[Ldsoss] Web-based Training

[Evan Stoddard]

Hello, all.  I'm new to this list, and this kind of thing isn't  
really natural to me, but my friend Charles Fry in my ward  
recommended that I subscribe and ask for your advice on a problem I'm  
trying to solve.

Earlier this year I was called by the presidency of the Seventy to  
serve as regional welfare specialist for the Pittsburgh PA Welfare  
Region, which consists of the three stakes and one mission district  
that take in all of western Pennsylvania and portions of western NY,  
eastern OH, and the WV panhandle.  It's a big territory, with a very  
low density of members of the Church.  (PA has the lowest density of  
Mormons of any state in the US, and western PA's density is lower  
than the state's average.)

I've been struggling with how to deliver effective training in  
welfare principles, policies and procedures to priesthood and Relief  
Society leaders in the region.  Of course, I can do some face-to-face  
training, say twice a year to each of the stakes/district, but  
realistically that's probably the limit.  This fall I've delivered  
three classes (10 sessions) by telephone conference call to about 140  
participants.  I've had up to 20-25 people in a single session.   
These telephone conference classes have worked (surprisingly) well,  
and I've gotten good responses on the evaluation forms I've asked  
people to complete after the classes.

But I'd like to move up a notch and would like to explore delivering  
synchronous Web-based training over the Web.  I'd like people to be  
able to view materials that we are discussing, go with me to Web  
sites, for example www.providentliving.org, see photos, read  
materials together, etc.  I want to maintain the ability to talk with  
one another, which has been the best part of the conference calls—the  
sharing of ideas and experiences.

I'm writing to ask if anyone involved in Church instruction is  
familiar with doing this kind of thing.  I work at Duquesne  
University, which is beginning to use a product called Horizon Wimba,  
which may well be the best tool for doing the kind of thing I have in  
mind.  But I thought before I contact that company to explore what  
they can do I thought I'd put the problem out there to a bunch of  
sympathetic and knowledgeable people to ask:

1.  Is there a precedent for this model in Church training that  
anyone knows of?
2.  If you were going to attempt something like this, where would you  
start?
3.  Are there other products comparable to Horizon Wimba that I  
should explore?
4.  How difficult and how expensive is an approach like this going to  
be?
5.  What kind of skills should I be looking for to help me pilot an  
approach like this?

Any other advice you have would be most appreciated.  Thanks in  
advance for your consideration.

Best wishes,

Evan Stoddard
Pittsburgh, PA