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SENDAS Accomplishes Two Milestones
April and May, 2010

For many years, the Nazarene Seminary of the Americas has had the goal of beginning online classes as well as video conference courses.
 
During the months of April and May, both of these dreams were realized.  The professors and the students are very excited to use these new teaching and learning technologies. These technologies give the opportunity for more students to take courses with the most qualified professors while interacting with students from many countries.

The online classes began through the development of Seminario Nazareno Virtuall (Nazarene Seminary Virtual) a strategic alliance between the 11 Latin American Nazarene Theological Institutions.  The first course is “Introduction to Mission” taught by Dr. Dorothy Bullon.  She has 37 students in the class from eight different countries. Dr. Bullon spends at least an hour each day in communication with the students in the discussion forums and at least ten hours each week grading assignments.  She says, “It has been such an interesting experience. It is amazing to see how much the students are learning from the online articles and from the comments among the students.  This week we had a marvelous interaction about the Kingdom of God which I believe is a topic that is often not discussed enough.”

An interesting experience happened during this first class when one of the students had a question about a comment in one of the required course readings.  Instead of answering the question herself, Dr. Bullon contacted the author of the book who responded directly to the question. Both the student and the professor were very excited to have the opportunity to interact with the author.

One of the students, Crhis Mesen, who has two small children said this about the online course:
“This is the only way that I can study; there is no other way for me.  When my children go to sleep at nine in the evening, I begin studying on my computer, doing my homework.”  Her husband, Elimelec Juanta, is also taking the course.  He works during the day and studies at night at home. It would be difficult for him to study at an Educational Center since when he is available all the Centers are ending their classes for the day.  There are many students in similar situations as Crhis and Elimelec who could not study any other way.



In addition, this month the Video Conference courses began.  The first course was “Biblical and Theological Foundations of the Family” as part of the Master’s degree in the Family Counseling program.  Profesor Elvin Heredia, from Puerto Rico, is teaching the course.  There are 28 student from four different Beyond Borders Centers: Tuxtla, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.  Everyone is excited with this new way to receive courses since it allows for more students to partipate, and everyone learns so much from students in different ministry contexts.



For Professor Elvin Heredia, this experience was a first for him.  He says, “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to be a part of this historical educational event for our denomination.  This was, without a doubt, one of the richest experiences that I have had both in my ministry and professionally.  The Christian world and the Nazarene world are coming together because of technology, making us more effective in the work of reaching the world for Christ.  I thank the leadership of SENDAS for the blessing of being a part of the educational team, and I thank the students in the different Educational Centers because together we are part of this historical event."

Thanks to the Lord, SENDAS is offering courses using these new technologies.  The professors and students are excited to see what the future holds as more technologies and teaching methods are made available. 

For more information about the Spanish courses online, visit this website: www.nazarenovirtual.net

For more information about the master’s program and videoconference courses, visit the SENDAS website: www.sendas.ws