Keeping ILT at a Distance

It is not immediately apparent what ILT means by online education or distance learning. ILT is an online school in the sense that we do not have students in classrooms on site. All of our students come to their classes using online software. However, there are many ways the internet has been used to deliver education to off-site students. What ILT does is different than those typical means used by other online schools. Let me explain.

ILT is dedicated to creating as much of a traditional classroom as is possible using an online environment. The key component is to use a system that will allow students and faculty to communicate as if they were all in the same room together. ILT does this using an online software system called Adobe Connect. This system is a video conferencing system which is designed to allow a presenter to share documents, power points, and video to a class of students who are also using a video feed to participate in class.

ILT is different than traditional online approaches to education. Students need to be in class each period - on time. While the class is recorded and students can go back to it later, attendance and participation are required in each class. Each student along with the professor are live, online through a video feed which allows them not only to be seen but to be heard. It has been said by one ILT employee that ILT can duplicate everything that a traditional classroom has, except the back row.

One of the advantages of this model for pastoral preparation is that it allows students to participate in their coursework while they are participating in valuable field work and their internship year. Instead of the traditional approach where seminary students learn in the classroom for a number of years and then participate in an internship, ILT students do both at the same time.

This is also an advantage for our advanced and professional development degrees. Students are able to participate in their classes while continuing to work in their jobs or serve their congregations. This gives ILT an advantage over institutions that require a number of weeks each year on campus.

While there are challenges to this model. And let's face it, no educational model is perfect, ILT students think that it is best to keep ILT at a distance. They can sign on each semester and participate with fellow students in a learning environment which allows them not only to grow in knowledge but to apply what they learn in practical situations immediately.


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