Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24Why would an established publishing house that had long enjoyed success creating printed religion curricula for teens enter the fast- evolving world of online learning? BREAKING BOUNDARIES “Afew things were converg- ing,” said Saint Mary’s Press president and CEO John Vitek. Pedagogically, SMP, like the larger educational communi- ty, “was coming to understand the educational advantages of eLearning—online and blended learning—things that can’t be achieved face to face,” Vitek said. Vitek also cited another advan- tage with eLearning—something he calls an “evangelizing advan- tage.” “Mobile technology gives us a way to reach young people anytime and anywhere they are able and most ready to engage in the learning experience.” Vitek elaborated, “It doesn’t have to be only in ‘one place’ and at ‘one time.’ It can adapt to when and where a learner best learns.” REDUCING SOCIAL PRESSURE Educationally students gain specific benefits in eLearn- ing, according to Vitek. “Face to face, the gathered classroom setting has an inher- ent social pressure—the risk of embarrassment, sounding silly, fear of giving a wrong answer. Some of that risk is reduced and eliminated” with eLearning, he said, as young people may remain “anonymous, yet disclos- ing feelings and thoughts in a way that eliminates this sense of judgment from others.” When SMP piloted its eLearning courses, Vitek observed “young people in the classroom set- ting would at times be reluctant to share their thoughts, but when completing activities in the eLearning modules we saw students more willing to share openly and honestly. We heard evidence of this from teach- ers—they were amazed first that all of the students shared answers, and then by the depth and richness of their responses.” “In developing its eLearning, SMP consulted with Julian Stodd of Sea Salt Learning, an educational leader that helps organizations around the world develop ef- fective learning for people in a “social age.” Stodd affirmed the importance of providing a safe eLearning environment for teens to ask their questions and share SPARK // SMP.ORG/ELEARNING // 5 4 // SMP.ORG/ELEARNING // SPARK