Canadiana Dave Rides Again!

Canadiana Dave II: The Apps of the iPad has arrived!

"Why yes, I use my iPad for data collection." I've had a few people ask me about my use of technology for research.  Frankly I have lots to learn yet, but I thought I'd share what I have discovered to date.  This is part 2 of 3.  Next Time: Canadiana Dave, The Books of Wonder.  WARNING: This video contains excessive corny-ness, but also helpful info.

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Canadiana Dave: The New Quest for Knowledge

"Why yes, I use my iPad for data collection." I've had a few people ask me about my use of technology for research.  Frankly I have lots to learn yet, but I thought I'd share what I have discovered to date.  This is part 1 of 3.  Next week: Canadiana Dave, The Apps of the iPad.  WARNING: This video contains excessive corny-ness, but also helpful info.

Youtube Link

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Here comes the bride...and the ipad?

I've argued that technology is subtly changing how people practice their faith. Even familiar rituals get transformed. Sometime ago I shared an example of a wedding procession that became a viral video hit. OK, that was good but this is better: the Huffington Post posted a story about Renee the bridesmaid who couldn't travel to the wedding so...she joined by ipad via Apple's video app facetime.



Webcams are ok to watch, laptops are bulky, but the ipad was just right. I recently attended a work meeting by ipad. I sat at one side of the table and could see and hear and participate. But is it ok to be part of a wedding virtually? What is it like to be groomsman? Can you actually sign the register as an official witness if you weren't really there? If it is ok for the bridal party, what about the bride and groom? What happens if your battery dies?

Oh well, congratulations Jamie and Jonathon! May you have many happy years together!

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"My Confession..." Part 2

So here is the test! As I discussed in my last post, I've downloaded the iPad Confession app, and I am going to give it a whirl. No, I'm not Catholic so this is new territory. I am hoping to discover how intuitive this is, so my apologies to my Catholic friends if I appear clueless...(more so than usual.)

Step 1: Add new user - Name, Sex, Birthday, Vocation, Last Confession (umm...), Password.
(Apparently vocation means: single, married, priest or religious [order]. ) Here goes...am I going to get Vatican spam now?

Step 2: Select 'Act of Contrition'???? ummm, ok 'default act of contrition.' I'm not sure what I just agreed to here, but I'll go with this.

Step 3: Examination of Conscience - Here I have a list of the Ten Commandments, Responsibilities to God and Responsibilities to Other.

Oops, it logged me out, and won't let me back in... I had to recreate my profile. It seems to bump you out from time to time.

Step 3 (second try): Ok, I've selected the 10th commandment "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods." The Lotto is $50,000,000 this week; so coveting is realistic. Now there is a set of five questions, from the generic: "Am I jealous of what other people have?" to the more pointed "do I not trust God to provide for my material needs?" I like that; it is thought provoking. I also have space to add my own reflective questions. What should I ask myself? Hmmm....

Step 4: Begin confession "In the name...." There is a warning here "This app is intended to be used during the Sacrament of Penance with a Catholic priest only. This is not a substitute for a valid confession." I wonder if this notice was a later addition? Click next...

Step 5: My list of sins.... (general categories not specifics...that would be a security nightmare!)

Step 6: Act of Contrition; the prayer of confession. Next.

Step 7: A text box: "Receive absolution and respond 'Amen'. If the Priest says, 'Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.' answer 'His mercy endures forever.'"

All done. It will remember my last confession next time I log in.

Interesting experience; it is not a replacement for confession, but it does lead one to reflect and prepare. It is not entirely intuitive; it assumes you have gone through Catechism classes and been Confirmed. I can see why many would download it, but will many actually use it. I doubt it. But it is an interesting reflective tool, in an age when moral self-reflection is out of vogue.

It seemed appropriate to end on a worshipful note here with an ancient Irish hymn common to all branches of Christendom: "Be Thou My Vision."

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"My confession..." Part 1

I've been playing with a borrowed Apple ipad and exploring it how it can enhance teaching. I've enjoyed the personal applications as well (book readers, recipe files, games, and educational tools like the NASA app.) Whatever your interest, as the guys from Apple would say "there's an app for that." Yes, I know a few reps and they do say that.

Now as tech blogger EnGadget writes: "Are you a sinner? There is an app for that." You might have seen the news story about the Catholic church's Confession app? For my non-Catholic readers, Confession, or more specifically the Sacrament of Penance, is a ritual of confessing one's sins before God, and seeking forgiveness, pardon and restoration. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the priest hears confessions and grants absolution. Though most protestant Christian groups do not believe in confession to a priest, it is noteworthy that the New Testament does direct believers to "confess your sins to each other and prayer for each other." Confession and restoration are important themes in the Bible so this app might be a natural.

The iTunes blurb: "Designed to be used in the confessional, this app is the perfect aid for every penitent. With a personalized examination of conscience for each user, password protected profiles, and a step-by-step guide to the sacrament, this app invites Catholics to prayerfully prepare for and participate in the Rite of Penance." Whoa there confessors! It is not a short cut out of the confessional. The Vatican stresses it is an aid to confession, and not a substitute for confession. The creators got a little ahead of themselves here, but it has become immensely popular since its debut over a month ago. It is the only religion app in the Top 10 of iTunes. And like all things religious, it has also caused controversy.

What do I think about this? Is this just another depersonalizing of faith? The creators argue that it is helping people reconnect with the church. Is it making practicing your faith easy? Should it be easy? Is it another manifestation of worship online.

Well, one way to find out: tomorrow I taking this app for a test run, and you can join me in the cyber confessional....

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