Capstone+Article+Patti+Brockman

Capstone Article Patricia Brockmann

Better Communication with Faith Formation Families through Technology Having worked in the Faith Formation office for the last four years, I saw the need to find a better way to communicate with the families in our Faith Formation program. I looked forward to learning new ways to build on our existing Faith Formation program.

After completing the Summer Institute for Technology in Ministry (SITM 2011) courses, I realized there was an endless amount of Web 2.0 technology available for making our parish program run more efficiently. My next step was to meet with our parish Director of Faith Formation. After a discussion of the different options available that we could use, we decided on the following:
 * Create Facebook groups.
 * Create a data base using Flocknote.
 * Create a wiki for the student assignments.
 * Update our website to better communicate within the parish ministries.

We both figured that was a pretty easy task and the scope of the work probably wouldn’t take that long. Since most people in today’s world use cell phones, computers, email, etc., we figured everyone would be glad that we were taking the steps to make their spiritual journey a little bit easier. We certainly didn’t expect the responses that we received. We first started with a survey to all the parents asking them if they preferred to receive upcoming events, calendar changes, etc. by email, Facebook groups, Flocknote or by phone. One family was adamant they would only use email, they had no desire for any of the other social network programs. Many of the catechists, even though they had Facebook accounts, didn’t want to use them as a form of communication. And then I had some parents that would use any form listed. Since this was the start of gathering information before implementing the programs, it was kind of discouraging. We realized the task ahead wouldn’t be easy, but thankfully we decided to stick with our plans.

I proceeded to create the Facebook groups. I divided the groups into one for the Catechists, one for our Faith Formation families and one for our Pope John Paul II Catholic School families. We invited them to join the groups and had a good amount of families respond. Most of the families that responded really use their Facebook accounts. Still we needed to look for another form of communication for the parents who chose not to subscribe to our Facebook groups. Our first goal was completed but with mixed reviews.

Our next goal was to create a Flocknote account. With this program we are able to send emails, text messages, phone messages and invitations. We had looked at Constant Contact, but felt that with the phone message option; this was a better way to go. Some of the parishioners still don’t have computers so we also have to accommodate their needs. I am able to send weekly notifications to the First Communion class with their home assignments for that week. Now that all of the Faith Formation families are on the program, we have started adding the rest of the ministries in the parish. We felt that most of the office staff had as many as five or more email accounts that we were monitoring all the time. Having all of the ministries in one program makes it easier to monitor all of the notes and responses in one place rather than multiply email accounts. Right now we are only in the beginning stages of using Flocknote, but it looks like a promising program for us. Feedback so far on this program has been positive.

<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have just finished creating and gone live with our new website. The new website gives us the opportunity to post more information about the Faith Formation program and other ministry events.

<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Another great tool was Google Docs. I was able to write a document and share it with the Director of Faith Formation. He in turn was able to make any changes before it was sent to the parents.

<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When I first started these projects, I didn’t realize the time it would take to get these programs implemented. I also didn’t realize that most people aren’t as enthusiastic about social networking and Web 2.0 technologies as I am. Most of the people in the office appreciate the end result of new technology but don’t want to become involved with the start-up of the new programs.

<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am glad that I had the opportunity to attend the SITM2011 webinars. It made it so much easier to be present at, participate, and learn the weekly topics, rather than attending in a regular classroom setting. Once we have these networks running smoothly our next project will be to start having GoToMeeting © online meetings with the parents. As was stated in a Flocknote blog, “The key to building social networks are meaningful relationships. That’s one reason Social Networks are so vital to a parish & to the church. They extend our ability to help others and build important, loving relationships.” <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> We hope that by making these programs available to our families, they would be able to build better relationships within their parish community.

<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Flocknote: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[] <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">About Flocknote: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|https://www.flocknote.com/resources#videos=&overlay=video/popup/25715]

<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wiki: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://ssff2011-2012.wikispaces.com/

<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Website: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|www.stscholastica.org] <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Flocknote Blog: Article on How to and How Not to build your parish social network <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[] <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">