Friday, January 25, 2008

RESource - Catholic Education Office, Melbourne

RESource: An online Learning and Teaching Initiative of the Catholic Education Office, Melbourne

RESource is a response by the Catholic Education Office, Melbourne to the challenge and opportunity offered by the Internet for learning both in and beyond the classroom. Its aim is to help Catholic educators to use the extraordinary technological advances of our time to fulfil the gospel imperative: "Go out to all of the world and tell the good news".

I usually simply describe the content of resources with few or no editorial comments, but I am so impressed with this resource that I must make an exception.

I have been digging up resources for faith education on the Internet for over 12 years now and I have slowly come to the realisation that our efforts to develop the potential for evangelisation and faith education using the technologies available online have only scratched the surface of what is possible. Much of what is available on Catholic Web sites never goes beyond the mindset of a “book culture” and Web sites are almost always the repository of documents that could just as well be in printed format on bookshelves or filed in cabinets. This approach is akin to buying an expensive computer with all the bells and whistles and using it solely as a doorstop. The RESource Website is an indication that we are finally emerging from this one dimensional mindset and starting to understand how much more powerful the Internet can be as a tool for faith education and evangelisation. The Catholic Education Office of Melbourne is a pioneer in this new frontier. Bravo, well done!

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