- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
SamBee wrote:SilentDawning wrote:
Many churches use – maybe overuse – Powerpoint. But I’ve never seen it used in LDS.
It’s actually not allowed (along with other media) in SM.
I know. That’s why our meetings are so dull and old fashioned visually. Yes, PowerPoint or any other visual aide cannot be used in a sacrament meeting but they can be used in any other meeting. I’ve seen PowerPoint used in church quite a bit, I have mixed feelings about it. [This is a PPI thread that deviated a bit and now I’m going to deviate further, sorry]
Disclaimer: I don’t see anything wrong with people using tablets, laptops, etc. in church.
In some ways I think using technology in church can create a dividing wedge between the haves and the have nots. I remember when PalmPilots, Blackberries, tablets, etc. started to integrate into our culture. The joke in Elders Quorum in the PalmPilot days was that the teacher would ask people to “open their scriptures…” and everyone would bring out their various electronic devices, you’d see little to no actual books. No one tells that joke anymore because the devices are 100% integrated into our culture.
The nature of my calling at the time this phenomenon was occurring involved working with people of little means. I didn’t think too much of it until the day I saw someone in a sacrament meeting fire up a tablet to use the LDS Hymns app when there were a half dozen hymnals within arms reach. I couldn’t help but think of some of the people that I served that were struggling to make ends meet and think how they might feel. It also conjured thoughts of how one of the neat things about the temple was how everyone is on equal footing… even if in appearance only. I decided to stick with the traditional books.
I’ve had similar feelings when someone brings in a laptop, sometimes even their own projector, to give a PowerPoint presentation in a lesson. I realize that laptops are nearly ubiquitous these days but it reminds me of the days where I was a bit sensitive toward using expensive things to teach lessons to people that might have been struggling to pay the rent.
Flash forward many years and I finally succumbed to the temptation of the tablet. I just got tired of carrying a huge bag full of books and manuals to church all the time, in the end convenience won out. Still, I do try to justify the 180 to myself by noting how most everyone has a cellphone capable of running the church apps these days. In recalling all of those feelings to post in this thread I may decide to reevaluate my more recent adoption of using the tablet.
Heck, this is probably me just being crazy. I don’t know whether that sort of thing would ever bother someone that can’t afford the tech.
I don’t think you even need tech to make things more interesting. It is curious that missionaries use DVDs and charts, and illustrations and object lessons, whereas you’re lucky to see anything up on the board in SS
SamBee wrote:I don’t think you even need tech to make things more interesting.
It is curious that missionaries use DVDs and charts, and illustrations and object lessons, whereas you’re lucky to see anything up on the board in SS
I agree, and I’m sure some teachers in some places do it. I think each ward has the “hardware” (so to speak) to use, and there are lots of resources online from LDS.org that are correlated. Maybe the leadership needs to make more of an issue of it.
The new Sunday School structure explicitly encourages the use of technology in class. I don’t use much, since most of my lessons are discussion-focused, but other teachers do. I can understand the counsel to avoid using multi-media sources in Sacrament Meeting, but technology ought to be encouraged locally in every other setting – except, perhaps, to get back to the original post, in PPIs.
DarkJedi wrote:SamBee wrote:I don’t think you even need tech to make things more interesting.
It is curious that missionaries use DVDs and charts, and illustrations and object lessons, whereas you’re lucky to see anything up on the board in SS
I agree, and I’m sure some teachers in some places do it. I think each ward has the “hardware” (so to speak) to use, and there are lots of resources online from LDS.org that are correlated. Maybe the leadership needs to make more of an issue of it.
While I do understand Nibbler’s concern about creating division between have and have nots, this is already happening. Many people use the internet when preparing talks anyway.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.