Fr.+Joe+Hannon+Essay

ESSAY DUE DATE Dec. 1, 2013

Write a 500 word essay summarizing your DDBC experience and how you plan to apply what you learned to your ministry. Demonstrate how you have applied your understanding of ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS/T) and applied them to a faith learning environment. Include reference to relevant research about technology and learning, especially as applied to faith settings, if appropriate.

Fr. Joe Hannon ESSAY PAGE

When I was attending a Ministry Fair at our parish, I learned about DDBC and was immediately curious but also cautious. After a twenty year break from high school religious education while serving as an active duty Catholic chaplain in the Army, I returned to teaching in August of 2011 very much a beginner. Budgeting time was a major priority for me with development of teachable material my goal. Now immersed in an educative environment, I also realized that education had gone digital. My previous use of the Internet as a chaplain was strictly for communications. Our high school was also preparing to provide all students an iPad for class and homework. I knew I needed DDBC but I didn’t know if I could provide the time needed for thorough learning.

The turning point for me was the fact that DDBC began in the summer and that I would do my learning via the web. As soon as the course began I realized much more: the teaching was excellent, focused, and with helpful resources via Power Point and embedded videos. Also, a mentor who was very knowledgeable and helpful was just a key stroke away. I especially liked being guided into using the technology of Web 2.0 in order to “learn about” the technology itself. I soon realized that there were web resources available for improving religion classroom learning experiences.

In summary, DDBC has given me the impetus and basic skills to step out in the Web 2.0 world! Because the experience itself was so positive, I decided to go much further than I originally intended by developing a Capstone project.

During DDBC, I considered ways in which I might apply what I was learning to the religious education classroom. I wanted to learn how teens could use their cell phones for taking a classroom quiz. I compared apps supporting this and in December 2013 had my students take quizzes by cell phone. This effort became my Capstone Project. I developed other classroom projects where the teens could make videos or Power Points with embedded features. These digital activities were both very attractive and helpful in the learning process. I was greatly encouraged to continue to explore other ways to make use of Web 2.0 technologies in the religious education high school classroom environment.

It was through DDBC that I have first come into contact with NETS for Teachers and for Students. I see these as very helpful resources for my own classroom work and for our Religion Department. Due to my involvement with DDBC, I have taken some small steps in implementing the goals given by NETS-T. Our Religion Department has been discussing how we might model digital-age work and learning as well as both teaching and modeling the excellent values and virtues directly supported by NETS.

I appreciate the dedicated staff that has made DDBC Summer ’13 a huge step forward for me as a Catholic high school religious educator.