by Timothy Welch and Lori Dahlhoff
Catholic Education Ministries, Diocese of St. Cloud
Spring, 1998

This is the age of information and media, where knowledge is at our fingertips and technology is evolving faster than we can find uses for it. Our children know how to use the computer from their school activities. They know how to program a VCR. They know on which of hundreds of cable channels to find their favorite television program. And they know which Gospel tells the story of the Prodigal Son. OOPS! Maybe they don't know where to find the Prodigal Son, but they sure know the ingredients of a Big Mac. Who is telling what story well? And how is technology being used to get that story out?

While tools such as audio-visual recording, computer technology and the Internet are already being used effectively in other fields, many church people are just beginning to ask the question, "Can any of this technology be used effectively for catechesis?" With our combined experience with technology and catechesis we had to believe the answer was "yes" and set out to test our hypothesis in a pilot class.

VBS 1997 , a combined effort of Atonement Lutheran Church and Saint Peter's Catholic Church in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, was the setting for our experimentation with integrating technology into catechesis. The primary purpose of the summer vacation bible school was to creatively engage children in learning selected Bible stories, retelling them, and living them out. The chosen curriculum was Adventure Fair "God's Kids in Action" (Augsburg Fortress Press, 1996).

The basic assumptions which guided our planning and presentation of the material were:

1. The Word of God is dynamic, challenging and full of meaningful mysteries that had something to say to our lives today. Our presentation of the material was to convey this sense of God's Word touching the hearts of the learners and fostering a desire within the learners to dig deeper and share the Good News with others.
2. Three major aspects of each story were to be part of the learning: the story itself, it's geographical setting, and a personal reflection on the story.
3. We attempted to tie all activities together, for example, our snacks were to somehow reflect the theme of the story of the day.
4. Facilitators had to employ clear, purposeful planning procedures. When we were clear about what we were doing and why, our instructions were easy to explain and carry out during the class sessions.
5. All seven of the multiple intelligences identified by Howard Gardner (verbal, math, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and spacial) were to be addressed throughout the week, and if possible throughout each day.
6. This was a not computer class. Out of the two and a half hours of each class time, no more than an hour was to be spent on the computers.
7. Computers were to be used to facilitate cooperative/collaborative learning, not to generate isolation. One student on one computer was rarely used and, in fact, was rarely possible.

We would explore four stories from Scripture using a variety of means, including computer technology, to more easily address the multiple intelligences of the learners, while at the same time giving the participants an opportunity to use modern media to retell the ancient stories in their own ways.

The assumptions, structures and resources of VBS 1997 provided an ideal environment in which to utilize technology such as videos, recorded music and Hyperstudio, a multimedia authoring program which runs on the Macintosh and Windows, in combination with Howard Gardner's Theory of the Multiple Intelligences ( Frames of Mind, 1985) to provide for a well- rounded catechetical presentation.

The adventure of VBS 1997 began with a puzzle.

Our class was made up of three gals and three guys who would enter the 7th Grade in the Fall. They signed up for Vacation Bible School not knowing they would be using technology. As they walked into the first class, the guys and gals were asked if they had proper security clearance. Of course, they did not, so each person was photographed using an Apple Quicktake camera, given a temporary name tag with "Area 31" (a takeoff of the U.S. governments' Area 51), and asked to fill out a security clearance questionnaire with such questions as, "How have you served God?" and "Have you eaten Twizzlers (a red licorice) without reading the ingredients?". The class was introduced to their week of adventure being told one of their task was to "solve the mystery of Area 31".

After this baffling introduction, the class of Area 31 joined in hearing the story of Miriam and Moses and sang with the other VBS classes (the first and last time they "had to sing with the 'little' kids"). We then journeyed to "Area 31," a typical summer time elementary classroom, carpeted, mostly void of desks, with separate spaces for prayer, movement activities, a work space for crafts and snacks and, of course, the five Macintosh computers provided by the school. The spirit of the kids, some of whom were not pleased to be at Vacation Bible School in the first place, took a decided turn for the better.

The week was planned as follows:

Monday: Miriam showed care as she watched over the baby Moses in the river.

1. Heard the story of Miriam and Moses
2. "Journeyed" to Area 31, where the unifying quote for the week, I John 3:1 was displayed. (Can you guess the secret of Area 31 by this reference?)
3. Had a snack of Rice Krispy Treats shaped into baskets, with pretzel loops as basket handles. During snack several class logos were presented for consensus.
4. Introductory remarks, including the 3 R's (respect self, respect others, respect equipment).
5. Talked of the power of media. A John Lennon doll with glasses and a mustache was displayed, asking the students to identifying him. They were too young to guess Lennon immediately, but every answer they gave was someone they met through the media, including Weird Al Yankovic. This in itself demonstrated how many people they have met only through media, and thus the power of media.
6. A discussion ensued about creating media ourselves, and the discipline it takes to author, plan and create multi-media productions. The learners were paired up, each team taking on one aspect of the story: the theme, the geographical setting, or a personal reflection on the story. No one would be allowed on a computer until she or he had a written or sketched plan of what and how they would use the technology to communicate the ideas.
7. The first lesson on Hyperstudio: making a two "card" interactive stack (document) using the drawing tools and the button making tools to move from one card to the next, with sound transitions. Simple animated movement was introduced. The stacks were crude, but they worked.
8. Every 15 minutes we took a short break to provide input (movement, bible verse search, interactive games, ...) and to allow for the students to switch control of the mouse.
9. Once completed, the student teams shared their stacks with each other.
10. The class then moved to the prayer area which displayed symbols of caring, a stress balloon and a wooden massager. We ended with each participated using the massager to rub the next person's back for as long as that person said a prayer of thanksgiving.
11. Due to a planning error, a second snack came in, brought by young volunteers. We took that opportunity to discuss the word "lavished" from I John 3:1, the translation reading: "How great is the love God has lavished on us, that we should be called Children of God! And that is what we are!"
12. A letter was sent home to the parents to inform them of our use of technology and our desire compile some the work generated by the VBS students. Out of concern for the privacy and safety of the students we asked the parents for permission to post material on a Wedpage with limited personal information about their children (photo and first name only) assuring them that if they did not want their children identified online we would not do so.

Tuesday: David as a boy

1. Three students acted out the story of a girl prepping for a blind date. She didn't know what to do if she decided she didn't like what her date looked like. Her friend tells her to fake an asthma attack if she opens the door and he is a nerd. She practices it, then the bell rings. She opens the door. The boy looks at her, and starts to cough as though HE has an asthma attack. We stressed the point that God looks beyond appearances and we are not to judge quickly by superficialities.
2. The class learned a song "Sealed in the Spirit" which talks about living as a child of God.
3. We showed the video "David and the Giant Pickle" from the hilarious, yet pointed series Veggietales.
4. During the viewing, the young snack volunteers brought in popcorn, but when we took a taste, we realized there was caramel corn mixed with regular popcorn. Even the popcorn couldn't be judged by our immediate assumptions.
5. We planned three aspects of the theme, geography and personal reflection into one Hyperstudio stack. Geography was used to show the "not so apparent" talents of God's children, e.g. if you click on Palestine, a David demonstration appeared showing his gifts, whereas if you clicked on Minnesota, the Student's photos appeared, telling of their gifts. As we became more involved in the authoring, the kids became frustrated if their programs didn't work as they expected. It became very important that the instructors knew Hyperstudio well for troubleshooting.
6. Prayer ended the day with the symbols being a book of psalms from Israel,, which "appeared" to be backwards, but was not as it was written in Hebrew, and a cross, which "appeared" to be a symbol of defeat, but is really a sign of triumph.
7. We reissued the challenge of the mystery of Area 31. One boy noticed the chapter and verse of I John 3:1.

Wednesday: The "Forgiven Son"

1. The kids told the story by acting out an interview from a handout from the Augsburg press' materials. Discussion centered on with whom we identified in the story, and what God's forgiveness is like.
2. Again the song was practiced, this time with a couple rhythm instruments.
3. Since our sorrow and God's forgiveness is usually demonstrated through actions, the students were asked to draw out animations for their Hyperstudio stack of the day. One student went for scissors instead of crayons, and that was affirmed as a different way of creating the storyboard for his animation, in keeping with his "intelligence".
4. Students each used a computer alone this time, due to the intensity of cell animation creation. They learned a great respect for the Veggietales animation in creating their animated cartoons frame by frame which got almost tedious.
5. When all were finished, they shared their animations, complete with sound. The instructors then compiled them into one stack.
6. Class ended with Prayer, using a rose, Twizzlers and a Crucifix as symbols of forgiveness.
7. Posters were created to invite parents and other VBS participants to come to AREA 31 at the end of VBS on Thursday to interact with the stacks the students had created.

Thursday: The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes

1. Four lunch boxes, with the combined contents of 2 sodas, ice, 2 pieces of licorice, and 6 cups and napkins were distributed as the students arrived. We gathered around the prayer table and asked they kids if they had money for lunch. They didn't have any money, but were willing to share the treats they had in their lunch boxes. They did notice that the Twizzlers from the previous day were missing. When they shared their food, a facilitator felt guilty for having hidden the Twizzlers, and then shared them so all had enough of the sweets.
2. Then when the snack volunteers brought in the real snacks, we shared our treats with them.
3. The students created a storyboard, script and props using the real snack of the day to reenact the story. This time the skit was recorded with a digital camera. The result was a filmstrip-style stack with photos of the students complete with the sound supplied by their voices.
4. While the photographing and recording was going on, the kids not presently active making the stack made mouse pads using the week's Logo, Scripture quote, contact paper and "Fun Foam", a type of rubber backing. The kids made one for themselves, and one to leave at each computer as a thank you gift.
5. The kids then recorded the theme song on the last photograph. It was amazing to hear kids, going into the seventh grade, sing without abandon into microphone built into the Macs, not once, but twice, to get the best take.
6. The stacks were then prepped for parents and other Vacation Bible School participants and personnel. The students eagerly shared what they had learned and the stories they wanted to tell.

The final task of our experiment was to collect bits of the better stacks, and to incorporate them into a Web page. This can be seen at <www.StCloudDiocese.org/area31/>. Anyone on America Online, or similar service, is usually afforded a space to post their own web pages. If we had no access to a Web server, we would have used one of the participants family's space. Thus the multimedia productions served not only to enhance the learning of the "Members of Area 31", but also to announce some of that new knowledge to anyone, anywhere, who knows the Web location. And now that person touched by the mystery of Area 31 is you.

by Timothy Welch and Lori Dahlhoff
Catholic Education Ministries, Diocese of St. Cloud
Spring, 1998

back to Table of Contents