E-BIBLECLASS GUIDE
- WHY
Why Have A Big Screen Display?
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There are a lot of
benefits from having a computer display large enough for the whole Sunday
School class to see. Being able to project your computer's display
on the large screen makes all the features of your Bible software available
to the whole class. If your software has maps then the whole class
can see those maps. Your search abilities, dictionaries, cross references,
commentaries and other reference works are available.
Staying on the Same Page
There are many other
advantages as well. In many churches, class members will be reading
from a variety of translations.  A new student using a King James
Version Bible, for example, can find it pretty frustrating to try to follow
a teacher who is reading from a more modern translation. Displaying
the featured Bible text on a large screen helps keep the class together
and gives the opportunity for class members to compare different versions. The teacher can also instantly switch versions when he feels that a different
translation gives enhanced understanding.
It is easy for your class to get off track. Putting your discussion questions up on the screen helps keep the class
focused. Being able to display your class material on the screen
at your discretion allows better control of the flow of the class.
Maximize Resource Usage
The same
Bible software features that the teacher used to prepare his lesson can
often be used "on the fly" in the class. A really handy use of the
computer is for improving the teacher's ability to field questions. When a class member asks about the "tabernacle", for example, a teacher
can simply pull up the dictionary from their Bible software for a quick
definition. In some software the teacher can pull up a drawing, artist
rendering or even a 3D mock-up to show on the screen. Many Bible
software packages can make Hebrew and Greek dictionaries instantly available
if the teacher is so inclined. A lot of Bible software packages have
handy maps and other visuals that are very useful in a classroom setting.
How many
of us have been in class and thought "I know it talks about this in the
Bible somewhere but I just can't remember where!" A quick use of your Bible
software's search feature can bring the verse to the screen for everyone
to see.
Visual and Virtual Learning
The advent
of more and more multimedia religious software makes the use of the computer
in the classroom even more attractive. In a Christian Computing Magazine
review of the multimedia CDROM "Voyage Through the Bible" it was noted
that this software allows you to do a virtual walkthru of the temple and
other buildings. Such methods for Bible teaching have never before
been available to teachers.
 More
than Notes
In addition to simply
displaying the selected Bible Text on a large TV, it is easy to put class
discussion questions, "quotes of the day" or announcements on the big screen. Presentation software packages such as Microsoft PowerPoint or
Corel WordPerfect Presentations make it easy
to prepare slides for use to augment your study.
It's a snap to add
graphics to your computer slides. Making changes is also easy. Often I will get an idea within an hour of class time. It is simple
to add an additional discussion question or thought for the day.
I couldn't do that when I was printing out overhead transparencies. There just wasn't enough time to get it done but now I can even make last
minute changes. In addition, instead of straight black and white
transparencies or expensive color overheads I get bright colored graphics.
Making it Relevant
If you really want to get people's attention, use a scanner or digital camera and scan in pictures of your local church members or community
scenes as appropriate to enhance your presentation. Graphics and
pictures can really help build interest in your class. I once scanned
in a picture of a model of Herod's temple. Later I scanned in a picture
of our local church building. I used the computer to resize both
images to the same scale and put them together on the screen. The
resulting image instantly helped the class realize the immense size and
grandeur of the temple in a way they had never seen before.
It has been
clearly demonstrated that we learn a lot more when both our ears and eyes
are involved in the learning process. Color images generally have
more impact than black and white. Putting the message on the screen
helps improve the whole learning experience.
HOW-TO FOR THE SMALL CHURCH
Medium to large churches with large auditoriums should probably contract with one of the church video suppliers (See the banner ad on this page or a list of companies on our
links page) but small churches of less than 100 or so people and a small auditorium may not have the funds to pay for a full blown design. Click the link below to see a sample of what one small church bought to set up their own system.
Small Church Video Design.
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