Capstone+Article+Glennell+Munne

Capstone Article Glennell Munne

// ** Sitz im Leben ** // ** Applied to the Twenty First Century ** by Glennell Munne //Sitz im Leben// is a German phrase roughly translating to " //setting in life of the people. // " In fact the term is a sociological one, describing a typical situation within any community, so that the meaning of the text (or technology in this case) is bound up with its function in the community.

As a result of having just completed an intense encounter with Web 2.0 technology as it relates to digital catechesis and evangelization in a variety of Church ministries, I launched a full court press to propagate the use of technology to the entire parish community. It would be so easy; who wouldn’t want to tap into this exciting and effectual way to build the Church community? From the comfort of your own home, one could keep abreast of activities and business in the faith community, enjoy interactive project planning and follow educational sessions online. What could go wrong?

The Summer Institute for Technology in Ministry 2011 course of study used Web 2.0 Technology, “Go-to-Meeting”, to create a virtual classroom in our homes. The one day orientation session was held on location at a Church school library and computer lab. The facilitators, Sister Caroline Cerveny and Claudia McIvor, described the format and content of the eight sessions and then finished the day-long session by mentoring a lab experience that established social networking accounts for each participant with WordPress, Wikispaces, Digital Catechesis, and Facebook.

The weekly Webinars provided interactive, full audio-visual demonstrations of video creation, social bookmarking, and embedding original graphics and video into personal and group websites. I completed the course so excited about the Animoto video I had created! I could hyperlink websites to my Facebook page! Hey I was Facebooking it! I was on a roll!

However reality struck soon enough. I bombed the first time I approached one of the parish small group ministries with the concept of creating a Wikispace or blog for the group members. Their response was not negative; //au contraire//, it was more like “ what are you talking about?” and “Blog, what does that mean?” The pastor was familiar with Facebook and blogging but had concerns regarding monitoring and safeguarding sensitive personal materials of the membership. I received approval for a Facebook page with a by-invitation-only status.

Experience taught me that you cannot accurately predict what the needs of a group might be. I had presupposed that we were ready to jump into online community building and social networking, when in reality the population base had minimal contact with computer technology. Another factor was the economics of some members, which prohibited access to hardware and web access.

My ambitious plan to have a parish of bloggers and, eventually, to form a parish Technology in Communication Committee to guide procurement and technological growth had met reality. It was evident that a “needs assessment” for our parish small group would be helpful to find out what they discerned their needs and goals might be, related to technology and communication.

One assessment tool was a six-item questionnaire to determine to what degree the group had computer access and how they use that access. This tool was printed in large bold type since ninety percent of the group is over age 65 and most over seventy:
 * 1. **** Do you have access to a computer at your home? Yes No **
 * 2. **** Do you perform online searches or order online? Yes No **
 * 3. **** Do you send and receive e-Mail? Yes No **
 * 4. **** Do you have a social network account such as Facebook? Yes No **
 * 5. **** Do you have a cell phone? Yes No **
 * 6. **** Can you Text Message or Instant Message on your cell phone? Yes No **

The survey sampled twelve of the twenty small group members with these results:
 * 1.** **83% had home computers**
 * 2.** **50% performed online business**
 * 3.** **75% used e-Mail**
 * 4.** **42% used Facebook**
 * 5.** **83% had cell phones**
 * 6.** **25% used IM or texted**

With these demographics and through group discussion we decided to start modestly with a face book page for the Divine Mercy Prayer Group. A signup sheet was circulated for all those interested in being sent an invite by e-Mail address. Some members needed tech support by phone as to how to set up accounts and how to confirm friends. There was slow growth in developing an online presence for the Divine Mercy Prayer Group. A laptop is brought to Wednesday meetings to share the page with those who do not have computer access and to mentor those who are joining in.

My original timeline was overly ambitious. However, with time and persistence, all the goals can be achieved. Once the critical mass of technology users is reached and the parish membership acknowledges the blessings and assets of being “on-line” connected, the Church can offer computer classes with WiFi in classrooms and personal laptops. The opportunity for catechesis through Web 2.0 technology is limitless for creativity and breadth of influence.

Digital catechesis must be adapted to the " //setting in life of the people // " as it exists in each parish community. We must find new ways to promulgate the faith in this fast paced life, being ever mindful not to leave anyone behind.