What is BeADisciple, and why online courses?
BeADisciple uses online learning to create a bridge, allowing those with valuable ministry resources to share those resources with clergy and laity in the local church.
We love the flexibility that online learning allows — anyone with a reasonable internet connection can participate in your course. BeADisciple learners all start on the same day, move through materials together, and end on the same day. Learners and instructors log in and participate at the time of day that works best for their own schedule while still maintaining connection and daily interaction.
Blackboard, our online course software, makes creating and hosting online courses easy, and there are very few limits to the kinds of courses that can be offered. Blackboard supports embedded videos, PDFs and Word documents, discussion boards, and live video sessions (learners can even “raise their hand” to ask a question). It also supports user uploads of photos, documents, and other files so class learners can share their ideas and past work with fellow learners.
We think — and many of our learners have confirmed — that online education can be just as fruitful as in-person classes. What are you waiting for? We would love to help you share your resources and ministry with a wider audience.
How do I start?
To build a course yourself, you must complete our $100 online instructor training. Becoming a trained instructor will allow you to both build and lead your course. This is a one-time course — you will never need to take this training again, no matter how many times you offer your course or how many other courses you might create and lead in the future. The two-week instructor training is offered every few months and is taught by our Director of Online Education, Lisa Buffum.
How much does this cost? How much do I get paid?
Apart from the instructor training mentioned above, there is no fee for you to host courses on BeADisciple.com. Our technical and staff expenses are covered by a portion of each learner’s individual course fee.
As the instructor, you set the course fee for each learner. BeADisciple requires $20 per learner as a base fee for its technical and user support services, and then the instructor adds the amount they feel properly compensates them for their time. For example, if you would like to be paid $40 for every learner in your course, then each one in your course will pay $60 total ($20+$40) to enroll in your course. At this rate, you’ve more than made up the cost of the instructor training after just 3 learners participate in your first course.
If you’re a conference, church, or other organization that would rather not charge your learners a course fee, contact Lisa at beadisciple@sckans.edu to ask about how we can work with you to meet your needs.
