In this era of flourishing online education, individuals effortlessly access free courses from prestigious institutions, absorb insights from popular influencers, and even witness Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) models assume the role of educators.
Particularly in the post-pandemic educational landscape, the integration of GAI has spurred the development of online learning, endowing it with speed, cost-effectiveness, simplicity, and accessibility.
Potential Risks of Online Self-Study
However, this apparent golden age of online education has led to four misconceptions about the self-study of the Bible and theology:
- The seemingly endless availability of online information creates the illusion that a comprehensive learning experience can be attained solely through watching videos, listening to podcasts, and reading blogs. This disregards the gradual and incremental nature of learning.
- The myth that tools can replace learning presupposes that using tools such as Bible software equates to mastering skills such as critical thinking, analysis, synthesis, expression, and writing. This neglects the interactive nature of learning processes within a group, including dialogue, critique, correction, integration, transformation, and renewal.
- Heretical doctrines have infiltrated through the mistaken belief that courses from any and all institutions, schools of thought, and scholars ought to be orthodox, without discerning erroneous teachings and distorted practices.
- Free offerings have created the illusion that knowledge and methods in a field can be acquired adequately online. This ignores the necessity of evaluating learning against international academic
standards and the norms of orthodox beliefs.
Moreover, recent studies show that the meticulously processed visual information in online education has led to learners losing focus, getting distracted, and having shortened attention spans. The continuous flow of information and never-ending distractions have shifted the way people engage with knowledge, such that we lean toward shallow thinking patterns.
This scattering of our attention impedes deep thinking on complex issues and exacerbates the risk of superficial and disjointed learning. Furthermore, online education often lacks community, depth, and authenticity through interpersonal communication, leading students to feel isolated and disconnected.
Limitations of GAI-enhanced Education
The competition between human and GAI educators presents a substantial challenge. While GAI has surpassed humans in speedily generating calculations, data analysis, writing, translations, and synthesized information from massive databases, human advantages such as moral judgement, insight, creativity, and intuitive and tacit understanding remain unparalleled.
We must strengthen what is unique to us, cultivating abilities such as attention and empathy in areas such as education, health and social care, counselling, and the arts, and wisely use rather than be reduced by GAI. In short, humans are responsible for determining the direction of technological development and integration.
To address the risks and limitations, a reimagining of online education is necessary. Key principles should include emphasizing active learning and critical thinking, designing instructional content according to cultural contexts, integrating technology to enhance learning effectiveness, and fostering community and teamwork.
By adopting these principles, GAI-assisted teaching can overcome superficial, disconnected, and self-centred learning models, and enable deeper understanding, critical thinking, and creative integration.
Blended Learning for Holistic Education
Since our College offers blended learning with both online and in-person platforms, we have implemented measures to foster an immersive and interactive learning experience:
- Holistic education: All faculty members and staff are committed to the educational philosophy of integrating academic and spiritual formation, knowledge and practice, and faith and action.
- Teaching support: Our Centre for Teaching and Learning supports our lecturers in equipping students with active learning and critical thinking skills through goal-oriented activities, case discussions, and strategies for problem-solving.
- Leveraging technology: Our IT Services team helps integrate digital technology and GAI to enhance teaching skills, learning materials, video recordings, and other resources, promoting teaching efficiency.
- Redefining the library: We are redefining learning spaces and facilities in our library to foster teamwork and enhance learning through online and in-person collaboration.
This AI-assisted era can be a golden age for seekers of truth as long as our teaching principles and learning goals remain centred on Christ, grounded in the Bible, and guided by the gospel. As the apostle Paul said, ¡°He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ¡± (Col 1:28¨C29 NIV).
Dear partners in the gospel, please pray for us to be faithful and effective in training workers in community for the kingdom. To meet the needs of the present age, we also invite you to generously support our faculty¡¯s welfare, software systems¡¯ enhancement, and library¡¯s refurbishment.
