The Catholic Virginian, Diocese
of Richmond
October
13, 2003
Representatives
from Notre Dame University are coming to the Diocese of Richmond
to lead workshops on the university's online theology courses
that are now available to the diocese. The diocese has partnered
with both Notre Dame and the University of Dayton to provide courses
at a reduced tuition rate.
Thomas
Cummings, director of Notre Dame's online theology program, will
lead workshops on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Roanoke Catholic School;
Wednesday, Oct. 22, at St. Bridget School in Richmond; and on
Thursday, Oct. 23, at Catholic High School in Virginia Beach.
The workshops will be offered at 4 p.m. and repeated at 7:30 p.m.
at each site. The free workshops will be held in the computer
labs at each school so that participants will have a hands-on
experience of what it's like to take one of the five-week courses.
In
promoting Notre Dame's online theology program, Mr. Cummings has
discovered that many people have misconceptions about what is
required to participate in one of the courses. "You don't
have to be a computer programmer or 'geek' to take one of our
courses," he explained. "If you have normal web access
at home you are probably set to take a course."
Workshops will explain the technical requirements and how to register
and participate in the secured class sites.
The
classes are five weeks in duration. Notre Dame offers two levels
of classes called "Open Enrollment" and "Limited
Enrollment." Open enrollment classes require five hours per
week of reading, responding and "virtual" discussion
with other members of the class. Limited enrollment classes require
10 hours per week and are more like graduate level study and consequently
cost more. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are awarded to those
who complete course requirements.
"The
great thing about the online courses is that you can do them from
home and at literally any time of the day!," said Dennis
Beeman, diocesan liaison to both the Notre Dame and Dayton online
programs. "There is also a great experience of meeting people
from around the U.S. in the 'virtual' classrooms."
To
reserve a space at a computer for one of the workshops, contact
Dennis Beeman (804-359-5661; dbeeman@richmonddiocese.org).
More details on both online programs can be found at the Notre
Dame (http://step.nd.edu) and
Dayton (www.udayton.edu/~vlc)
web sites.
More
information is available from at 1-866-425-7837or cummings.8@nd.edu.
