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A Reflection on the DDBC and its Impact on My Ministry

The Digital Discipleship Boot Camp was an experience I look back on and find I am incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in. I completed my coursework leading to my Master of Science in Education over 15 years ago and am amazed at how much technology has changed; or, rather, emerged. As the Coordinator of Faith Formation for the kindergarten through grade 5 program I find myself excited and encouraged to be more open to using technology in the classroom with our students who truly are digital natives. In prior years I have not been able to participate as the first session required an "in person" live session which took place during our annual Vacation Bible School week which I supervise. I am incredibly thankful that Sr. Caroline was flexible in offering an online session that allowed me and several others to fully participate in all sessions online.

The mere experience of a fully online course provided a framework for me in how I may provide training to my own catechists. Frequently I hear from my catechists that they desire more training or formation for themselves but our office has struggled to find a time that will satisfy their needs. Providing online courses or using different media (blogs, podcasts, etc.) to present training and formation just may be the solution to this opportunity. This is also an opportunity for me to not only apply the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) but share them with catechists so they, too, can incorporate more technology in the classroom - not just for the sake of using technology, but using technology for a purpose.

In working with catechists over the past five years I am often asked how to “beef up” a lesson using technology. Catechists want to bring in video clips or access different websites or even create a web page. While always supportive I have found these endeavors lack a singular focus or lack organization. While the catechist is on the right track in trying to expose students to different learning methods that use technology, they themselves don’t quite understand how to connect the lesson to the students. This is where the Digital Discipleship Boot Camp and the International Society for Technology in Education and the NETS-T become so important for me. I now have a comfort level with a broader range of technology tools and better understand how to organize and connect the tool to the lesson.

If I had to summarize the experience of this course I would use this statement - I learned about using technology not just for the sake of using technology but for using it for a purpose.