By Rose O’ConnorCorrespondent

Catholic schools in the Diocese of Trenton have managed to accomplish something that other schools, businesses and individuals struggle with in this age of technological advancements. They have created the ability to balance the incorporation of the seemingly impersonal world of social media and have built a community of learners continuing to spread the good news of Catholic education to their immediate audience and beyond.

Today’s Catholic school teachers employ the use of digital media in their classrooms, integrating technology with instructional strategies that engage students and increase learning.

“We live in a technology rich society. It is necessary for us to bring that technology into our classrooms. Our students are passionate about technology because it’s what they are using at home to play games. If we make learning in the classroom as fun as the games they are playing at home, then we have hit a home run,” Anne Reap, director of the Lower School in Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton, shared on a recent documentary produced by eSpark Learning, a company that produces educational apps for use on iPads. The video can be viewed here: http://vimeo.com/67325879.

While the lessons in the classrooms are becoming more individualized and tailored to the students and their learning needs, the ability to interact and connect with teachers and other schools through social networking apps and blogs have broadened the opportunities for students and educators.

Teachers themselves form educational communities online and share resources and lessons through educational blogs they subscribe to that coincide with the grades or subject matter. Pinterest, a popular online tool for organizing images or video, known as “pins,” connects teachers to other educators and introduces them to new blogs and bloggers who share new and innovative ideas with relative ease. Teachers may search for pins through a general education category or more specifically by using key words or topics.

Social learning platforms like Edmodo, hailed as the “Facebook of schools,” connects parents, teachers and students in a safe and easy way, allowing them to collaborate with one another. With tools such as this, teachers create a closed group and establish and maintain the controls of the group to protect students and their identities.

In educational social networking platforms, such as Edmodo, educators may pose an assignment to a closed group of students. Educators control who may post to the group, when students can post and who can see what has been posted. Guidelines as to the content of student’s postings need to be clearly established prior to posting the assignment to the group.

“Our teachers’ primary concern is to keep the children safe,” Reap asserted. “At no time are they communicating with people outside their own virtual classroom.”

Tom Sorci, principal of Mother Teresa Regional School, Atlantic Highlands, explains how his school community utilizes social networking regularly.

“At Mother Teresa Regional School, we used social media heavily … post Sandy to let families know where we needed help and ways they could help as well as where they could receive assistance. Teachers used Twitter to let parents have a peek at what has been going in the classroom,” he said, adding that the social media tool allowed the students “to follow the events of the Vatican as Pope Benedict XVI resigned and the cardinals gathered to enter the conclave. We were able to give the students up to date information as the cardinals were tweeting. We joined Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s novena to St. Joseph and adopted a cardinal to pray for during the conclave.”

Sorci, who was appointed principal this past June, recently posted a YouTube video introducing himself to the community on the school Facebook page and highlighted the importance of Catholic schools and their unique gift of being able “to share our faith publicly.” In Saint John Vianney High School, Holmdel, the online learning platform BlackBoard is used to communicate with our students, parents, faculty,” assistant principal John Niesz shared.

“SJV is using Blackboard technology to reach more students in immediate, personalized new ways. They are helping their educators become more effective [by] keeping everyone informed, involved, by collaborating together and meeting the high expectations of today’s learners,” he said, “and they’re doing it in a cost-effective way that helps to sustain services and programs, even as outcomes are improved over time – finally, the new generation of education is here at SJV!”

The Notre Dame High School community in Lawrenceville is also able to remain in contact with each other and receive information immediately as it becomes available.

“Notre Dame’s web page allows teachers, clubs and teams to communicate through text messages, emails and on the group pages. Users can set their notifications so that anytime an assignment, grade, club meeting or game is changed they get a text or email,” principal Mary Liz Ivins offered.

Schools are not only succeeding at building community and increasing communication with one another, they are in fact reaching out to the larger community- the public, alumni and stakeholders.

“Facebook has been particularly successful in connecting with our alumni,” Tim Lynch, principal of St. Raphael School, Hamilton, stated, then adding that “the use social media [is] as an important part of our marketing program.”

Students in Catholic schools are blessed to receive a quality education that is not only tailored to their needs and abilities but also one that con­nects them with our global community, he said.

“Technology enhances the sense of community by allowing students to explore the world around them in a safe atmosphere in ways that are of interest to them,” Erin Neville, a Pre-K teacher in Trenton Catholic Academy, concurred.

As technology and curricula continue to evolve in the schools, one thing will always remain constant.

“Our Catholic faith, tradition and values always come first in educating our students,” Reap said.

She added that social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can be used as tools to educate, evangelize and share stories of celebrations of the faith. Whether the mediums are used to share details of a prayer service or community outreach initiative, or to highlight the celebration of a Sacrament, the information channels can be valuable tools in promoting both discussion and prayer.

“The technology we employ simply allows us to evangelize and share the Good News with a larger community of people,” Reap said.