Religious Studies News

Many students today are visual learners. We can capture their minds through the use of audiovisual aids. I have outlined only a few of the strategies I use in my classes to keep the dance interesting. Professors must be constantly researching and changing their teaching strategies. The Web is expanding so fast that in a matter of minutes something better might be uploaded that would significantly enhance the online classroom.

The future is now for many of us. Teaching online has become an international effort with faculty and students talking to each other across the ponds. Specialists guest lecture in my classes by answering questions using a discussion board. Minicams give us access to almost anyone in the world. One professor using a minicam (with her students) on campus is interviewing journalists in the Middle East. Students are creating presentations and videos that are uploaded for their peers to critique. Some faculty have created games to take the place of tests. One fellow faculty member has taught his classes in a virtual environment for years. There are avatars all over campus. Many of my students use their phones to access materials, quizzes, and tests on Blackboard.

For years I have taken students on study tours to places such as China, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand. In the past, I always felt that what we were studying was outdated after we arrived in the country. Today we can give them the “here and now” before they leave. These days, prior to departure, instructions for the tours can link and locate students directly with these countries. And students do not have to be physically present for this orientation — they can join us from anywhere in the world. They will be better prepared because they will have first-hand knowledge of the topics under consideration. While touring we can link together online and in person. We can produce on-the-spot videos and analyses because of the links with the Web and our experiences. While the same thing could be brought back to a face-to-face environment, the virtual class is instantaneous.

In sum, we want to dance together because we love what we are doing. We enjoy the music. And this dance keeps getting better and better as we explore the infinite steps that can be created, especially online when we keep in touch with each other. Online education is more egalitarian than face-to-face because it allows many, many people to participate in educational advancement who could not physically attend or economically afford a face-to-face environment.

Today the rigid distinction between the face-to-face classroom and online environment is beginning to blur with the creation of hybrid/blended and alternate types of classes that include both face-to-face meetings and online support. But the dance remains just as important. We must reach our students with as many tools and strategies as possible in order for them to appreciate the great opportunities and content that lie ahead of them.

As a sad addendum, one more comment can be made about the safety factor in online education. Teaching online is a neutral environment where students cannot physically or verbally assault their professors. Teaching religious studies can produce volatility in the classroom. No matter what precautions or foundations we lay for students, many do not like to have their assumptions regarding their historic religious beliefs analyzed. They often do not like being forced to think of multiple religions as being on an equal plane. I remember face-to-face students who called Russian Orthodox services devil-worship. Religious images are termed “idols” by some students who detest their presence in the classroom.  Others have stood up and witnessed to the class. I have a hundred such stories.

Having taught for more than thirty years, I have had my share of student verbal abuse, disrespect, physical threats, and even a gun placed on my desk early in my career. Students may also act out their frustrations online, but since you always have a record of that abuse, many tone down their e-mails.

Teaching online is safer for both the student and faculty member. I find the environment to be even more creative than teaching in a face-to-face classroom.

Students are so often tired or don’t want to participate, or for some reason want to disrupt the class environment. Many students have problems with a female authority figure and cannot find it in themselves to respect her. For the most part, you don’t have those problems in online classes, and the semester moves much more smoothly without the ups and downs associated with the antisocial and abusive behavior of some students.