Apps, the Internet, and the Future of Catechesis

Posted by on August 31, 2010 | 3 comments

Over at the Digital Catechesis network the question was asked whether, as the price of devices such as the Kindle and iPad comes down, catechetical programs will make the shift to e-books.

I’ll admit that, while I can see the benefits of such technologies, I’m skeptical about whether our parishes and schools should make a concerted drive towards adopting them. My response read, in part:

On the practical side, I fear that moving to e-books will limit access to those on the other side of the “digital divide,” at least in the short term. Do we risk further widening the gap between parishes that have the means for a robust, technologically-enhanced catechetical program and those that don’t? I think there is a social justice question there that merits some thought.

I’m even more skeptical about moving towards an app-driven environment. For background, read the debate over on Wired about who is responsible for the death of the web. Even given Rob Beschizza’s important correction to the data in the article, there doesn’t seem to be any dispute that more people are moving away from the web to access information and turning towards applications on hand-held devices.

And while apps can be good for content creators by taking out the middleman (be it the printer who prints the magazine or the cable company that carries the television program), I’m not convinced that it will be good for consumers, especially the poor, since it just compounds the cost of access.

If catechetical programs do move in this direction, who will be expected to foot the bill? Will parishes loan or give devices to students? Will such devices  just get added to the start-of-year supply list? Will this end up leaving anyone behind?

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    • http://twitter.com/MCardaronella Marc Cardaronella

      I can’t see how we will move to an app-driven, digital religious education classroom in the near future. For one thing, there’s just no budget. And, Seth Godin aside, print is nowhere near dead yet. Ebooks are still a niche market and I don’t think that’s changing soon. nnI think you’re comment about the digital divide is exactly the case too. So many people I work with in the parish aren’t online hardly at all. They’re not interested in these devices. And really the cost is prohibitive. Would it be cool? Absolutely.nnThis is an aside but I think we’re a long way away from the death of the web as well.

    • http://www.scrutinies.blogspot.com Dorian Speed

      I agree with Marc. The whole idea of “digital is better” when it comes to EVERYTHING drives me bonkers. I think we’ll just create even more of a culture of entitlement as we make everything educational about the clicking and scrolling. Then again, I am a complete hypocrite, having learned so much by networking with other catechists, doing research, and finding out about resources online.nnBut I just think there’s a point at which technology in the classroom makes us feel more separate from one another and from generations before us who didn’t have the benefit of iStuff and had to pay attention to a task for more than 30 seconds. Makes us more narcissistic not only in our focus on constantly reporting the details of our own lives (again, I totally do this), but also in feeling like we are the best generation EVER because we have all this great technology, so what could we possibly learn from a bunch of carpenters and fishermen 2,000 years ago?

    • http://www.jonathanfsullivan.com/ Jonathan F. Sullivan

      Thanks for the comments!nnI agree with Dorian that we have a tendency to think ourselves better than our ancestors because we have access to more “stuff.” That is troubling — both because of the materialistic assumptions it reveals in our culture, and because it encourages us to disregard tradition.nnI also worry about the separation from our neighbors that technology engenders. Will we be able to recognize our neighbor if we’re too focused on what’s going on in cyberspace?