Title: Seminary, Technology, and Online Learning

intro

Let's talk about using technology in seminary.

The use of computers and Internet-connected devices is becoming more essential in our society. Especially when facing the risks of sharing physical spaces during a deadly global pandemic, technology and the Internet provides us with opportunities to connect, communicate, and learn while social distancing.

Becoming acquainted and comfortable with technology will be an important part of your success as a seminary student. This activity is designed to introduce you to the websites, software programs, and technology tools that you will be using as a seminary student. You'll find additional resources and tutorials throughout. They will always open in a new window or tab, so click away without worrying about losing your place in the activity!

emailM

Managing Email

Your lancasterseminary.edu account is the way you will receive information about your classes and what is going on at the seminary.

- Check it regularly, at least daily
- Act on important announcements and alerts in a timely manner
- Always use this email address when emailing faculty or staff about seminary business

We also recommend that you sign up for the Campus Happenings group. This is where community events and job openings are posted. Click here to sign up.

Gmail training

Google's
Get Started with Gmail Training

forwarding

The best way to check your seminary email regularly is to make it part of your existing email routine and add it to a program that can check more than one account. Apps that do this are included on most computers and mobile devices. Free and open source apps are also widely available.

If that solution doesn't work for you, it is possible to forward your lancasterseminary.edu email to another email account. Here are some instructions.

tabbed inbox

Gmail has a tabbed inbox feature. If you have this turned on, Google will automatically sort your emails according to predetermined categories. This can be really helpful or extremely confusing! Announcements from Moodle and seminary offices often get routed to the Promotions, Updates, or Forums tabs and can be overlooked if you're not expecting them to be there. Read this article about Gmail's tabbed inbox to see if it is right for you.

[Image: Gmail]

moodle

Moodle Tips

There are many things you can do in Moodle to enhance your online learning experience. Here are a few we recommend.

- Add a profile picture
- Customize your dashboard
- Set your forum preferences to control how many emails you receive
- Use activity completion to keep track of your progress
- Use Moodle's mobile and/or desktop app to work on your courses offline

learn with moodle

FAQs, Support, Tutorials

Learning with Moodle

profile

Click here to open our Moodle site in a new window before trying the steps below.

1. Click your name in the upper right corner of the site. This opens the user menu.
2. Select profile from the user menu.
3. Click "edit profile" in the user details block.
4. Scroll down to the user picture section.
5. Click and drag a photo saved on your device to the new picture file box OR click the page button to open the file picker and follow the prompts for uploading a file from your device.
6. Save the changes by clicking the "update profile" button at the bottom of the page.

[Image: Moodle screen]

forum

Click here to open our Moodle site in a new window before trying the steps below.

1. Click your name in the upper right corner. This opens the user menu.
2. Select "Preferences" from the user menu.
3. Click "Forum preferences" from the user account block.
4. Select a digest type to control how many emails you receive from forums. Click the question mark next to the drop-down to see descriptions of the digest options.
5. Forum tracking may also be helpful when set to "Yes; highlight new posts for me." You may also choose how emails affect the highlighting.
6. Click "Save changes" when done.

activity completion

Just as you are doing in this orientation course, you can mark items complete in your seminary courses to keep track of your progress. Most professors leave activity completion turned on, which will create checkboxes next to every item in the course. Checking these boxes will update the completion percentage that shows for the course on your dashboard, and gives you a visual reminder of which readings and assignments need your attention.

drive

Google Drive

Your lancasterseminary.edu account comes with a Google Drive space. It allows you to store your files online so that you can access them at home, work, or school. It also supports collaboration through file sharing and commenting features. Google Drive also provides access to Google's free online productivity apps: Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more. Whether you're new to Google Drive or have used it before, there's a lot to learn about this powerful tool.

- Beginner tips
- Intermediate tips
- Advanced tips

drive

Google's
Get Started
with Drive
Training

[Image: Google Drive]

software

Software for Assignments

The two most popular file formats that professors will ask for when submitting an assignment are DOC and PDF. While Google Docs and other word processing applications support export in both these file formats, sometimes it helps to use Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat.

Don't have Microsoft Office 365 or similar version? As a Lancaster Theological Seminary student, you are eligible for a free Office 365 Education account. This gives you access to the basic Microsoft Office applications both online and to download to your device. It also gives you a OneDrive account (similar to Google Drive). Click here to sign up for your Office 365 Education account.

When you start Field Education, there are multiple PDF forms that you will need to complete and sign. Although there are many PDF apps available, we have found that Adobe Acrobat Reader is most compatible with these forms. It is free to download and available for PC, Mac, Android, and iOS. Click here to download it.

software

Zoom

This is the video conferencing platform that we use for our synchronous online classes, online meetings, online social events, and more. Even if you already have a Zoom account, it may be helpful for you to set up a Zoom account with your lancasterseminary.edu address:

1. Go to https://lancasterseminary-edu.zoom.us
2. Click the Sign In button
3. Click the button to log in with a Google account
4. When prompted, use your lancasterseminary.edu account credentials
5. It may ask you for your birthdate or other information to verify your identity before completing the process and creating your account

If you've never used Zoom, you will also want to download the Zoom Client app before joining your first meeting.

zoomstart

Zoom's
Quick Start
Guide for
New Users

[Image: Zoom]

cohort

Cohorts have found it helpful to create their own social spaces online. Some have used private groups on Facebook. One cohort is using Slack, a communication platform with a free tier (video below). We encourage you to discover ways to stay connected with one another online.

library

Staying Connected

You'll find everything we explored in this activity plus all the resources you will need as a student linked on the Site Home page in Moodle. It is the page you see before you log in to your Dashboard and you may return to it from anywhere in Moodle by clicking the "Site Home" link from the nav drawer on the left.

The Lancaster Theological Seminary website is also a good resource for updates and events. You may have started your journey through our website. Please note, our website will be launching a fresh, new design this fall.

If you participate in social media, there are several official accounts on several platforms that you may follow and tag:

social media

- Facebook
- Twitter
- Instagram
- YouTube
- LinkedIn

facebook

LancasterTheologicalSeminary (page)

Lancaster Theological Seminary (public group)

LancSemLibrary (page)

twitter

@LancSem

@LancSemLibrary

instagram

@lancasterseminary

@lancasterseminarylibrary

YouTube

Lancaster Seminary's YouTube channel

@LancSemLibrary's YouTube channel

linkedin

Lancaster Theological Seminary on LinkedIn

Credits: by StartupStockPhotos; source https://pixabay.com/photos/startup-start-up-notebooks-creative-593338/; licence CC BY 4.0