Learn the In's and Out's of L4

Hmm, you think there is a need for a class on using Logos 4... a beginners guide?  

I am offering a non-credit 7 week course on using Bible software this Fall, specifically targeting Logos use.  It will be interesting to find out how much we can actually accomplish in those 7 weeks. 

JJ

JJ Miller said:

Hmm, you think there is a need for a class on using Logos 4... a beginners guide?

Well, there is already Morris Proctor's "Camp Logos" seminars, which I believe he is working on producing as a training DVD. See his website for info: MP Seminars. He is the only official trainer sanctioned by Logos. He also sells training manuals.

There is also a former Logos employee who has made his own training DVDs on Logos 4. I can't remember his name, nor do I know whether Logos really wants us linking to his site. But you can probably find it by Googling Logos 4 training videos or something like that.

There was a Crystal Scholar QuickStart guide that Logos made available for Logos 2.1 -- still downloadable here. But as far as I know, nobody has produced any such thing for Logos 4 yet. It's a niche waiting to be filled!

Carl Bosma, of Calvin Theological Seminary, with the assistance of some of his students, wrote a very thorough Manual for Using Libronix 3.0 (Logos 3.0) which is available for purchase on Scribd but it's unfortunately obsolete now. We can hope he and his students will produce an update for 4.0. There's an interview with Prof. Bosma on Logos's blog, and they were quite impressed with his manual, even though it was unaffiliated with them. Perhaps they should engage his services to write them a top-notch manual for 4.0. [:)]  EDIT: But sadly, it too would probably be obsolete by the time it comes out. (That's the problem with outsourcing all your user education materials, which has always been Logos's practice.)

Videos?  Manuals? and Camp Logos trainings?  I haven't considered trying to replicate any of these. 

Thanks for the responses.   To clarify, I am looking to teach Logos 4 to absolute beginners in the local church.  

This will be NOT LIKELY be anything that someone would want on video or in a manual.  I have been a teacher for 25 years in Higher Ed (started in El Ed) and my goal is to allow lay people the opportunity to benefit from Bible Study software.  

I have been to Camp Logos twice, but these are not the things that most would need help with... Camp Logos is great when you have a goodly bit of information about Biblical Studies and about Logos, and want to tweak that and get to the next level.  John Fallahee's videos are also great, so I don't want to try to replicate anything that Morris or John does.  Rather, I was thinking that Logos will have an appeal outside of the Seminary classroom and the pastor's study.  But how to bring newbie users up to speed?  How to help them use Logos for SS preparation, personal study ,prayer and devotions, etc, etc.  

That is my goal... at least initially. 

JJ

JJ Miller said:

Videos?  Manuals? and Camp Logos trainings?  I haven't considered trying to replicate any of these. 

Thanks for the responses.   To clarify, I am looking to teach Logos 4 to absolute beginners in the local church.  

Sorry, I didn't mean you should try to replicate any of those. Just pointing out what's already out there (which it appears you already know lots about) so that you didn't reinvent the wheel. But it looks like you'll be creating your own class based on your own knowledge of Logos, and that will be useful for the newbies you train. I would start with some very simple concepts which they might be able to connect to some past print-based experiences. For example, probably many people have used or seen a concordance (some study Bibles have a mini one at the back), or at least know what one is. So you could explain that with Logos you don't need a concordance because Logos can speedily build a concordance-like report for you on the fly, for whatever Bible version you prefer. Then you'd show them how to use Bible search and the "Aligned" results view in particular. I imagine you'll end up blending a bit of instruction in Logos with general teaching on how to do a personal Bible study. There are some good resources in Logos that could help with the latter, such as The Handbook to Bible Study. Or you might want to teach them some other established Bible study method such as Precepts Inductive Bible Study method, and show them how to use Logos to do that.

Sounds like a great project to prepare and teach this class. All the best with it!

Is there a way to copy the videos made by Logos users and save them to a portable drive that I can play on another computer?

Floyd Johnson said:

Any chance of creating video of the class as you teach?

Good videos? No, I don't think there is a chance.  Bad video from a camera stuck in a corner?  Sure, I can do that.  However, this isn't going to be anything that anyone will want to see on video. Most of the participants are average mom's and Dads who have little computer background. Most of the class will involve me checking to see if they made it to the right screen or not.     Or explaining why their antivirus should be updated.  Or why Java wants to update.  Ugh.  I can't imagine what else. The goal will be to introduce them to two programs: First, a free Bible Study program. Two, to get them a basic install of a few bibles and dictionary and commentary, etc and get them in Logos. The rest of the class will be exploring the benefits of Logos for simple devotions, prayer lists, and for pulling together a SS lesson.  4 or 5 Bible Study methods will be explored and demonstrated. 

Ronald Quick said:

Is there a way to copy the videos made by Logos users and save them to a portable drive that I can play on another computer?

Yes, I believe there are several programs that will do exactly that.  Real Player (free download) will grab most any videos that are on youtube and other places. If you go to CNET's Download.com you will be able to search for other programs that will do the trick.  Now, you might want to check with Logos to see if this violates any of their use policies.  We want to be sure that we are not talking about stealing copyrighted  information...but rather having freely distributable videos also available for offline viewing from your hard drive.  

JJ  

JJ Miller said:

Good videos? No

Understood - I did not realize the context in which you were going to be teaching.  Thank you for the followup.

Debbie Howard said:

Is this an online class by any chance?

Not that I've heard of. However, this is an old thread. There's been a lot of videos made for Logos 4 since then.

See: http://wiki.logos.com/Logos_4_Video_Tutorials

I suggest starting with Mark Barnes' Logos tutorial videos.

JJ Miller said:

I am offering a non-credit 7 week course on using Bible software this Fall, specifically targeting Logos use.  It will be interesting to find out how much we can actually accomplish in those 7 weeks. 

Using this as an example (and without any comments on the idea, which I think is excellent), what are the legal implications of selling a course with material carrying the Logos logo, or handbooks in which you use screenshots from Logos? Would you just put a standard disclaimer identifying their trademarks as belonging to them, or would you seek permission first? This stuff is academic to me since I live in Taiwan, far away from Morrie Proctor, Camp Logos, and where there is no market for Logos instruction (at least, in English, and almost none even in Chinese), but I'm interested in knowing how this works.