Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24“We always configure our class- rooms so we have a space in the back to walk,” he said of Junipero Serra High School, where digital technology and instruction go hand-in-hand. Meegan described the atmo- sphere in his classroom as “highly interactive,” with students en- gaged with each other, the in- structor, and the learning material. That’s also what Meegan likes about Saint Mary’s Press’ Understanding Cathol- icism eLearning course. “The Understanding Catholicism module gets us going” by providing the “large ideas and essential concepts that are required by the (US) bishops’ framework,” he said. THE MODULE GOES BACK AND FORTH FROM “ACTIVE TO CONCENTRATED ACTIVITY. THAT ALLOWS US TO GET TO THE DEEP LEARNING.” Meegan said the students particularly like the activities the module provides, such as classroom polls or an exercise where students select and share images for discussion. Each activity takes from 2 to 5 minutes, he said, followed by classroom discussion. “That’s a real positive” of the module. “Af- ter a couple of screens it pulls us back to discussion. Those exercis- es are very powerful for us. Stu- dents love the interactive parts.” MEEGAN ALSO LIKES UNDER- STANDING CATHOLICISM’S FLEXIBILITY FOR INSTRUCTION. A teacher “needs to understand their own population and teach to that population—adding and subtracting as necessary,” he said. “I augment this with our own hyper-docs,” Meegan said, re- ferring to the digital lessons he creates that are standard fare in his classrooms. “We are a Google school so that allows us to use Google classroom. It gives me a big screen so I can assign stuff. It’s a classroom management tool. I can make a hyper-doc that has links, fill-in spaces, videos—I own that doc. I click on that and every kid gets a copy and we can all share a screen of that doc.” “We don’t assign [Understanding Catholicism] for homework,” he said. “It’s really a classroom tool to get everything started.” And then “at the end of the semes- ter it’s a great way to go back and through” the material again. “It’s a fantastic introduction.” Gary Meegan likes a room with a view—from the back. “I am in back so I can see every- one’s (laptop) screens,” says the theology chair at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, CA. Not only does this ensure every- one is on the same page—or screen, Meegan said, it encourages a more interactive class- room. “It stops me from being in front” all the time, he said. Jumping and diving in SPARK // SMP.ORG/ELEARNING // 21 20 // SMP.ORG/ELEARNING // SPARK