I often wonder – after all the workshops, articles, mentoring that I’ve done over the years – how have I (and others) inspired catechists to be Digital Disciples? As I reflected on this question, I thought – INTERACTIVE CONNECTIONS has the means to draw folks together to share their stories and to interact with the audience who joins them to share their stories. We do not need to get on a plane, train, or automobile to travel anywhere. We can network and connect with one another, regardless of where we live, with digital tools.
In addition, since the founding of Digital Catechesis in 2011, we have grown to over 900+ members. Some members are very active and some are on the sidelines. It would be my hope that the family of Digital Disciples are growing within this group. And what it means to be a Digital Disciple will have a unique meaning for each person.
For some, they will be the parish webmaster, developing the parish website. For others, they will be catechists and teachers with children, adolescents, young adults, and adults who are stepping into the digital world utilizing the digital methodology that now surrounds us in our everyday lives.
As we adapt to this ever evolving digital world, we will be innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards! Even the medical field uses this language. In a recent article that I read about medical clinicians, I love the line “Groups of clinicians change slowly, even when a change is obviously the best course of action. The Technology Adoption Curve, models the time required to achieve group buy-in for a technology, whether it’s a stethoscope or an EMR.” We can say the same about catechists and others involved in ministry.
I am an innovator! I am infatuated with technology. I try things before training is available. I am habitually drawn to new technologies (and invite others to join me) to build on them and apply to faith formation in new ways. I trust that I am nurturing the early adapters so that they will step into this digital world and despite feeling any fear they may have, they will be creative and productive.
And my curiosity has inspired me to invite these early adapters to share their story. How? Through “Show ‘N Tell,” a webinar style of sharing our stories with one another in the hopes of creating a network of stories that demonstrate how new tools can be used to share our faith stories with one another.
I was delighted to have Joe Mazzeo email me with his request to share what he is doing with his pre-Confirmation students.
Joe Mazzeo
He is our first volunteer for a “Show ‘N Tell” webinar.
I first met Joe when I was facilitating the Digital Catechesis course offered through the University of Dayton’s Virtual Learning Community of Faith Formation. When I asked him – When did you first realize that technology is a tool that could be used to enhance your teaching of the faith with your pre-Confirmation students? He said, “When I noticed students becoming bored with the book/lecture/notes method. My students were watching videos and listening to music while I was trying to teach. I just wasn’t connecting. I tried a video clip from Busted Halo and the discussion just bloomed. Then I added some online questions and people did homework.”
Joe did a wonderful job in sharing his story. You can view the slides from his presentation below. As soon as the video is uploaded to Vimeo, I’ll add it to this page so that you can come and listen to what Joe has shared.
If anyone is interested in sharing their story, click on the button above. I’ll get back to you as quickly as I am able.
In the meantime, if you feel that you are or are slowly becoming a Digital Disciple, click the “Like” button.
A friend of mine recently sent me a link to a video “Magnificent” with a message “I found this video to help you celebrate Earth Day.”
Magnificent
Easter week I was with members of my religious community, the Sisters of St. Joseph, TOSF for our General Chapter sessions. We affirmed at that time the statement:
As FRANCISCANS centered on the revelation of the emerging COSMIC Christ, contemplating and celebrating this DIVINE action I our lives. Our deepest desires are to:
BUILD life-giving trusting communities that cherish each one’s personal gifts.
EMPOWER one another to live the truth of Gospel values.
BOND with others in ever-widening circles of compassion and peace.
SPEAK to the Church and to the world from our common understanding that there be no outcasts in our experience of life on this earth.
As I reflect on this statement getting ready to celebrate “Earth Day” I am reflecting on how our church reverences human life and the environment. You will find excellent resources in the area of Environment on the USCCB website. Why is the environment important! It supports our very lives – the air we breathe, the food we eat, and more. Without the right environment, it would be a challenge to live.
So, on this Earth Day – let us celebrate and give thanks for this wonderful earth. Some simple ways to share this event with others:
Share the video “Magnificent” with others on your Facebook page or simply email the link to them with your message.
If you are teaching or for children in your family, you can find Printable Earth Day Worksheets to print off for your children and take time to talk with them about the importance of caring for the Earth.
Of course, if you like this post, just click the “Like” button. Or take a moment to share how you are celebrating Earth Day with your family, friends, or students.
The Sunrise Mass held at Philipe Park in Safety Harbor, a short walk from Espiritu Santo Catholic Church is one of my favorite liturgies. Why? In the quiet of an Easter morning we walk in the dark to find our place and then the gift of a morning sunrise reminds us what it was like for Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome who were on their way to the tomb, just after sunrise.
Imagine their astonishment, as we ponder the words of Mark 16: 4-7:
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ “
Tampa Bay
So my Easter Week, begins at the edge of Tampa Bay. During this wonderful “Easter Week” I ponder the fact the “He has risen!” What does that really mean for me today in a culture that is surrounded by a variety of issues – being homeless, an immigrant, being cyberbullied, racism, drug abuse, child abuse, the environment, and more.
I invite each of you to share how you ponder this gift of the Lord now being alive in our everyday lives! Or take a moment to reflect on Seeing Myself in Jesus’ Death and Resurrection by Sister Bernadette Reis, fsp.
What does it mean to have the Lord with us always? Does this awareness assist us in being the presence where we share our gifts and talents to change some part of the world around us to be better than we first found it?
I guess I wonder, why do I celebrate this feast of Easter if I am not willing to be one who shares the Risen Lord with those I meet on a daily basis?
Do we see love, grace and more in the incredible life of Jesus, who says, “He is with us always?”
Of course, if you like this post, just click the “Like” button. Or take a moment to share how the Lord is with you in your everyday life.
If you have ever been in Jerusalem, you have probably experienced praying the Stations of the Cross winding your way through tight and narrow streets. I experienced this prayer journey in May during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The memory of the noise, people staring at us as they passed buy, and taking a turn at carrying the cross will not be forgotten. This is the journey that the Lord once took as he was condemned to die for us.
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So, in a digital world, how can we pray the Stations of the Cross in a meaningful way? Saint Mary’s Press is providing a wonderful way to do this with their – Virtual Meditations: Stations of the Cross.
Actively engage in prayer by using their cell phones, iPods, or iPads
Use videos to inspire their prayer
Use technology to help them understand and reflect on the Stations of the Cross
I just prayed the stations using my iPhone, what an incredible experience. Sitting quietly in my living room, I was able to view the virtual stations that were created by Busted Halo. In addition, a series of suggested videos were generated showing a title and a link became available. Imagine easily having access to a variety of clips related to the Stations of the Cross at your fingertips.
A Parish Youth Group Experience
While visiting Queen of Peace Catholic Community’s Pathfinders Youth Group, I experienced a parish comfortably using technology in prayer with their youth. Amy Barber, Middle School Youth Minister often uses technology in her sessions. I came to see for myself how she was doing this. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she easily adapted what could be an individual prayer experience into a group prayer experience. How? This parish has the vision of integrating technology into its worship space.
As you view the following slideshow, you will see how these students moved from station to station, first viewing the video and then praying together. Later I had the opportunity to ask these students what this experience was like for them. I heard comments like: “The video helps this prayer come alive for me.” “We’re media people, I love this prayer.” “I’ve done this prayer before and we used cards to read from, it was boring.” “I learned a lot today from the videos.”
What I learned from this experience of praying with this youth group, is that media makes sense to them. It grabs their attention. The visuals help them understand the story of the Passion and Death of Jesus and also relate it to today’s suffering world.
I witnessed these youth understanding and appreciating a traditional prayer experience offered with a contemporary method. Of course, as Holy Week approaches, they were encouraged to return to church with their family and friends with their mobile devices, with a QR Reader installed. I’d love to be a mouse in the corner of this church to see who returns to pray the Stations of the Cross using the Virtual Meditations.
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Of course, if you like this post, I’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a comment or question. Or, just click the “Like” button.
Within seconds I turned on the TV and with the world, I was waiting to be greeted by our new Pope. As I watched the audience in the square, there were numerous people holding up iPads, cell phones, and digital and video cameras as they recorded the announcement of “Habemus Papam” and the first greeting to the world by our new Pope Francis!
Within minutes, people were tweeting, emailing, blogging and announcing to their family, friends, and colleagues the historical event they were witnessing at this moment. Of course, the media giants were there as well. Yet, every one of us today has the capability (if we want) to communicate to our friends and families the top story of the day! What a wonderful and incredible world we live in!
If you were paying attention to the tweets, you would have noticed that there were tweets from President Barack Obama, Cardinal Dolan, Catholic Sun, John L. Allen, Jr., Father Shane Johnson, CBS News, and everyday folks like you and me. Regardless of where you were at – in Rome, in the USA, in South America, in Africa or wherever – the whole world was sharing and chatting with one another.
And this evening (3/13/13) I used Google Images to see what photos I could find about our new Pope. Of course, these images were downloaded to a variety of locations, and yet within a short period of time, they were e-catalogued and available to the world! Here they are…
Within minutes, there are photos, comments by others, and more available online for others to view and read. Even his first remarks are available to the world to go back and read, especially if you missed this historic moment.
I was especially moved by his reflection–
Now let’s begin this journey, bishop and people, this journey of the church of Rome, which is the one that presides in charity over all the churches — a journey of brotherhood, love and trust among us. Let us pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there be a great brotherhood. I hope this journey of the church that we begin today — and I will be helped by my cardinal vicar, here present — will be fruitful for the evangelization of this so beautiful city. (Pope Francis)
We have the capability today, to be brothers and sisters to one another despite the geographic distances that we often allow to separate us. We truly can be Digital Disciples, evangelizing one another in ways we have never imagined before!
So, we’re in the middle of Lent. A few weeks ago we were resolving to take care of _____, give up_____, or donate to _____ during this Lenten season. These actions are all well and good. But who amongst us even thought about developing our Digital Minds?
Here we are in the 21st century, where technology surrounds us! For many years, most of us in ministry have kept technology at an arms length from our ministry. Over time, we made wise decisions and a computer was purchased for our office. We may even have purchased a laptop so that we have the flexibility to take our work home. Overall we have gotten comfortable with word processing, email, spreadsheets, and presentation tools. Some of us are very proficient with these tools, and others may still need to learn how to leverage these tools in order to be effective and efficient.
However, when I speak of a Digital Mind, I am calling attention to a mind that is engaged in the Digital culture, knows how to speak the ever evolving digital language, and has skills that go beyond the basics of being able to use a computer for email, word processing, presentations, and tracking our program finances.
This Digital Mind is very comfortable with technology, creatively engaging in using the digital tools for research, online learning, social interaction with others, and more. This type of person is engaged in exploring how the desktop, laptop, and now tablets and mobile phones can be an integral part of our ministry lives.
I invite each of you to engage in this conversation with me. I want to distinguish between the characteristics of a Digital Mind and a Non-Digital Mind. I am suggesting a list of seven (7) characteristics. If there are other characteristics that you are aware of, I invite you to participate in this conversation by adding your comment to this blog post.
I would say that you have a Digital Mind, if the following characteristics are evident in your daily ministry:
In a casual conversation with friends, family, or parishioners a question arises that you are unable to answer, instead of saying that you will get back to them later, you pull out your smart phone or tablet and Google the question. You have an answer within a minute.
Your TO DO list, is on your phone. In fact, short notes that are your grocery list, and other important things you need to remember are added to your electronic note pad of your mobile tool.
10 to 15 minutes of your day is spent on FaceBook, casually looking over posts on your parish FB page, or viewing posts from your family, friends, and members of your parish.
In addition, you take 5 or 10 minutes to post a faith-thought on your FB page, or a simple response – click the LIKE button, or comment to other posts. When someone posts on the parish page, that a member of your parish is in the hospital, you are one of the first to offer prayers. On Sunday, when you see this person in Church, you can engage in a conversation where you are aware that this person has just returned home after a hospital stay.
Instead of killing trees because of the paper you use to distribute a weekly newsletter to your parents, you are comfortable in creating a blog using WordPress or Edublog or any other blog tool for this newsletter.
Your familiarity with Web 2.0 tools has provided you with helpful new ideas to present to your catechists. You follow Catechesis 2.0 to learn from pastoral technology leaders what tools are available, and how you may use them! Now many of the student activities are available online, so that others can see the projects and your students are learning how to be a Digital Disciple. Parents and others can comment and affirm the classwork.
You have a team in the parish who assists you with recording (audio and/or video) your parent sessions, catechist meetings, or other activities so that a podcast or video is available for those who were unable to attend this meeting.
and, where have you exhibited any other characteristic of a Digital mind? If you are not developing your Digital Mind, then you are:
Running to your office library to find the resource you may need to answer the question. If it is not in your office library, then you are off and running to a library, calling a friend, or just hoping that you find the right resource with the answer.
Many of your notes are on a variety of sizes of paper or notebook. When you need the note, it is lost, or you’re unable to find your spiral bound tablet, or unable to decipher what you wrote.
You do not believe that FaceBook is a viable way for communicating with your family, friends, or parish community. You avoid it like “the plague.”
Your weekly newsletter: Of course you use a publishing program to create this wonderful newsletter, email it to your printer, wait a day or two for the UPS package to reach you, distribute to your children, and hope that each child remembers to give it to their parents.
You go to your favorite publisher website, print off a worksheet, go to the copy machine to make the number of copies that you will need for your students, and distribute to them. You collect the sheets, and several students have not completed the activity and a few have not returned their worksheet and now you take a few moments to review their work and write comments on their work. One student “doodled” a cartoon on their worksheet. Next class you return the worksheet and have a conversation with your budding artist!
For those who were unable to attend the parish meetings. You email each family with a special message about the event, and invite them to meet with you for a special session. This time, you have 20 families unable to attend the Family First Communion meeting. As you listen to their stories, you learn that these students are involved in sports and Girl Scouts. Have you thought of doing a webinar with them?
So even in the middle of this Lenten season, it is appropriate to ask – How am I developing my Digital Mind. Or, do I even want to develop my Digital Mind?
I trust that you see developing your Digital Mind as a wholesome activity, that once developed will provide you with a means to be a Digital Disciple in this ever evolving 21st Century where the New Evangelization is calling us to communicate in new ways, with new tools!
May your stories of HOW you are developing your Digital Mind, be an inspiration for each of us.
Recently I received a question from Marc Donlin, Chaplain-Mission Associate at St. Cloud Hospital. I would like in our church to email out a link to a site where I can have a discussion starter using video with my kids, any suggestions?
Marc, what immediately comes to mind is using a blog page to include the video and any reflection or questions that you may have.
Here are 8 steps to keep in mind:
Determine your audience : I’m going to plan a discussion for a group of 7th and 8th graders as a demo.
Determine your Video Theme: 40 Days of Lent
Choose an online video: If you are a member of Digital Catechesis, go to the Digital Video Library to see if there is a video that fits your discussion theme. Or, you can search YouTube, Vimeo and other video websites for a video that fits your theme.
Go to your class blog: I’m assuming that you have a class blog that you are using with your students. (If not – Go to Religion Classroom Blogging to learn more about a class blog)
Draft a short reflection and a question for the blog page.
Email the link to your students with a short intro. (See following suggestion)
Pay attention to the webpage and engage in the conversation. You will want to participate in the ongoing online conversation with comments, suggestions, or additional questions.
Imagine that these students are sitting right in your classroom and they are adding to the conversation. Only this time, it is in an online format. You would not sit in the classroom silently observing. You would be listening and interjecting your comments and questions at appropriate times.
Email Suggestion
Dear (FName of Student),
Come to this link -(Add Link here) – for a short video and reflection. I’m looking forward to engaging in an online discussion with you.
The news we heard on Tuesday, January 11, 2013 that the Pope has chosen to resign raises the question – What’s next? Of course, the Cardinals will be gathering soon in Rome to carefully discern who is being called to serve our church in this leadership position.
For our children, this is a wonderful time to talk about leadership in our church. And in this blog post I will suggest a variety of ways to engage our Digital Natives to learn more about the process of electing our next Pope and to get to know more about him after his election.
Here are five suggestions that will engage our Digital Natives to learn more about this historic moment in our Church:
Host an online Scavenger Hunt: Sign-up for a 30-day free trial at Quia so that you will have access to the Scavenger Hunt Activity.
Choose links that you would like to use for the Scavenger hunt. Here are a few you may wish to use:
Create a WORDLEof qualities that are important for our next pope to have. Break out your class into small groups of 3 or 4 students. Direct them to read the article – Which Qualities Cardinals Will Look For in the Next Pope . Invite them to list the qualities and to include qualities that they feel are important for the next Pope to have. Once they have their list completed. Send them to WORDLE to create a Word Cloud of these qualities.
Create a 30-second spot using Animoto : Direct your students to Flickr . Before they search for photos, ask your students to create a “script” to answer the question - What Can I Do in Rome while waiting for the Pope to be elected – See: Tourist Info . For example a 30 second spot could focus on visiting the Sistine Chapel or the Vatican Museum.
Create a virtual poster using Glogster : Once a new pope has been elected, locate 2,3, 4 or 5 websites about the new Pope. Invite your students to create a virtual poster about their new Pope using these websites to research more about this person. You may want to share a suggested outline for what needs to be included on the poster. For example: A photo of him, a brief biography of his life, and any other point you would like your students to be aware of.
Create a PhotoBook about the New Pope using Mixbook : Another way for the students to learn more about our new pope – create a Digital Photo Book about him. Invite them to tell the story of this man from the time he was born until now – including what they are learning about his election. You may want to involve a small group of students to search for the websites that you will refer all students to use for this project. This way you can determine the best websites to use for background research about the new Pope. This may also be a good time to talk about credible, reliable, and non-biased websites.
If you like these suggestions, please click the “Like button. We’d also like to hear your ideas for digital projects during this time of electing our new Pope. Share the stories of what your students have created or add your suggestions in the “comment” section of this blog.
Have you ever stopped to think about what will be different in catechesis as we become more and more a Digital Culture?
Yes – reading materials will become more digital. The recent NEWSWEEK announcement – that they will be ALL DIGITAL beginning January 14, 2013 – is just the tip of the iceberg. As we ponder what this means for catechesis, lets use our imagination. I encourage you to add to the conversation with your own insights and options.
To begin, let’s get ready for the future. You are the catechist and I will be a Digital Native. So the Digital Native will use a laptop, tablet or smartphone and the catechist will use paper and pencil. Let’s describe what can happen in this ever evolving world. Are you ready?
I will immediately Google up-to-date information about my church – you have a textbook that is 5 years old.
I will immediately know when I have answered a digital quiz correctly – you have to wait until it’s graded.
I will use technology in every aspect of my everyday faith life – following the readings of the day, receiving the Pope’s tweets, following the Vatican YouTube Channel, NCR Online, America.org and more – you will wait a week or two to hear about what’s happening in a published church paper that is losing readership daily.
I will create digital posters with photos, images, text and videos – you will still be creating posters with crayons and ink or maybe with butcher paper with check points.
I will create prayers, articles and more in a digital format and share these with the world – you will only share yours with the class.
I will have 24/7 access to information about my faith through online articles, eBooks or websites like Sacred Space – your information is discovered primarily in books that you have to go to the book store to purchase or when you purchase online you wait for several days for the book to arrive.
I will access the most dynamic information with video, sound and more – yours will be printed and photocopied.
I will collaborate with my peers from around the world and learn from them what is important about their faith – you will collaborate only with your students in your classroom.
I can learn anything I want about my faith anytime and anywhere – you must wait until you read the textbook which may be outdated.
I will need to learn how to choose the best information about my Catholic faith tradition as anyone can publish anything at anytime whether it be correct teaching or not – you have had content that is always approved by our bishops via the “imprimatur” and “nihil obstat“.
I live in a time where we can learn the best and the worst about my Catholic faith from people of all ages via a variety of electronic means – you will primarily learn your faith from written materials that can be biased or unbiased – depending on the theological perspectives you are exposed to.
I will – with my class – interact with our Church leaders (Local Bishop, Parish Pastor, and others) via SKYPE, Facetime, GoToMeeting and other collaborative tools – you will call and make an appointment to meet these same leaders in a Face-to-Face meeting that is scheduled weeks in advance.
I often wonder how our methodology will change in the teaching of our faith to one another. I see the importance of both face-to-face experiences and the integration of varied technologies in the teaching of our faith to others. For now – we are Pioneers in a Digital Landscape that changes rapidly around us.
This is why it is important to gather with other pioneers – to learn from one another, to swap success stories (and even to talk about what did not work). One of the best places to gather is at the annual Interactive Connections Conference that co-locates with the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC). It is at IC 2013 that we can learn best practices from educators who have been involved in educational technology for over 35 years!
If you’re coming to Orlando – great! Looking forward to meeting and sharing with you. If not, I would encourage you to make room in your busy calendar and come. We need all the pioneers possible to join in this wonderful and challenging endeavor of Sharing the Faith with our ever savvy digital students.
Note: The list that describes what can happen in this ever evolving world is an adaptation of a list that was anonymously shared by a student who posted on the Abilene, Kansas High School Dialogue Buzz website during the spring of 2003.
Of course, if you like this post, click on the “Like” button. If you have a comment, I look forward to your participation in the conversation – How do you see our methodology changing as we become more and more a Digital Culture?
Welcome back after celebrating the Gift of Jesus in our lives and welcoming a New Year! Just around the corner is National Vocation Awareness Week - January 13 – 19, 2013.
For our young people to understand God’s Call in their lives, I’ve been involved with my parish community in shaping and forming a lesson for Grades 7 & 8 that will engage these students in using technology to learn more about religious life, priesthood and the deaconate, marriage, single life and lay ecclesial communities.
I am sharing this lesson with you as you may wish to use this lesson with your junior high students (Grades 7 & 8).
Objective:
Students will create digital posters using Glogster to explain a vocation to: married life, single life, religious life, lay ecclesial community, priesthood, or deaconate by…
Research – What is your understanding of this vocation? How would you explain this vocation to a friend in 2 or 3 sentences? (refer to listed Web links).
Interview – Ask: How do you follow Christ in your vocation? Prepare other questions for your interview.
Summarize Interview – Write one paragraph that summarizes the interview by completing the following:
o Married Vocation: – “It is important to have married couples serving their families and others in our church because…”
o Single Life: “It is important to have single members to serve Christ and others in our church because…”
o Religious Sisters: “It is important to have sisters to serve Christ and others in our church because…”
o Religious Brothers: “It is important to have brothers to serve Christ and others in our church because…”
o Lay Ecclesial Communities: “It is important to have lay ecclesial communities to serve Christ and others in our church because…”
o Priests: “It is important to have priests to serve Christ and others in our church because…”
o Deacons: “It is important to have deacons to serve Christ and others in our church because…”
Photos – Create a photo story that shows how others in this vocation live their lives to serve Christ and others. (Use 3 to 5 photo’s)
What you will need:
A Glogster Account (FREE) – Glogster EDUcator Free is a limited version of the Light and Premium platforms. Teachers and students have access to all Glog creation features and enjoy a completely ad-free environment. The Free product gives you the ability to generate and manage a limited number of student accounts (10). Additional students can register under your account using your Glogster Teacher code, but cannot be accessed or managed. Any additional Student’s work can be shared through URL posting. If you would like additional students, full classroom management capabilities, including the ability to assign projects, manage portfolios, and create presentations, consider an upgrade to EDUcator Light or EDUcator Premium.
Note: There are three options when creating student accounts: (1) create an ID and PW for each student (for the free version you are limited to 10 student accounts. (2) Group your students so that they are working in small groups and will share a group ID and PW with those who are in their working group, or (3) create a class ID and PW and share with ALL students, it is also possible to create their individual or group Glogs under the same username and password.
Access to the Internet (Home or School Computer Lab) so that students can use Glogster EDU (http://edu.glogster.com/ ) to create a digital poster for an assigned vocation category. (To learn the basics of Glogster go to – Glogster . Catechist/Teacher will need to set-up student accounts.
Assign Topics: Slips of paper with one of the following: (1) Married Life (2) Single Life (3) Religious Life (Sisters), (4) Religious Life (Brothers), (5) Priesthood (Diocesan), (6) Priesthood (Religious), (7) Deacon (8) Lay Ecclesial Communities (Make enough slips so that ALL students will get to pick ONE of these areas or have a list of these areas and invite students to sign-up for a topic.)
Interview List: Prepare a list of potential married couples, etc. who are willing to be interviewed by students for this project. The interview could happen by phone, SKYPE, or face-to-face.
Videos: Choose one of the following videos to give an overview of the concept of “vocation.”
Tools: Computers (or iPad, other Tablets, or Smartphones) for each student or group. (Note: If you do not have access to a computer lab during your class session. This is a project that could be completed at home. If students do not have a computer or Internet access, this is an opportunity for team work. )
Jump Drives: If creating the project in the school lab, invite students to bring a jump drive so that they can download any work they want to save or use (e.g., photo’s that they have researched).
Student Worksheet:
Make copies of the Student Worksheet (ONE for each student)
Procedure:
1. Review with students that our Baptism is a call to the fullness of life. Our vocation is the special way which God wants to give us that fullness of life through love. Identify the vocations to married life, to consecrated single life, to religious life, and to the priesthood and deaconate.
2. Show one of the VOCATION videos.
3. Invite students to describe how they understand what is meant by “vocation.”
4. Students are assigned to (or invited to choose) a vocation category (married life, etc.)
5. Then direct the students to explain this vocation to a friend in 2 or 3 sentences. Direct the students to the suggested links to research their topic.
6. Guide the students in how to prepare their questions for their interview. Have students work alone to prepare their questions. Then invite them to share their questions in class. Refer the students to the suggested list to schedule an interview. Or, invite these persons to be present for the class so that they may be interviewed by the students.
7. Students would then be given instruction on how to make a digital poster using Glogster.edu. Show examples of a digital poster – for example: Vocation Week or Love.
8. Students would go to: http://edu.glogster.com using their ID and the password. (PW). (Teacher sets up student account – see previous note)
9. Students will use the information from class , interview, and research and put it into Glogster using the following format:
a. Title: Name of (Vocation) or a Title that fits your theme
b. Explain this vocation to a friend in 2 or 3 sentences.
c. Interview Summary: One paragraph using the sentence stem…(See above)
d. Use 3 to 5 photo’s that is a photo story of how those you have interviewed live their lives to serve Christ and others.
10. Note: If students are unable to complete their “Glog” invite them to complete it at home. If they are still working on their glog, make sure they choose “Unfinished.” If they are ready to publish, check “Finished.”
11. When the Glogs are complete, there are a variety of ways you can share these with the parish community:
a. Work with your Parish Webmaster to have a page created on the parish website about Vocation Week. After you have reviewed the work, choose which Glogs are to be added to the parish website. Write an announcement in your parish bulletin about this project and invite members of the parish to visit this page.
b. Add the links (or embed) the glog in your class wiki or blog.
c. Invite students to send the link to their glog to members of their family.
12. Wrap Up: Students could show their Glogs to the class using a computer and LCD Projector.
If you use this lesson, please come back and tell us how it went! If you think you’re going to try it, just click on the “Like” button.
