This document summarizes the instructor's experience teaching two digital ministry courses in 2009 and 2014. In both courses, students had outdated laptops and poor computer skills, leading to issues completing projects to build a WordPress website and create a multi-media presentation. The instructor recognizes that their choices of not using commercial hosting and having students install local WordPress hosts added complexity. For future courses, the instructor proposes using commercial hosting, classroom computers for presentations, and reconsidering project scope given students' low technical abilities. The instructor identifies several questions to explore how to improve the course for different student skill levels and technology environments.

1. MINISTRY IN A DIGITAL AGE
A Course Retrospective
Dudley C. Rose

2. Course Rationale
• Technology and digital media find significant
use in many U.S. congregations.
• Even if leaders do not directly manage the
organization’s technology, they need to
understand its uses and possibilities.
• In small organizations leaders may have direct
responsibility for technology

3. HISTORY
TAUGHT IN 2009 & 2014

4. 2009: Ordained Ministers

5. 2014:
Ordained Ministers, Sunday School
Teachers, Professors, Buddhist Teachers,
Rabbis and NGO Executive Directors

6. 2009: Up-to-date laptops

7. 2014: Out-of-date Laptops

8. 2009: Good Computer Skills

9. 2014: Poor Computer Skills: Web Server?

10. CASE STUDY 1:
WORDPRESS WEBSITE

11. Project
• Develop fully functional website:
–Church (or other specific) themes
–Event calendaring
–Sermon manager (text, audio, media)
–Security, SEO and other plugins

12. Technology Choices
• Not to use Harvard Hosted
WordPress
• Not to use Commercial Host
• To Have Students Install a Local Host

13. Process
• Lynda.com tutorial
• Create Local Host (BitNami)
• Install and Configure WordPress
• Install Theme
• Install Plugins
• Develop Site

14. THERE WERE
“ISSUES”

15. Inadequate Laptops
• Inadequate Disk Space
• Often on last legs

16. Computer Skills
• Could not unzip, install files
• Little concept of websites
• Local host too complicated
• Did not attend help
sessions

17. Presentation Glitches
• Many dongles
• Unfamiliarity with
hardware
• Wasted class time

18. Takeaways
• Instructor’s choices poor
• Use commercial hosting
• Use in-classroom computer for
presentations
• Recoup time devoted to local host
• More time to WordPress instruction

19. CASE STUDY 2:
DEVELOP MULTI-MEDIA
PRESENTATION

20. Project
• Develop multi-media presentation
–Worship, teaching
• Choosing and using
–Image, audio and video editing software
–Presentation software

21. “ISSUES”

22. Add to
• Old cranky laptops
• Low computer skills
• Reluctance to seek help
• Presentation problems

23. More Hardware Demands
• Underpowered CPUs
• Insufficient RAM

24. Many Software
Choices
Presentation Audio Editing Video Editing
Proclaim
Easy Worship
Exposong
EasySlides
Datasoul
Songview
Quela
Dreambeam
OpenSong
Powersong
SNAP Projection
Asaph
Audacity
Magix Music Maker
WavePad
AVS Audio Editor
Diamond Cut
Garage Band
MS Movie Maker
iMovie
Techsmith Camtasia
Adobe Premier
Final Cut Pro
Magix Movie Edit

25. Missed the Mark

26. Tentative Observation
#1
• Students less computer
proficient than 5 years ago
• Hypothesis: Move to mobile?

27. Tentative Observation
#2
• Student computers less
up to date than 5 years ago
• Hypotheses
–Move to mobile?
–Older computers work well
enough for word processing

28. Tentative Observation
#3
Exorcised Biblical Software

29. Tentative Observation
#4
Harvard Hosted WordPress
of limited use for instruction

30. A Few Starting Questions
#1
Is there a way to make
Harvard hosted WordPress
more flexible?

31. A Few Starting Questions
#2
Is students’ reluctance to
avail themselves of help outside of
class due to:
–Putting off assignments?
–Preparation variables surprised them?
–Expect computers to just work?
–Something else?

32. A Few Starting Questions
#3
Are these projects too
ambitious given:
• Low student computer facility?
• Project complexity?
• Need for robust hardware?

33. A Few Starting Questions
#4
Valuable Learning?