• Can train in multiple locations and time zones

• Asynchronous, folk do not necessarily have to be online together

• Expert can stay in one location and train many others (with help of local tutors)

• Multiple media (text, audio, video etc) can be used

• Forums, egroups, discussion boards, blogs, online quizzes, gradebooks and surveys

• Can build large interactive learning communities

• Some very good free /low cost software

• Daily or weekly text emails to egroup (very low bandwidth)

• Emails with small doc/pdf attachments (very low bandwidth)

• Downloadable ebooks – pdf, KeeBoo, etc (low bandwidth)

• Html and pdf files online (low to medium bandwidth)

• PowerPoints, Flash (medium bandwidth)

• Audio download (medium to high bandwidth, generally reliable)

• Streaming audio (medium to high bandwidth, 50% reliable)

• Video (high bandwidth, often still unreliable)

• Torrent files / peer-to-peer networks (for very large files, improves download speed)

• External Hard-Drives – can fit 100Gb + of information, put whole MA on HDD and give to training center.
  

ONLINE + OFFLINE
There are important synergies between online and offline education. This is particularly true when you have one highly competent instructor online and many tutors offline. In Korea David Yonggi Cho preaches online and cell groups view the material and bible study leaders tutor face-to-face, church giving is by Paypal etc online. Centralized online training can help ell group and house church movements stay on track and resource church-based bible colleges. Also movement-wide material such as songs, logos, worship material, policies can be centralized. Online. Most people prefer to study in a motivating small group, but are happy to download the study materials from a website.

• Internet resourced cell groups, house churches, & church-based bible schools

• Standardized curriculum online, content, resources and "library" online

• Some apostolic oversight online

• Highly specialized discussions in egroups

• Relationship building offline, face to face, groups

• DVD material offline, also on external HDD

• Worship songs online – downloaded for offline use

• Giving via Paypal & Ikobo

FREE EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
There are now a wide range of excellent free educational packages and UNESCO keeps track of them. Most packages include egroups, discussion forums, assessment drop-boxes, student journals and blog software. The larger packages have active support forums and you can readily get help with installation and functions and most are now "cross-platform". You can install in an hour and upload your content in a day or so. Then you have your own online bible college! Having a "friendly techie" about is a good idea though.

• See UNESCO list of courseware – just Google UNESCO Courseware

• Compare packages at: www.cmsmatrix.org & www.opensourcecms.com

• Moodle – very popular, many features www.moodle.org

• Interact – very simple to use, fully featured http://sourceforge.net/projects/cce-interact

• Spaghetti Learning – popular, claims to be straightforward www.spaghettilearning.com

• Asian Internet Bible Institute www.aibi.ph

• Harvestime Institute www.harvestime.org

• John-Mark Ministries http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

• Internet Christian Library http://www.iclnet.org/

• Christian Classics Ethereal Library - www.ccel.org/

• StrategicNetwork www.strategicnetwork.org

• MIT Open Courseware http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

• E-Sword Bible software www.e-sword.net

• Techmission/AC4 www.techmission.org

• Using Internet cafes and computer centers as urban outreach and training venues

• For inner cities (charity model) www.techmission.org

• As missions bases in developing nations (business as mission model) www.cybermission.org/icafe/