Character Formation in Online Education: A Guide for Instructors, Administrators, and Accrediting Agencies

by Joanne J. Jung

The unfortunate reputation of online education today is one of little or no effort on the professor's part and little or no learning on the student's part. A missing element in much online education is the kind of mutual engagement between student and instructor that provides not only a higher level of learning but also lasting character formation within the student. Character Formation in Online Education stems from author Joanne Jung's years of experience teaching online courses with the aim of improving the teaching environment for professors and the learning environment for students. By replicating, customizing, and incorporating the best and most effective practices of what a great professor does in on-campus classes, reimagined for an online delivery system, Jung shows how a higher level of learning and transformation can be achieved through online learning communities. Handy and practical, this user-friendly book provides guidance, helpful tools, and effective suggestions for growing learning communities in online courses that are marked by character growth in students—the kind of growth that is central to the mission of Christian higher education.

Genres: Education

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 2015

About the author

Joanne J. Jung (PhD, Fuller Seminary) is a professor of biblical and theological studies and the associate dean of online education and faculty development at the Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. She is the author of Knowing Grace; Character Formation in Online Education; and The Lost Discipline of Conversation. She and her husband, Norman, attend Harvest Community Church in Irvine, California.

Reviews

[Rob O'Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an experienced online student and educator, I found this volume to be a good introduction to the basics of online education, or at least how to design and implement online courses. I thought Jung does a good job responding to some of the main objections that faculty typically object to investing in online instruction. Her chapters on integrating faith and learning in non-theology courses and social media serve as good conversation starters for the novice online educator.

However, her goal in the book is to demonstrate how online educators can facilitate character formation and spiritual growth, and Jung is not successful in accomplishing this part of her task.

If you are a Christian educator looking for a faith-centered approach to online education, then this is a solid introductory text. [I plan to recommend it to my colleagues for this reason.] If, however, you were looking for something specific on the mentoring role of faculty in the online environment, while providing some good foundational thoughts, misses the mark.

[Carisa Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine introductory book to creating an online course.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic info, well presented.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though this book is mostly aimed at educators with most the book on how to design and develop online curriculum, a surprisingly large amount of the book would be helpful for anyone. With this becoming more and more a digital age, we all have some learning we do online...our kids homework or schooling or even our own online classes/studies. Though the book did have a solidly christian bent even non religious educators and students could benefit. Understandable and intermixed with lots of really good insight! I liked the spiritual insights like "Thinking or analysis that does not touch the emotions will produce little or no change" or the importance of meditation and what it does to the brain. Helpful and unique book!