About eighteen months ago I took an online class called Digital Discipleship Boot camp or DDBC. I wrote about it at New Evangelizers. Now I am a presenter and coach with the program and would like to encourage you to look into the course and participate in it. Though I was fairly savvy about social media and how to use it before the course, I enjoyed the class as it exposed me to uses of technology and new forms of media I was not familiar with or in some cases even aware existed.
If we are to be a part of the New Evangelization we need to use the tools of the time. Certainly most of us would agree technology is a tool of our time. While I do not want to see technology take the place of person to person interaction, it certainly can assist us in reaching those we catechize. In particular, using technology to reach children and youth, as they are the generation which has grown up with electronic media and technology in unprecedented ways, is most important.
Digital Discipleship Boot Camp is an online program using a combination of live interaction, mentoring, coaching and personal assignments for people at any and all comfort levels in regard to technology. The topics addressed range from social media, websites and digital storytelling to the International Society for Technology in Education Standards and website copyright rules.
If you are a teacher, catechist, or a religious education director, or you work or volunteer in a parish in any capacity, this course is for you. I am not exaggerating when I say that anyone who is involved in parish ministry and uses a computer can benefit from this program. A new group is starting in February and you can find more information at Digital Discipleship, Lifelong Learners in the New Media Age. You can also learn more about Sr. Caroline Cerveny, who runs the program and is so enthusiastic about being a digital disciple!
If you have any questions, please ask in the comment box or email me at faithformation(at)stedwardpb(dot)com.
Copyright © 2014, Deanna Bartalini