Logos m.Ed vs free online resources

From what I can tell, Logos Mobile Education is 9 video lecture "courses" that are "designed to leverage the power of Logos Bible Software". However, Logos admits that the "videos are essentially the course". These lessons are then sprinkled with information on "how professors came to their conclusions and how students can use Logos to do similar research". This doesn't really sound ground breaking - or worth $1,000 dollars. I can do this without much help on my own with many of the free and outstanding video lecture "courses" online.

For instance, The Master's Seminary has many of their courses online for free. Also, Bill Mounce has gathered some amazing video/audio courses at his website BiblicalTraining.org. And those who have searched iTunes will attest to the plethora of great free resources there too.

I'm I missing something here? Why is this worth the hefty price tag?

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Comments

Josh

Here is Dallas Theological Seminary courses on iTunes.

Bryan Hart

From what I can see, I think the main thing that separates m.Ed from traditional courses has to do with the model of education. From my background, most lectures (especially online lectures) only work on the model of pouring information into the student's mind. Logos seems to be making these courses with the idea of helping students take charge of the learning experience themselves. I saw somewhere that the course transcripts will allow students to do logos-type studies on all the course information. I would love to see this as the model for actual classroom settings where students learn the content using videos and the connection with Logos so that colleges can "flip" the classroom in order to make classroom time focus on going deeper. (Sounds like a better integration than something like Khan Academy).

These are my two cents...but I really like where this whole idea of mobile education can go: course certifications for non-degree students, hopefully accreditation in the future, and the possibility of flipping traditional classrooms.

Bob Pritchett

There are lots of great educational resources out there at all different price points. I think you'll find that certain programs are better for different people.

There will be a lot more detail about the Logos Mobile Ed program online soon; in the meantime, you can get a feeling for the difference in style by watching preview videos. Compare:

http://www.theologicalresources.org/the-masters-seminary/20-old-testament-studies-i/

to the OT101 preview at:

https://www.logos.com/product/33458/logos-mobile-education-bible-and-doctrine-foundations-bundle

Note that the Logos Mobile Ed preview includes a preview of the 'using Logos' video that accompanies the videos. The Logos version also comes with a full-transcript, reading assignments (that you can read within the Logos program), assessment questions, etc.

The faculty for Logos Mobile Ed come from various seminaries -- you're getting great teaching from well-known, well-respected teachers. (You may even see the same prof in Logos Mobile Ed and in their school's online videos.) Among the differences, though, are that the Logos Mobile Ed faculty are drawn from many schools, not just one, and that Logos Mobile Ed is carefully edited into clear, concise segments around natural-length discussion topics. Most of the free online video from schools is "camera on a tripod in the back of the classroom" video. It's constrained to class length, not at all edited, and full of 'administrivia' overhead.

I suppose that if you want the "I went to seminary" experience, the tripod method is preferable -- you can soak in all 30 hours in the classroom in real-time, just like you were there! Complete with "remember I'll be out next Tuesday" updates from last year. :-) But some people may prefer the more tightly-edited, reading-integrated, Logos-how-to-supplemented, version in Logos Mobile Ed.

-- Bob

Bryan Hart

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530842#Comment_530842

I like the focus here Bob. It seems like it should be a better way to learn for more in-depth oriented students than just going through the lecture material alone. I am a huge fan of seeing improvements to education, especially Biblical education.

I am sure we will see this stuff in the future, but what are your thoughts on the vision of the program?

Thanks for all you and the rest of the team do!

Josh

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530842#Comment_530842

There are lots of great educational resources out there at all different price points. I think you'll find that certain programs are better for different people.

There will be a lot more detail about the Logos Mobile Ed program online soon; in the meantime, you can get a feeling for the difference in style by watching preview videos. Compare:

http://www.theologicalresources.org/the-masters-seminary/20-old-testament-studies-i/

to the OT101 preview at:

https://www.logos.com/product/33458/logos-mobile-education-bible-and-doctrine-foundations-bundle

Note that the Logos Mobile Ed preview includes a preview of the 'using Logos' video that accompanies the videos. The Logos version also comes with a full-transcript, reading assignments (that you can read within the Logos program), assessment questions, etc.

The faculty for Logos Mobile Ed come from various seminaries -- you're getting great teaching from well-known, well-respected teachers. (You may even see the same prof in Logos Mobile Ed and in their school's online videos.) Among the differences, though, are that the Logos Mobile Ed faculty are drawn from many schools, not just one, and that Logos Mobile Ed is carefully edited into clear, concise segments around natural-length discussion topics. Most of the free online video from schools is "camera on a tripod in the back of the classroom" video. It's constrained to class length, not at all edited, and full of 'administrivia' overhead.

I suppose that if you want the "I went to seminary" experience, the tripod method is preferable -- you can soak in all 30 hours in the classroom in real-time, just like you were there! Complete with "remember I'll be out next Tuesday" updates from last year. :-) But some people may prefer the more tightly-edited, reading-integrated, Logos-how-to-supplemented, version in Logos Mobile Ed.

-- Bob

Thanks for responding Bob. I do not doubt that a lot of time and money went into the production of this product. The previews demonstrate that quite well. Surely the price is set at $1,000 dollars because of all the work that went into the videos. This I fully understand. However, I think it would be fair to assume that the most important part of these videos is the knowledge they give to the viewer. As it is, this same knowledge can be gathered for free by any student doing a simple Google search. Therefore, my concern is whether or not the HD camera work and lecture "extras" add significantly enough to these videos to justify paying a grand. From the previews it's hard to tell. They almost look like glorified Powerpoint presentations.

Basically, it would be nice to have a more thorough preview. Like being able to watch a whole lecture (with access to all the goodies). This would certainly allow people to make a better decision if this product is for them or not.