austraLasia 1466
Studying the Rector Major's thinking: a new resource for you to try
ROME: 27th February 2006 -- When Fr Chávez wrote "With the courage of Don Bosco...." in AGC 390, he packed so much into it that most readers would have found it difficult to take everything in at once. Like good wine, reflection on it matures over time. The letter, one of his best to date, contains a detailed history of the development of social communications in the Congregation, especially over the last 40 years, in which he aligns ecclesial documents, congregational statements and gradually developing structures. He then provides an analysis of developments in communications technology, their cultural import and the challenges they offer Salesians at an educational and institutional level. This analysis is profound and enlightening and is the real heart of the letter. He concludes by offering a change of strategy and a considerable list of practical directions for individuals, communities and provinces to take.
To help you absorb this letter in a way which is attractive, instructive and faithful to the analytical mind of its author, concept maps of the letter have been constructed and are available to you at the click of a mouse. www.bosconet.aust.com/bnet06sc.htm Here you will find the three concept maps in the useful Salesian communications materials section of that page.
Let me explain what is in these web page versions. It makes sense to begin with the first of the three concept maps, the 'history' or first part of the AGC 390 letter. You will find a clickable 'network' icon in that map under 'new challenges' which takes you to the map on challenges - a second icon above it would jump that and go straight to the 'response' map. In the 'challenges' map there is likewise a clickable network icon in the centre, under 'response' which takes you to the third map.
In the first map, under the 'magna carta' reference at the top, the complete letter is available, minus the first few paragraphs which referred to Pope John Paul and are not relevant here. The pencil icons contain annotations, relevant sections of the text, and should open the full text but with the top line always at the appropriate bookmarked spot. You have to right-click the pencil icon; depending on your browser (I have checked them with IE and Firefox) a single or double right-click on the icon to open the 'click this link' indicator, which you obviously then click. Firefox requires a double right-click. The maps are made with software called cmap tools but I needed to convert them to html to work inside Bosconet and did a workaround to make the icons clickable.
The cmap software is free. You might consider getting that for your own use - it has many possibilities. Once you have it installed on your computer you can make your own concept maps! Indeed, if you were looking at the AGC390 maps in this software, then the pencil icons open up immediately into little stickit-type notes which are scrollable.
The resource offered here, even without the annotations, has potential for private understanding of a magnificent letter that should not be easily forgotten, or for presentation to a group such as the community. If the idea of dealing with the Rector Major's letters this way is appealing, I would be happy to treat others similarly. JBF
_____________________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
Studying the Rector Major's thinking: a new resource for you to try
ROME: 27th February 2006 -- When Fr Chávez wrote "With the courage of Don Bosco...." in AGC 390, he packed so much into it that most readers would have found it difficult to take everything in at once. Like good wine, reflection on it matures over time. The letter, one of his best to date, contains a detailed history of the development of social communications in the Congregation, especially over the last 40 years, in which he aligns ecclesial documents, congregational statements and gradually developing structures. He then provides an analysis of developments in communications technology, their cultural import and the challenges they offer Salesians at an educational and institutional level. This analysis is profound and enlightening and is the real heart of the letter. He concludes by offering a change of strategy and a considerable list of practical directions for individuals, communities and provinces to take.
To help you absorb this letter in a way which is attractive, instructive and faithful to the analytical mind of its author, concept maps of the letter have been constructed and are available to you at the click of a mouse. www.bosconet.aust.com/bnet06sc.htm Here you will find the three concept maps in the useful Salesian communications materials section of that page.
Let me explain what is in these web page versions. It makes sense to begin with the first of the three concept maps, the 'history' or first part of the AGC 390 letter. You will find a clickable 'network' icon in that map under 'new challenges' which takes you to the map on challenges - a second icon above it would jump that and go straight to the 'response' map. In the 'challenges' map there is likewise a clickable network icon in the centre, under 'response' which takes you to the third map.
In the first map, under the 'magna carta' reference at the top, the complete letter is available, minus the first few paragraphs which referred to Pope John Paul and are not relevant here. The pencil icons contain annotations, relevant sections of the text, and should open the full text but with the top line always at the appropriate bookmarked spot. You have to right-click the pencil icon; depending on your browser (I have checked them with IE and Firefox) a single or double right-click on the icon to open the 'click this link' indicator, which you obviously then click. Firefox requires a double right-click. The maps are made with software called cmap tools but I needed to convert them to html to work inside Bosconet and did a workaround to make the icons clickable.
The cmap software is free. You might consider getting that for your own use - it has many possibilities. Once you have it installed on your computer you can make your own concept maps! Indeed, if you were looking at the AGC390 maps in this software, then the pencil icons open up immediately into little stickit-type notes which are scrollable.
The resource offered here, even without the annotations, has potential for private understanding of a magnificent letter that should not be easily forgotten, or for presentation to a group such as the community. If the idea of dealing with the Rector Major's letters this way is appealing, I would be happy to treat others similarly. JBF
_____________________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
