Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The wonderful world of WIKIs

According to Wikipedia, the free wiki encyclopedia, "A wiki (pronounced /ˈwɪki/ WIK-ee) is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used to create collaborative websites, to power community websites, for personal note taking, in corporate intranets, and in knowledge management systems.

Most wikis serve a specific purpose, and off topic material is promptly removed by the user community. Such is the case of the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia. In contrast, open purpose wikis accept all sorts of content without rigid rules as to how the content should be organized.

Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work." "Wiki" (pronounced [ˈwiki] or [ˈviki]) is a Hawaiian word for "fast". "Wiki" has been backronymed by some to "What I Know Is"."

Perhaps one of the best features of the wiki is that it goes a long way toward solving the age-old group project problem! How many times have you been told that one person did all of the work on a project, or that another person did not contribute. If the work is done in a wiki, every single change is documented in the "history" view. You can tell who contributed what - who made what changes and when. Wikis also allow for collaborations across institutions, permitting students from different classes to work together on projects.

Comparison of Wiki Software from Wikipedia.

RELIGION AND THEOLOGY WIKIS
Religion Wiki -This wiki is for religious people and religious communities of all kinds. We coexist on this wiki. Again, this wiki is for all religions. All religions may be practiced and thought and written about in this one place. Create agnostic, atheist, Bahá'í, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Mandaean, Muslim, Odinism, Pagan, Realist, Sikh, Taoist, Unitarian Universalist, Zoroastrian, Toastianity, Equalism or whatever pages to this wiki. You can work on them alone, but we can just as well work together on pages here.

ReligionWiki also has a YouTube site.

Studying Religion and New Media Wiki - designed for scholars and students of Media, Religion and Culture who are focused on researching issues related to religion, the internet and other forms of new media. This is a collaborative community so welcome to the conversation.

Mrs. Addison, OurLady of Grace, 6th Grade Religion Wiki

THEOPEDIA - an encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity.

Theologia- A Wiki encyclopedia about Christian theology presented from the perspective of consensual ecumenical understandings

Theologer - Systematic Theology Wiki Style

Welcome to OrthodoxWiki, a free-content encyclopedia and information center for Orthodox Christianity that anyone can edit. In this English version, started in November 2004,


Liki List of Blogs in Theology and Religion

Technology Transformations

Ray Schroeder, Director COLRS/OTEL, Professor Emeritus at University of Illinois at Springfield, has a great blog exploring "Technology Transforming Teaching". I was particularly taken by the new advances that enable users with a headset to control virtual and real objects with thought waves.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Second Life Featured on PBS Religion & Ethics


PBS Correspondent Lucky Severson shares a variety of perspectives of Second Life, particularly the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life, in this essay. There is also a video clip from the show's Sept 18th episode.

NOTE: SecondLife is not the only virtual world.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Teaching the Bible

The Society of Biblical Literature has created a variety of teaching tools, to complement their publications. Taken from their web segment on "Teaching the Bible in Public Schools," one resource is this graph comparing what various religious traditions include in their Scriptural canon.

What's in Your Bible? Find out at BibleStudyMagazine.com

Similarly, the National Education Association (NEA) supports a "secular" teaching of Bible as shown in this statement taken from their website:

NEA has frequently been accused of trying to turn schools into "religion-free zones." That's simply not true.

NEA has endorsed three publications giving advice to teachers, parents, and administrators about religious activities in school such as school prayer, religious clubs, and teaching about religion and the Bible: "The Bible & Public Schools," "A Teacher's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools," and "Religious Liberty, Public Education, and the Future of American Democracy-A Statement of Principles."

All three are endorsed by a broad coalition of religious and education organizations, including the National School Boards Association, the Christian Legal Society, and the National Association of Evangelicals. Copies may be downloaded at http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/.

MANY RESOURCES
There are many sites created to aid faculty and student Biblical investigation:
Ron Sims, Creighton - virtual world project

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Episcopal Church Debates VIRTUAL CHURCH in Episcopal Life Online


There are a series of articles exploring virtual church that have been published in the Episcopal Church Online:

October 6, 2008 Worshipping Online: Is it Really Church by Lisa B Hamilton

January 9, 2009 Not By Internet Alone: Virtual Church Can't Replace the Real Thing by Dina Mann

March 10, 2009 Virtual Is Still RealPrrayer is Prayer, Online or in the Pew by Joshua Thomas




March 11, 2009 Expanding the Faith: Internet Church is not Intended to Replace Brick Version by Mary Wannamaker

Tuesday, February 17, 2009