Update to the book: Computers, Kids and Christian Education

by Neil MacQueen, Sunday Software

Please note: An updated version of the book will be available Spring 2006 from Sunday Software.

The minute you put anything in print about computer hardware it starts going out date. I wrote the Revised Edition of Computer and Kids trying to think forward a few years. In some ways it is comforting that very little has changed about "how to teach" with computers in Christian Education. It's still a teacher dependent project --which is both its strength and weakness. Bible stories are meant to be shared and discussed. Children need to be with adults who care about them and about sharing the word. But teachers are still human. Our volunteers don't always come as prepared as they should and haven't always thought of a great question to ask. If you haven't already noticed, some of the new software we (Sunday Software) have created helps cover for some of these weaknesses. More about this in a moment.

If you’re just thinking of getting started and have hardware questions, read my Hardware Recommendations at www.sundaysoftware.com/techie.htm. I update and refine my hardware page about every 4 months.

Then, read my Training Packet. This $12 collection of reproducible articles and handouts is "Part B" of my Computers & Kids book. You can read about it at www.sundaysoftware.com/training.htm. For those of you who don't want to shell-out another $12 for this packet, there is a set of brief articles at my website covering some of the same subjects. Teaching with computers isn't cheap, yet the most important materials -the teacher training materials, are. Wasting time on Sunday morning... now that's expensive!

Perhaps the biggest change in the Computers and Christian Education landscape in the past several years has been the software. WE (Sunday Software) started producing our own line of software based directly on our church computing experience and that of many of our customers. To date we have produce 8 new CDs and are working on more. Each comes with built-in questions for your teachers to lean on, discussion prompting pop-ups, and extensive lesson guide materials. In many cases we have designed the content of our CDs to mimic lesson plans. A perfect example of this is The Ten Commandments CD. Following the "open, dig, reflect" lesson paradigm, we put the "open" material at the bottom of Mt. Sinai, and more of the "reflect" materials at the top. We've also added "extra content" for older students which is tucked away in the CDs. In other words, we have designed our software the way we wished everyone else had done it years ago.

Some might not appreciate us tooting-our-own horn here in this UPDATE. But frankly, ours is the only horn to toot right now. Nobody else is designing software specifically for Christian education program use. Why? Because the CE Publishing industry is busy contemplating its own shrinking future. But that's another day's update.

UPDATED REMARKS to the book Computers, Kids and Christian Education.

Chapter 1: The case for computers in Christian education
Chapter 2: Getting started is easier than you think

Computers in C.E. are usually no longer met with "you gotta be kidding." Most people nowadays understand the attraction and helpfulness of computers in education. So now folks hear mostly "here, take our old PCs" and "we can't afford that."

One of the biggest problems facing new computer lab start-ups is sifting through the piles of old computers people are happy to give them. North America is awash in used computers. I talk with more frustrated church staff and techie than ever before. They WANT to use NEWER software, because in many cases they have purchased a preview copy, put it on a good computer and really like what they see. But the pile of beige metal and monitors someone has blessed them with is out of date. What felt like two steps forward now feels like one giant leap that's being held back. So I reiterate a point made in the book, stay away from old PCs if at all possible.

Chapter 3: Some Software Recommendations (and how to teach with them)
Chapter 4: Thoughts on Selecting Software (what to start with, how much, etc.)

Here's a BIG INSIGHT I wish I had put in bold blue letters in the book: The stories you decide to teach will drive the software you need to get. That seems so obvious. But here's where folks get in trouble... They start with old equipment and no software budget to speak of, but someone tells them they have to be covering half the Bible that year anyway. Or... everything they want to teach this coming year isn't covered by the software they already have, or requires the purchase of new software. I don't think anyone actually plans to do this, but it happens, -even in my own lab. We'll go through a string of Bible stories that our previously purchased software doesn't help us cover.

Having some "utility programs" to fall back on is still a great idea, but if your kids are like mine, they'll start to whine if you try to use Kid Pix 3 too many lessons in a row. But, if your schedule is like mine and "dictated" by an overall curriculum sequence (we use the Rotation Model), you must be prepared to purchase software each year.

A second helpful insight that should have been in the book is this: If you have inexperienced lab teachers, give them "easy to teach with" software. Don't throw a Bible Atlas program at new teachers when you can get something extremely easy and fun to teach with, such as The Ten Commandments CD. Teachers are hard enough to recruit as it is, don't be penny wise and volunteer-foolish. The good news is that our little company has improved our quantity discounts and even begun to release some titles with site licenses.

How many copies of a program do you really need? If you WANT a copy of a certain program on each computer, you have to buy that many copies (unless it has a site license and few programs do). BUT, first ask yourself if you really NEED that many copies. You may have 5 computers, but if your average attendance is only 10 kids or less, you could just buy four copies and not use computer #5 for that lesson. Some programs like Kid Pix 3 make sense to put on every computer because they have a high degree of keyboarding and mouse use, and you’ll use Kid Pix 3 quite a bit over the years. But if you have just 10 to 12 kids in the lab, and you’re teaching the Ten Commandments, four copies of that CD on four computers might suffice –as the style of the program is more “explore and discuss.” When attendance goes down, such as in the Spring, you might need even fewer copies. (Please remember that it is illegal to make copies of software to avoid paying for extra copies. It’s wrong to teach the Gospel or the Ten Commandments with stolen materials!)

Chapter 5: Hardware questions and answers (written for the non-techie)
Chapter 6: Creating A Bible Computer Lab (set up, furniture, equip., budgets, getting started)

Please read my latest hardware recommendations at www.sundaysoftare.com/techie.htm.

Generally speaking, any new low-cost computer you can buy today is going to last you a long time, perhaps 6 years -before it needs any upgrading. And if you buy software for it each year, the software and computers can last you well into the future.

Computer speeds have jumped out way ahead of where the software is at because the big issue is now "multi-taking" ...running several programs at once, such as, an email program, word processor and internet browser. BUT...with Christian education use, we're only running one program at a time. So we don't need all the speed a new computer will afford us --for many years to come. What we do need, however, is a decent VIDEOCARD or VIDEOCHIP or plenty of VIDEORAM. 16mb of videoram is quite sufficient through 2006 and perhaps as far as 2008 for Christian education software. How do I know that? Because I design and develop software. I know the tools and the requirements.

Computers below the 400mhz, 64mb of RAM, 16mb videoram should be considered acceptable only by those who are just getting started and have no other choice. In other words... get above this minimum so that you have maximum flexibility in choosing the software YOU want to teach with, and that will be coming out in the next several years.

Some churches have been given older LAPTOPS. These typically come from sales forces. I recommend staying away from them if they were made before 2001. Laptops made before 2001 typically have poor peripheral viewing, and often have very limited videoram (which isn't upgradeable on a laptop like it is on a PC).

DVD has come onto the computer market by storm. Most new computers offer CD-drives that are also "DVD capable." Most of you know that DVD is what they put movies on nowadays. However, they are also starting to put SOFTWARE on DVD too. DVD stores a lot more info on it than CD. The iLumina Bible comes with both CD and DVD versions. The advantage: when you use just the one DVD you don't have to keep swapping back and forth between the program's three CDs. Sunday Software has no plans on releasing anything on DVD for the foreseeable future.

Too much sound created by too many computers in too small a space continues to plague some labs. I routinely receive pictures of new labs where the computers are stacked next to each other in an impossibly small room. Here are pictures of two computer labs that demonstrate the RIGHT WAY to space your PCs. There are many more photos at our website.

Chapter 7: Lesson planning for your lab (ideas, various strategies, models, etc.)

The use of computers at "Weeknight Fellowship" is growing rapidly. One reason, I suspect, is that weeknight programs have more freedom in what they teach, and thus have more flexibility regarding what to teach on the computers based on what they can run and afford. Many of these programs also use the Sunday morning lab to "fill a gap" in their Wednesday night program. Often this gap is called "something for the early-arrivers to do." This group tends to want to "play" more on the computer. However, I am encouraging those labs to take seriously the opportunity that time affords them. The kids will feel like they are "playing on the computer" with just about any good program. So create a plan and do some teaching... please.

Chapter 10: Christian education and the Internet

I occasionally hear from a church "wiring their computer lab" for the Internet. I'm on the Internet everyday, I routinely look for good Christian websites, and have folks calling my attention to sites. There isn't enough out there for kids yet, especially of a non-fundamentalist flavor (if you’re a not a fundamentalist). I believe we are still years away from being able to adequately and safely say "it's time for the average Sunday School to use the Internet."

www.sundaysoftware.com is my company’s website. We carry all the software we like, and produce free teaching materials and articles to support it all. If you have any questions about teaching with computers, consult my website, or give me a call at 1-800-678-1948.

Update to the Book: Computers, Kids and Christian Education, by Neil MacQueen
Copyright 2003, All rights reserved. I encourage you to print this page and keep it in the front of the book.
Resource centers are encouraged to copy this page.