Sound Bites from the PastPosted on December 13, 2013 by Jim PapandreaWhen I was a student, the way many professors taught Church History was through readers—a published book of excerpts from the primary sources. These books were assigned, and students were to read the relevant excerpts as preparation for lectures on the various time periods, controversies, and patristic writers. When I became the professor, I simply followed the lead of my own teachers, without really considering whether there was another way to do it. . . .
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumPosted on August 12, 2013 by Jim PapandreaIn ancient Rome, some emperors decided to try to enforce their authority by building a new forum, under their control, with their own statues, and temples dedicated to the gods of their ancestry. Imagine how hard it must have been to get people to stop going to the ancient forum—the one they were used to—and start going to the new one.Now, when the emperors of the classroom (the professors) want to create an online space where meaningful interaction and discussion will happen, what do they do? They build a new forum, in Moodle or Blackboard, and then try to get their students to go there….