Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Have you heard of MyCatholicVoice.com? It’s a great new Web site that is kind of like the Catholic YouTube. Here’s what the site says about itself:
Launched in February 2008, MyCatholicVoice is your online Catholic resource for personal inspiration and community ministry.
Designed to capture, organize and share the tradition of the Catholic church for the next millennium, the site features a broad range of current and historical material that speaks most to you.
MyCatholicVoice invites you to…
- …ask questions
- …find inspiration
- …create conversation
- …listen to great music
- …share your thoughts
- …connect with people
- …seek your truth
- …participate in the global Church
- …see beyond the pew
- …explore tradition
- …find your voice
- …visit a safe place online
- …explore what matters most to you
I thought I’d try my hand at MyCatholicVoice, so I uploaded the brief segment that introduces my DVD Welcome to God’s Library: Introducing Catholics to the Bible. Check it out:
http://www.mycatholicvoice.com/media/view/snRY2s
Showing a segment of the DVD Jesus of Nazareth worked out beautifully last night.
As I mentioned yesterday, I showed the segment beginning with the Way of the Cross, leading up to the end of the film as the Risen Christ assures his apostles (and us) that he will be with us always. This is about 40 minutes.
I paused the video frequently, pointing out information and asking questions and inviting the young people to ask questions. They indeed had a number of very good questions about Jesus’ death and Resurrection. It made for a very good educational and formative experience. We talked about Nicodemus, Mary Magdelene, the act of crucifixion, the Pharisees, Mary the Mother of Jesus, Veronica who wiped the face of Jesus, the “good thief” (”Dismas”), Jesus crying out “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” the apostle John, Peter’s denial, the Jewish burial customs, and the question of whether or not Jesus could have been “spared” this gruesome death. Kids can get into some heavy stuff, eh?
From there, we went right into a reflective prayer, focusing on the story of the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus. The young people were extremely well-behaved (it helps when 2 of the usual trouble-makers are not present) and prayerful.
Back to Jesus of Nazareth, this is a good way to use video in religious education. Be sure to preview the DVD ahead of time and find points at which to pause it and ask and invite questions. It transforms the young people’s mindset from one of being passively entertained to one of being actively engaged in learning. Jesus of Nazareth is a good resource for catechesis because it is quite faithful to Scripture for the most part and, where it isn’t, it allows you the opportunity to point out what Scripture actually does teach. Our young people are so visually-oriented, it is good to provide them with visuals of the Gospel.
The Powerpoint presentation I did last night on Church history went very nicely. First, I would say that the kids were intrigued at the notion of a “high-tech” religion class. They got a very clear message that “something was up” for that night’s class. It’s always good to communicate the message, as they arrrive, that “there is most definitely a plan for this session and I need YOU to fit into that plan ASAP!”
Second, providing the young people with a note-taking sheet (fill-in the blanks) was absolutely crucial to keeping them active instead of passive. All they had to do was fill in some names and dates that I left blank on the sheet. Knowing that they had a task to perform while I was performing my task kept them on focus and well-behaved (for the most part…remember, kids are kids and I absolutely DO have to stop every once in a while to get their attention back). I found it interesting that, even though we do not grade in our program and there will not be a test (and I never told them that I would collect the note-taking sheet), they felt compelled to complete it properly, even asking at various points if I could clarify a certain item that they missed.
Third, the presentation was not a straight lecture. I did a lot of back-and-forth throughout, asking them questions and inviting them to guess what some of the slides are talking about. With this interaction, we were actually only able to get through three-fifths of the timeline. I could have done a bit more but they kept reminding me to save time for our guided meditation. (I’m not so naive as to believe that they are all begging to meditate. They like the idea of getting out of their desks, spreading out on the floor, turning the lights down, and having some quiet time. For some, I’m sure it’s just a chance to zone out. But I know that the Holy Spirit is reaching them in some way, shape, or form. The bottom line is, if 8th graders are insisting that we include time for prayer, I’ll take it!!!) Anyway, we will finish the timeline next week.
Finally, doing the Powerpoint created a bit of a stir that I’m sure the kids noticed. Our DRE stopped in to observe for a while and to add a few thoughts of her own. That made an impression on them. Then, one of my 8th grade catechist colleagues arranged to have the DRE watch his class for a while so that he could sit in for about 10 minutes to observe. Again, I can’t help but think that the young people take notice of adults showing such great interest in catechesis. I think that speaks volumes. They see that we are committed to finding the best ways to proclaim the Gospel and that we have enthusiasm for this ministry.
I’ve decided that the best way to make the Powerpoint available for download is to invite anyone who is interested to send me an e-mail requesting the file. I’ll also be happy to send you the note-taking sheet. Contact me at joe@catechistsjourney.com. Be aware of the fact that the Powerpoint file is large and may take some time to download depending on what type of service you have.
Again, I want to reiterate the fact that I’m not proposing that all catechists need to be creating Powerpoint presentations for their sessions. Few of us have time to do so and many of our parishes do not have the equipment. However, the technology is available and can be used effectively and I know that some catechists are very computer savvy and can utilize this approach very easily. The overall message is that we commit ourselves to sharpening our techniques, whatever our style may be, so that we can engage our young people in the most effective manner. We’re working with the best material available - the Gospel! - so we need to devote lots of attention to how we are transmitting the message!
I’m going to try something different tonight. I’ve put together a Powerpoint presentation on Church history. It’s the first time I’ll be using this technology in this particular setting (a weekly religious education session).
If you don’t know what a Powerpoint presentation is, here is a brief explanation:
PowerPoint is a graphics program by Microsoft that allows you to produce a professional-looking presentation made up of a series of “slides.” The slide presentation, which can contain graphics and images, is prepared on your computer and then, through an LCD projector, is projected onto a screen. This type of slide presentation can be useful for providing an outline and highlights of your lesson as a visual aid. Likewise, you can design a meditation using a PowerPoint presentation, inviting your participants to reflect on inspirational images set to reflective music.
I want to emphasize that I would not expect catechists in general to feel that they have to prepare Powerpoint presentations! Most folks do not have the time to put something like this together. Because catechesis is my full-time job, I have the opportunity to do so. For the very same reason, I plan to make this Powerpoint presentation available for downloading for those who might want to use it. I just have to check with the web folks to see how this is best done. Stay tuned.
I also put together a note-taking sheet for the young people to use during the presentation so that they are actively engaged and not just passively watching. The sheet utilizes fill-in spaces so that the young people need to pay attention to the presentation and find the correct info to record on their sheet.
After the presentation (which, all told, could last about 45 minutes), we’ll move into our prayer experience for the evening, reflecting on how the same Holy Spirit that has been present to the Church throughout history is present to each of us in our everyday lives.
The first parish I worked in, St. Mary of the Assumption (Chicago), had a fairly substantial resource library of videos that could be used in religious education. Likewise, when I taught high school religion, we had a large collection of videos to use in religion classes.
I realize that we often don’t have that much time in our classes however, showing a good video can be a very effective means of engaging those we teach.
What video(s) would you recommend as a “must see” for religious education? Tell us the name of the video, the company it’s from, the topic, and what grade/age level it is best suited for.
I look forward to hearing from you!!!
A recent innovation on the Internet is the popularity of Catholic video podcasts (a.k.a. vodcasts) that show up on YouTube and other media as a means to spread the faith. For example, Philadelphia’s archbishop Cardinal Justin Rigali used YouTube during Lent to provide brief video reflections on the gospels and recieved thousands of hits (visits).
I’m wondering about how catechists might be able to use YouTube to reach those we teach, not in place of teaching in person, but as a complement to it. Might catechists offer a brief reflection each week? A few practical suggestions for how to live the lesson taught that week? A brief summary of the lesson taught or a brief preview of the upcoming lesson? A question to ponder for the upcoming session?
I also wonder about legal issues and safe environment issues. What would catechists need to be most aware of in these areas to ensure that children are protected? What oversight do the DRE and pastor need to have? Catechists are agents of the parish community, not independent practicioners. What ramifications might this have on the extent to which a catechist can “teach” through YouTube?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue that I find truly fascinating and filled with potential.
News from Terrie Wepner at the Jegen Center for Catechetical Media & Research in Chicago:
Youth Specialties recommended www.wingclips.com for short clips of inspirational movies to use in lessons. You can subscribe for free or pay $12/month for better quality clips and tech support. They also offer a theme index that looks helpful.
We live in a new age, don’t we? There is so much available to us on the Internet that we, as catechists, can take advantage of. I’ve provided a list of links to a lot of my favorite Catholic Web sites in the right hand column of my blog’s homepage. I hope you get a chance to peruse some of them to see how they can be of help to you in your catechesis. Of course, most of our textbook publishers provide excellent Web resources as well. I know that for the text book I am using (Finding God for junior high), I go to www.FindingGod.org to find lots of assistance.
What Catholic Web sites do you recommend for catechists to add to their links?
