To kick off the three-day workshop for the C3 Catholic Communication Collaboration (C3CON19), Los Angeles archbishop José H. Gomez said during his morning prayer that “the C3 conference is one of my priorities in the archdiocese. It is important for us to be there for the evangelization of the digital continent.”

C3 project manager Paul Hernandez said the goal of the event is not simply to impart more knowledge about how technology interfaces with current teaching methods, but also to look at how to spread that information through their schools on various levels.

“We wanted to make sure we didn’t include the word ‘Tech’ in ‘Bridge The Gap’ because technology is here and it’s already happening, and we don’t have to emphasize or focus just on that anymore,” said Hernandez. 

“Also, when you say ‘tech’ in this instance, a principal might say, ‘Let me send my tech director or computer teacher.’ We want to take all those walls down. This is for everyone in the archdiocese.”

Dozens of sessions were offered at the eighth incarnation of C3, which due to expanded participation this year moved from the campus of Loyola Marymount University to the new site in the San Fernando Valley.

Sherry Hayes-Peirce, a Redondo Beach-based Catholic social media strategist, gave a presentation called “Teachers Using Technology to Reach the Digital Native.” She said, “what does our faith tell us about sharing the good news? We have to meet people where they are. Our young people are in technology.”

The C3 program has been funded with resources by Sprint, which gave everyone in attendance a new BBC micro:bit, a programmable pocket-sized mini-computer students can connect to a smartphone or iPad. 

Full story at Angelus News.