Online Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Online Education - Research Paper Example the biggest segment of online education is covered by massive open online courses that provide people from all over the world with free and sometimes pre-paid online courses on multiple disciplines. These courses are collections of particular courses, previously learned by students of different universities (Mayadas, Bourne, and Bacsich 85). The professors who taught them in the universities also work for the massive open online courses’ services and read the lectures for everyone who signs up for their courses online. Massive open online courses (MOOC) are internet classes with large-scale interactive participation and public access through the Internet, so learning content is available online to any person who wants to take a course with no limit on attendance. They are structured similar to traditional higher education courses (Martin 26), in which students watch lectures, read assigned material, participate in online discussions and forums and complete quizzes and tests on the course material. Nevertheless, MOOCs try to make the online education more effective than the traditional class room methods (Kolukuluri n. pag). Further claims have been made that short videos complement the optimal attention span of students and that discussion forums provide an adequate replacement of direct teacher–student interactions, which would be considered as normal for a class delivered on campus (Glance 5). MOOCs are typically provided by higher education institutions, often in partnership with â€Å" organizers† such as Coursera, edX and Udacity, though some MOOCs are being offered directly by college or university (as Stanford does). The MOOCs’ constructions are rather similar from source to source, but let’s consider the structure of Coursera courses as an example. In the description of each course the level of required previous knowledge for its successful mastering is indicated. Many courses are available for the beginners, while other courses require the

The ministry of Spiritual Direction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The ministry of Spiritual Direction - Essay Example to pay attention to their own religious experiences and to respond accordingly to what God communicates to them in their own personal experiences. In my own experiences, I have realized that good spiritual direction should be based on religious experience. Before I was helped by my spiritual director to listen to the voice of God through my own experiences, I was a practising member of the apostolic church, but as a matter of fact, I did not have a live and a vibrant relationship with my God. This is because, although, I was a practising Christian and I used to attend the church regularly to pray, I however, felt aloof and alienated from God. I had expressed this problem to my previous spiritual directors, but my spiritual directors kept on lecturing me on how I should abandon sin, be more prayerful, and align my life to the will of God. I had tried in vain to adhere to the advice of my spiritual directors. Later, I choose another spiritual director who started directing me to engage in silent and contemplative prayers as a way of listening to God as He communicated to me. My new spiritual director also advised me to take time each day at least 15 minutes per day, to reflect on my personal experiences and to focus on the religious dimensions of those experiences, i.e. to pay attention to how God was communicating to me through those daily experiences. Through this new method of spiritual direction, I was able to discern, in a very clear manner, how God was constantly communicating with me. Through the silent prayers and reflections, I was also able to respond to God as He communicated with me, and to express my feelings, my hopes, my fears, my frustrations, and my gratitude to him. Ultimately, my prayer life improved substantially and my relationship with God became stronger and stronger. This experience, therefore, made me to believe that the best form of spiritual direction should be based on