I couldn't sleep last night due to being too stuffed up, so I got up and sat in the dark with my computer. I couldn't sign in to blog due to the upgrade still being in progress  Which was probably a good thing, my touch typing is still rather clumsy and it was too dark to do anything much more than touch type. So, I toured the net and came across http://www.ChristianCourses.com. Several ministries have cooperated to produce this site. One of which is maker of Our Daily Bread Devotional booklets. I remember being a brand new Christian and being given these to help me to learn how to have regular quiet time each day.
This is a site to do more than just visit and bookmark! The quality level is fantastic! Features:
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Course content is via professionally produced streaming video
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A student management system that will let you assign this to your 7th grader's and up and let them work their way through certification. The acheivement of the certification is hinged upon passing computer scored quizes/exams on the course content. According to the website, churches often use the certification system to train staff and volunteers. You can have your student show you his certification page to show what he has achieved and use that as a basic of a grade and transcript entry.
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But it is more than computer scored quizes. The assignment structure is such that the student is expected to journal/reflect (private) personally on the topic and participate in commenting (public text comment system) to structured questions that the course administrator proposes.
I am working my way through two courses now. I am very, very impressed with everything I have seen and participated in so far. I plan on introducing the site to my three oldest and getting them enrolled in one of the multi-course certification programs.
Here is a copy/paste of the 'about us' section of the site:
ChristianCourses.com was initially founded as a division of Christian University GlobalNet (CUGN). CUGN was created in February 1998 as a major collaborative partnership among the colleges, universities, and seminaries of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). CUGN later was restructured as a separate 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation to focus on its mission of reaching learners worldwide with affordable and accessible Christian worldview learning opportunities. CUGN was one of the first faith-based online learning providers offering interactive CD-ROM/DVD-ROM courses and Web-based courses. CUGN became a subsidiary of RBC Ministries, publishers of Our Daily Bread, in October 2002, and began operating under the brand, ChristianCourses.com (CC). CC develops and delivers asynchronous (on demand) online learning courses and other digital resources for para-church ministries, churches, and individuals connected to the evangelical Christian faith. We contract with the most gifted teachers, authors, and scholars in various disciplines, capture their teaching in digital video (our database) and add interactivity. We then offer it to learners over a variety of delivery systems, including the Internet, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM.
Our member ministries are committed to the integration of biblical faith, scholarship, and service. CC ministry members develop courses targeting the needs of their respective constituencies. Recognized master teachers author the courses using their own material and multimedia tools. The result is an excellent combination of content, lecture, and guidance, with the interactive control of the individual learner. This allows learners of a wide range of educational and socio-economic levels to benefit from the best communicators in their respective fields.
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