There is skepticism among educators about character formation in online education. Many cannot imagine that real transformation can be achieved in any format other than in the traditional model of residential education with in-class face time. Profound spiritual formation, however, can and has happened through quality and effective learning in online education, according to Joanne Jung in her book Character Formation in Online Education: A Guide for Instructors, Administrators and Accrediting Agencies.
In Part One of the book, the author describes learning management systems, the characteristics of an online course and the characteristics of a successful online course teacher, recommending that online courses are best created in partnership with a skilled course designer who can ensure that the course takes advantage of an appropriate range of interactive technology while keeping the focus on the learning. Part Two discusses ways in which character formation can be integrated into the online learning experience, and Part Three considers ways of assessing and improving the effectiveness of online courses.
The book is fairly short, but easy to read. It is particularly suited for people who currently teach face-to-face Christian courses but are considering whether it is possible to offer those courses in an online format in a manner which does not compromise the quality of the learning experience, particularly those elements of character formation which are caught rather than taught. There are other books which give a more detailed description of the different things you can do with online courses, but this book gives a very carefully considered idea of how Christian spiritual formation can occur during such courses.