Teaching and Technology in CWC

In recent years our ever-innovative faculty have done much to integrate teaching technology and multimedia into their large group presentations, and to supplement the course with online content.

Classroom Technology

The CWC lecture hall (CC 313) is now equipped with a computer terminal, DVD/VCR player, sound system, and an ELMO overhead projector that can display any image or document the instructor wants. Many profs regularly use Microsoft PowerPoint to present information, images, and even songs and film clips during large group. Some have also used Turning Point (in class) and Flashlight (online) to do quick surveys of student opinion and knowledge.

Films

In the summer of 2005, CWC professors Sam Mulberry and Chris Gehrz produced a nearly hour-long film, CWC: The Movie, which we sometimes use to introduce the course on the first day of the semester. Part One is a history of the course shot by Prof. Mulberry in an affectionate tribute to the distinctive style of documentary filmmaker Ken Burns (The Civil War, Baseball, The War). This section features interviews with the four founders of CWC (historians Kevin Cragg and Neil Lettinga, English professor Dan Taylor, and biblical studies professor Mike Holmes), plus archival footage and photos. Part Two is a mildly serious report on the "three big CWC questions," featuring Prof. Gehrz as an investigative journalist working under the influence of Monty Python...

In 2006-07 Mulberry/Gehrz added two more films to their oeuvre: a music video featuring Prof. Gehrz's updated take on an old CWC tradition, the "St. Augustine Rap"; and Prof. Mulberry's animated version of "The Reformation Polka." Their newest short film premiered last November: a parody of the old "Peabody and Boy" cartoons on Rocky and Bullwinkle featuring the Italian astronomer Galileo (and the vocal talents of several CWC faculty members).

Podcasting

CWC has been online in some form for the past decade. Students regularly use the course's site available through Blackboard, the course management software used by Bethel. And in the fall of 2006, the CWC faculty took the next step into the online world by developing a podcast.

"CWC: The Radio Show"

Our weekly podcast stars CWC faculty Chris Gehrz and Sam Mulberry. Each episode runs for about 45 minutes and features discussion of contemporary issues and popular culture, announcements related to the course, games, student e-mails, and interviews with faculty, student groups, and chapel speakers. Last year's guests included popular authors Greg Boyd, Shane Claiborne, and Edward Gilbreath. This year we have already talked to new Bethel campus pastor Laurel Bunker and CWC instructor Amy Poppinga, a specialist on Islamic studies.