This announcement was posted earlier today to the Pedagogy & Technology Group:

Panel Discussion: Exegetical Software in the Classroom
The Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Room #210A
San Antonio, TX

Friday, November 19, 2004
1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Registration:
Attendance is free and no registration is necessary. This discussion is an offering of The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) 2004 Annual Meeting. You must be registered for the SBL annual meeting in order to participate in the discussion. To register for the annual meeting click here.

The purpose and direction of this panel discussion has been set by a group of educators from theological institutions in the Philadelphia area who met in July 2004 to start an on going discussion that would help those involved make more effective use of computer tools in their teaching. If you would like to join those involved in
the July 2004 meeting in an online discussion click here. This online group is also the best place to go with any suggestions or questions you have regarding the SBL panel discussion.

Format:
Each member of a panel will give a brief presentation on his/her use of exegetical software as a tool for instruction. This presentation will be followed by moderated questions and answers.

Some questions panelists will discuss include:
1. How do you ensure students are learning Greek or Hebrew and not just the software?
2. Pedagogically, how does your teaching change with a classroom full of laptops?
3. Whose responsibility (e.g. Greek/Hebrew prof, librarian, etc.) is it to teach the students the proper use of these new tools?
4. How can we use the tools to aid in retention of the languages?
5. Can these tools help in non-language courses, and if so, how?
6. How do these tools fit into our “outcome based” educational assessments?
7. What does a sustainable skill set include?

Panel Coordinator:
Joseph Fleener
Director of Library Services
Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary
Lansdale, Pa.

Panel Members:
Rodney J. Decker
Assoc. Professor of New Testament
Baptist Bible Seminary
Clarks Summit, Pa.

Tom Findley
Professor of Old Testament and Semitics
Talbot Seminary
La Mirada, Calif.

Rodney Whitacre
Professor of Biblical Studies
Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry
Sewickley, Pa.

Tim Bulkeley, who recently attended the 7th congress of the Association Internationale Bible et Informatique is beginning to report on this “colloquium.” I wonder if the presentations are going to be made available either in print or online. At any rate, two of the topics that immediately caught my attention were Ferdinand Poswick’s “The Bible in the civilisation of the electronic writing: an evaluation (1985-2004)”, and D. Noel’s “Literary Approach with Statistical methods.” I hope Tim will let us know more about the panel discussion he was involved in. He’s probably still recovering from jetlag!

Update (July 30): Paul Nikkel was kind enough to leave a comment with a link to an abstract of Ferdinand Poswick’s presentation. He also lets me know that some comments should be posted on deinde shortly. Thanks!

These are the most interesting events, as far as Bible software is concerned, planned for this year’s SBL
meeting (San Antonio, TX, November 20-23):

S19-1
Bible Technologies Group
11/19/2004
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room: Room #212A – San Antonio Convention Center
Robert Hodgson, American Bible Society, Presiding
Patrick Durusau, Society of Biblical Literature, Presiding
Eugene Nida, American Bible Society
The Modern Translator (45 min)
Mike Perez, American Bible Society
Bible Engagement Tools (45 min)
Break (15 min)
Steven Derose, Bible Technologies Group
Introduction to OSIS (45 min)
OSIS Panel Discussion
Steven Derose, Bible Technologies Group, Panelist
Patrick Durusau, Society of Biblical Literature, Panelist
Mike Perez, American Bible Society, Panelist

S19-52
Biblical Exegetical Software in the Classroom — Integration 101
11/19/2004
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Room: Room #210A – San Antonio Convention Center
Joseph M. Fleener, Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary, Presiding
Mark Futato, Reformed Theological Seminary, Panelist (10 min)
Rodney A. Whitacre, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, Panelist (10 min)
Thomas J. Finley, Talbot School of Theology, Panelist (10 min)
Discussion (60 min)

S19-101
BibleWorks Workshop — Using Its Features and Resources to the Fullest
11/19/2004
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Room: Room #210A – San Antonio Convention Center

S20-108
Computer Assisted Research
11/20/2004
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Room: Room #207 – San Antonio Convention Center
Theme: Digital Hermeneutics
James R. Adair, Jr., Religion and Technology Center, Presiding
Peter C. Patton, University of St. Thomas and Richard A. Wright, Emory University
Discovering and Displaying Structure in Hebrew Poetry (30 min)
George Yaeger, Aster Institute
Development of a Noun Phrase Translation Memory Database for Classical Biblical Hebrew (30 min)
Catherine J. Smith, University of Birmingham and Matthew Brook O’Donnell, University Of Surrey Roehamptom
Evaluating Electronic Synopses: The Current State of Play and Future Directions (30 min)
Ken Penner, McMaster University
Toward a Method of Tagging Hebrew Tense, Aspect, and Mood (30 min)
Business Meeting (30 min)

S21-113
Computer Assisted Research
11/21/2004
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Room: Room #207 – San Antonio Convention Center
Theme: Networked Pedagogy
Keith H. Reeves, Azusa Pacific University, Presiding
Alfred Benney, Fairfield University
Designing Techno-pedagogical Strategies for Teaching Religion – Or Not! (30 min)
Julye Bidmead, Miami University (OH) and Deborah A. Appler, Vanderbilt University
Connecting to “Wired” Students: Multimedia, Interactive Approaches to Teaching Biblical Studies (30 min)
Steve Mason, York University (Toronto)
Possibilities of an On-line Commentary: The Case of Flavius Josephus (30 min)
David B. Howell, Ferrum College and Peggy Cowan, Maryville College
Text and Context: Connecting Students with the Historical, Social, and Cultural Realities that Shape the Practice and Texts of Religion (30 min)
Tim Seid, Earlham School of Religion
Digital Quaker Collection: Directing Out-sourced Technology at the Cutting-Edge (30 min)
To look for more information about the program, please go here.

This just in:

Make plans now to attend the first WORDsearch Pastor’s Conference: Preaching and Teaching To Change Lives. Come ready to be inspired, informed and
instructed. Dress casual and prepare to RELAX in the beautiful resort community of Lago Vista, Texas, nestled on the shores of Lake Travis (…)
Enjoy networking and fellowship with other WORDsearch, Bible Explorer, and Bible Navigator users like yourself, and get an insider’s preview of what’s ahead. WORDsearch software developers and personnel will be on hand to answer your questions and give you personal attention.

The dates are Sept 28 – Oct 1. For more information, click here.

The 55th Annual CBA International Meeting will take place June 26 – July 1, 2004 at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA, USA. Most major Bible software companies will be exhibiting their latest products there.

Further to my previous post on the subject, the two events I mentioned are moving forward. Tim Bulkeley is “organising a session with a series of short presentations and panel discussion around the topic ‘How does an electronic communication environment change the way we do biblical studies?’” to be presented at the seventh conference of the Association Internationale Bible et Informatique (Leuven, Belgium, 23-24 July 2004). For a list of participants and subjects, see here.

As for Joe Fleener, this is what he’s written about the forthcoming Professor’s Forum on Exegetical Software in Classroom Instruction, to be held at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary (Lansdale, PA, 9 July, 2004):

With the growth and development of electronic tools (such as BibleWorks, Accordance, Logos, etc.) professors are rethinking pedagogy.

- How do we make use of these “new” tools in the classroom?
- How can these “new” tools help me prepare for teaching?
- How can we instruct our students so that these “new” tools are a help and not a hindrance to their language development?

Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary will be hosting a one day “Professor’s Forum” to discuss many of these questions. Please join us for a time of networking and focused discussion centered on this very important topic.

More information is found here or in this PDF flyer.

My offer to host a similar online event still stands, but I think we are all too busy right now, so it would probably be better to get some feedback on these meetings first, and then see if we can arrange something. BTW, apparently, there is a similar seminar being planned for next SBL annual meeting later this year. I’ll let you know more about it if/when I get more information.