Ohio was one of
the first. "At first, we requested a computer only for the church
Library and the Trustees were less than enthusiastic. When we looked
into using the computer in our Sunday School as well, the Trustees
approved the money without hesitation."
"Worthless."