Evangelizing and Catechizing the Net Generation

Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership

November 3, 201
I! "#pening $ra%er
Lord,
po&r o&t on &s the spirit of &nderstanding, tr&th, and
peace'
(elp &s to strive )ith all o&r hearts
to *no) )hat is pleasing to %o&,
and )hen )e *no) %o&r )ill
ma*e &s determined to do it'
+hro&gh o&r Lord ,es&s Christ, %o&r -on,
)ho lives and reigns )ith %o& in the &nit% of the
(ol% -pirit,
one God for ever and ever'
.men'
II! "Introd&ction
a. ,onathan /' -&llivan
i' 0irector of Catechetical 1inistries
ii' $ast Chair NCCL +echnolog% Committee
iii' #ver ten %ears of e2perience in internet
b. "#vervie) of #&tline
i' 0efine )hat )e mean b% the 3Net Generation4
ii' 0ispel a fe) m%ths abo&t online %o&th
iii' (o) do the% learn5
iv' . fe) s&ggestions for &sing ne) media in
evangelization and catechesis
c. . 6&ic* )ord
i' /oc&s of toda% )ill be on principles
1' +here is no 3proven strateg%4 for digital
ed&cation or catechesis
November 3, 201 7 Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership
,onathan /' -&llivan
2' 8e9re all ma*ing this &p as )e go along:
3' +hat having been said I )ill offer some
concrete s&ggestions based on the principles
o&tlined toda%
ii' 8ill be an opport&nit% to as* 6&estions
iii' /ootnotes and s&ggestions for additional reading
are available on m% )eb site
III! "-etting the -tage; Confraternit% G&ide <&ote
I=! "8ho are the 3Net Generation45
a. +%pical member
i' c&rrent college st&dent;
ii' is %o&nger than the 8orld 8ide 8eb>
iii' still )ore diapers )hen the 0=0 )as invented>
iv' )as ? %ears old )hen the i$od )as introd&ced>
v' )as in si2th grade )hen /aceboo* opened to high
school st&dents>
vi' and the phone that fits in the palm of their hand is
100s of times more po)erf&l than the comp&ter
that sat on their parent9s des* before the% )ere
born'
b. Gro)n &p immersed in ne) technologies
i' +%picall% born after 1@?0
ii' -pent their )hole lives )atching television,
pla%ing video games, te2ting, emailing, -*%ping,
etc'
iii' .s a res&lt, scientists theorize 7 and evidence
s&ggests 7 that their brains are )ired differentl%
than previo&s generations
iv' +his is not necessaril% a bad thing:
v' A&t it does present challenges for ed&cators and
catechists
c. 0igital comm&nication is their 3defa&lt4
i' B of %o&ng people CD age 2E! have a social
net)or* profile
November 3, 201 7 Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership
,onathan /' -&llivan
ii' @0B sa% the% often &se different technologies at
the same time
iii' ?FB sa% the% love ho) technolog% connects them
to other people
d. Contrast )G older ad&lts
i' 0oesn9t mean technologicall% illiterate Ce'g' fatherH
inHla)!
ii' 0oes mean that it isn9t their 3defa&lt setting4
iii' Not ingrained in their conscio&sness in the same
)a% it is for net generation
=! "Common 1%ths C,ohn $alfre% and Irs Gasser!
a. Jo&th are )asting time online'
i' Common complaint; spending too m&ch time 3in
front of a screen:4
ii' A&t not all screens are created e6&al
1' boo* is a t%pe of 3screen4
2' television K ver% passive
3' comp&ter K interactivit%, creativit%
iii' Jo&ng people are
1' learning
2' gaining s*ills
a' design
b' comm&nication technologies
3' collaborating
iv' -ocial Net)or*ing has opened &p ne) aven&es for
establishing friendship, collaboration on a global
scale
v' 0econstr&ction of the 3t%rann% of geograph%4
C-herr% +&r*el!
b. "#nline %o&th are a homogeno&s bod%'
i' 0igital 0ivide is still ver% real
ii' Even )ithin Net Generation there is a )ide variet%
of interests, access to technolog%'
iii' No 3#ne size fits all4 approach
November 3, 201 7 Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership
,onathan /' -&llivan
1' Can9t bring in one approach and ass&me it
)ill appl% to all st&dents in %o&r class
2' -till need to ma*e room for individ&al needs
and s*ills:
c. Jo&th don9t care abo&t privac%'
i' $rivac% concerns var% largel% among %o&ng people
based on
1' age
2' ed&cation
3' past e2perience
ii' $revailing 6&estion; $rivac% from )hom5
iii' 0ifferent standards in regards to
1' friends
2' famil%
3' service providers
' government
=I! (o) does the Net Generation learn5
a. "0on +apscott 3,oe #9-he4 s-tor% C3;1E!
b. **Use the internet and other digital
technologies as tools for communication and
interaction among peers
i' 0ifferent from ad&lts 7 tend to &se internet to
cons&me content
ii' In fact, this is the )hat )e mean )hen )e tal*
abo&t 38eb 2'04
1' +he 3ne) )eb4 is abo&t facilitating
conversation, interaction and connections
iii' 1asters at ma*ing connections thro&gh
technolog%
iv' .s a res&lt, e2pect interaction 7 it is the
environment the% are most comfortable in'
c. *When DNs do consume information, they tend
to do so in a non-linear fashion
i' Lead differentl%
November 3, 201 7 Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership
,onathan /' -&llivan
1' 0&e to the )a% their brains have been
3trained4
2' 0on9t9 read left to right, top to bottom
3' -can te2t to get pertinent information
ii' ,&mp from page to page
1' 0on9t m&ltitas* per se
2' =er% good at s)itching tas*s 6&ic*l%
=II! "-trategies; $&tting It into $ractice
a. General strategies
i' 1ost Important; +r% &sing the tools %o&rself
1' If %o& don9t have the tools, get them
a' 1a% be a laptop, a digital recorder'
b' 1a*e a )ish list 7 *no) )hat %o& )ant
to do'
c' +al* to parents
d' +al* to diocesan office
e' $&t it in %o&r b&dget:
i' +he )orst %o&r pastor can do is sa%
no:
ii' Need to be )here %o&r st&dents are 7 become a
connection:
1' If st&dents are going to be interacting in these
virt&al spaces )e need to have a presence
2' Not beca&se it is the 3Cool thing to do4 b&t
beca&se )e are called to spread the Gospel to
all corners of the earth 7 even the virt&al
corners'
3' Lespect diocesanGparish g&idelines for social
media
iii' Ae open to 6&estions, clarifications, comments in
the classroom 7 especiall% )ith older st&dents'
1' Net Generation is &sed to 2H)a%
conversation, not 1H)a% lect&re'
2' $art of ho) the% learn is thro&gh interH
personal comm&nication
November 3, 201 7 Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership
,onathan /' -&llivan
3' Learning is a comm&nit% activit%'
iv' Enco&rage sharing
v' /ollo) diocesanGparish social media policies
1' If %o& don9t have an% 7 get them:
b. ". 8ord on Internet -afet%
i' (o) old is 3old eno&gh4 for the )eb5
1' General r&le; 13 %ears
2' 8h%5 Children9s #nline $rivac% $rotection
.ct CC#$$., 1@@?!
ii' 8hat abo&t posting pict&resGvideo of %o&th5
1' 3H$iece L&le
c. "Comm&nication -trategies
i' $hoto sharing
1' (ighl% vis&al
2' +&mblrGInstagram
a' 1emes
ii' /aceboo*
1' Not a maMor destination for teens
2' 0ecrease in %o&th activit% s&spected for some
time, verified a %ear ago
a' .ll the parents got on board:
3' 0on9t9 co&nt on /aceboo* to reach Net
Generation
iii' Jo&+&be
1' Ised to listen to m&sic
2' $ost 3ne)s4 items
a' -hort C30HF0 second! bites of interesting
ne)s, anno&ncements for %o&th gro&ps,
etc'
iv' -tart a blog for %o&r class:
1' $lent% of free tools C8ordpress!
2' $ost additional lin*s and reso&rces for
st&dents
3' Neep parents &p to date on )hat9s going on in
%o&r class
November 3, 201 7 Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership
,onathan /' -&llivan
' 8eb E2ample; -t' +homas .6&inas $arish
CEast Lansing, 1I!
E' /or older st&dents, have them start a class
blog to tal* abo&t )hat the% are
doingGlearning
v' +e2ting
1' /loc*note
a' .llo)s &sers to receive messages %o&
send via email, te2t, /aceboo*, etc'
b' Great for %o&th gro&ps, comm&nicating
)ith parents
d. Catechetical -trategies
i' Lecommend Great Leso&rces
1' Incl&des
a' Lists of lin*s on a )eb page
b' Lin*s )e send o&t via social media C/A,
+)itter!
2' C&ration implies some tho&ght and 3editing4
behind choices
a' ,&st as a m&se&m c&rator decides )hat
to displa%, )e need to be tho&ghtf&l
abo&t )hat reso&rces to share
3' Eval&ating online reso&rces
a' 3Is it official54
b' 30o the% have a trac* record54
c' 3Is it faithf&l to the f&llness of the
Ch&rch9s teaching54
d' 30oes it pass the Osmell test954
' 0on9t over)helm )ith sheer n&mbers
a' 0ecision paral%sis
E' Ipdate Leg&larl%
a' Chec* lin*s ever% F months
b' Chec* that information is still relevant,
correct
November 3, 201 7 Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership
,onathan /' -&llivan
F' $&blish lin*s on %o&r established
comm&nication channels
a' 0on9t ass&me people )ill find %o&:
ii' 1obile in the catechetical session
1' (ave st&dents loo* &p ans)ers to 6&estions
catechists don9t *no)
a' #nline Catechism C&sccb'org!
iii' Ise =ideo blogs to find short videos on s&bMects
%o& are st&d%ing
1' E'g', +hat Catholic -ho), Life+een videos
2' Enco&rage st&dents to )atch them at home
iv' Aetter %et, get %o&r st&dents to create their o)n
media and post them online
1' Ised to recommend pointHandHclic* video
cameras
2' +oda% mobile phones have decent video
capabilit%
a' .nd st&dents are &sed to &sing them
b' =ine and InstaGram =ideo increasingl%
pop&lar
3' (ave them ma*e a video
a' 1a*e a commercial abo&t )h% coming
to 1ass is important
b' Intervie) the pastor
c' 1a*e &p a short s*it abo&t the life of a
saint
d' .nimoto 7 animated 3slide sho)s4 )G
m&sic
e. $ra%ing 8ith Ne) 1edia
i' 31edia 0ivina4
ii' $ra%er .pps
1' La&date
2' Losar% apps
iii' $ra%er )ith #thers via -*%pe
f. Aottom Line; Enco&rage Creativit%
November 3, 201 7 Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership
,onathan /' -&llivan
i' -t&dents sho&ld be enco&raged to &se the tools
the% are familiar )ith to enhance their learning'
ii' $oint is to engage st&dents in )a%s that tap into
their abilities to collaborate )ith others, p&t
together lots of information in creative )a%s and
share )ith others )hat the% are doing'
=III!<&estions5
IP! Contact InfoG/ootnotes ILL
November 3, 201 7 Indiana Conference for Catechetical Leadership
,onathan /' -&llivan