Dec 31 2008

052 – The Best and Worst of 2008

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie countdown their best and worst picks of 2008.

Listen now or download Episode 052 (50:02)

The discussion:

The tidbits:

  • Coming up on WELSTech (44:45)
    • Episode 053 - We celebrate the one year anniversary of the WELSTech podcast with a look back at our first show and a look ahead at our expectations for 2009

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Michael Schroeder (michaelschroeder.com) - The Reason For the Season from his CD with the same title, The Reason For the Season (45:50)

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Dec 24 2008

051 – A Conversation with the President

This week on WELSTech synod President Mark Schroeder joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the synod and its use of technology to further the gospel message.

Listen now or download Episode 051 (29:56)

The interview:

  • President Mark SchroederA conversation with the President (2:25) - In a special Christmas Eve interview, WELS President Mark Schroeder talks with Martin and Sallie about what he’s learned in the year and a half since he became president, how technology is assisting with the work of the synod, and how he sees it being used in the future.

The tidbits:

  • Coming up on WELSTech (25:30)
    • Episode 052 - Tune in for our 2008 countdown of best and worst picks of the year

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS pianist, Dawn Gehlhar - Silent Night from her CD titled Christmas Dreams (26:40)

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Dec 17 2008

Episode 050 – Dec 17 2008

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie look at the ease of group formation in a Web 2.0 world as they continue their discussion of Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody.  They also clean out the WELSTech mail bag.

Listen now or download Episode 050 (1:01:20)

The discussion:

The tidbits:

  • Community feedback – Cleaning out the WELSTech mail bag!(31:00)
    • Call for a web developer posted on the WELSTech facebook group by Carol Restovic
    • Following up on the Content Management System discussion in Episode 047, John Simonson from Good Shepherd in West Bend, WI shared links to tools to enhance blogging with WordPress and TypePad
    • Following up on Episode 045, George Efsen asked how to find the interview segment about Search Engine Optimization.  Time markers for all WELSTech episodes are included in the show notes.
    • David Savatski recommended box.net for online storage and group collaboration
    • John Shoosmith of Redeemer in Yakima, WA shared several comments
    • Alyssa Dunning shared a link to digsby.com – useful for aggregating your web presence including instant messaging, e-mail and social networks
    • Closing the loop on a question we received in Episode 033 from Pastor John Maasch of Peace in Bradenton, FL – WELS Worship has published the current lectionary series in “ical” format for importing into your calendaring software – in the “Lectionary Planning” folder
    • Our occasional guest host, Gail Potratz, from Emanuel in New London, WI shared a link to David Warlick’s School Acceptable Use Policy wiki
    • Richard Travis from Divine Peace in Garland, TX is using FlashPoint to convert PowerPoint files to Flash format for their church web site
  • Coming up on WELSTech (56:01)
    • Episode 051 - A special treat for Christmas Eve – We’ll talk with WELS President Mark Schroeder
  • WELS.net feature (57:15)

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Michael Schroeder (michaelschroeder.com) - What Child Is This from his CD titled The Reason For the Season (57:48)

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Dec 10 2008

Episode 049 – Dec 10 2008

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie take a look at chapter one of Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody.  Ray Brown joins the conversation to share how he uses video e-mail for outreach and congregational communication.

Listen now or download Episode 049 (1:01:18)

The discussion:

  • Harnessing the power of groups - Martin and Sallie kick off a discussion of the book Here Comes Everybody – The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky with a look at the concepts presented in the first chapter. The author uses a true story of a ”one-person media outlet” to illustrate how easily groups can form on the Internet and the power these groups can yield.  Based on these concepts, the discussion shifts to how the church will be affected by these types of groups and also how it can make use of the ease of group formation to effectively carry out ministry.

The interview:

  • Ray BrownVideo e-mail (22:33) -  Ray Brown, Congregational Assistant from Summerlin Lutheran in Las Vegas, NV, joins Martin and Sallie to share information on their use of video e-mail as a communication tool to members and prospects.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (43:27)
    • Create a flash scrapbook for your church or school web site – ScrapBlog.com
    • Windows Live SkyDrive – 25 Gb of “in the cloud” online storage
  • WELS.net feature (50:05)
  • Community feedback (51:42)
  • Coming up on WELSTech (52:47)
    • Episode 050 - We’ll discuss Chapter 2 of Here Comes Everybody and open our mail bag to share loads of community feedback

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS pianist, Dawn Gehlhar - Carol of the Bells from her CD titled Christmas Dreams (54:35)

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Dec 3 2008

Episode 048 – Dec 3 2008

This week on WELSTech we are joined by Gail Potratz, our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, and we take a look at the skills our students need to succeed in the Web 2.0 world.

Listen now or download Episode 048 (42:52)

The discussion:

The tidbits:

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Revelation music ministry (www.revelationwlc.com) - I’m Free from their Led by Light CD (40:42)

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Nov 26 2008

Episode 047 – Nov 26 2008

This week the focus of the WELSTech podcast is Content Management Systems.  Martin and Sallie are joined by WELS.net webmaster, Julie Duran, and we take a look at WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.

Listen now or download Episode 047 (41:12)

The discussion:

The tidbits:

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Michael Schroeder (michaelschroeder.com) - O Come, O Come Emmanuel from his CD titled The Reason For the Season (37:35)

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Nov 19 2008

Episode 046 – Nov 19 2008

This week the WELSTech discussion centers around using your web site for event promotion.  Brian Shaffer joins Martin and Sallie to announce enhancements to the FinalWeb system.

Listen now or download Episode 046 (53:29)

The discussion:

  • Event promotion - Martin and Sallie share ideas for taking your congregation or school web site to the next level by moving beyond the basics – location & service times – to focus on the events that are happening, utilizing your web “channel” as an important component in your overall communication plan.

The interview:

  • Brian ShafferNew features on FinalWeb (18:14) -  Brian Shaffer, of FinalWeb.com, joins Martin and Sallie to announce some exciting enhancements to the FinalWeb system including higher storage capacity, calendar enhancements, and a custom tool for building templates.

The tidbits:

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com) – Climb The Mountain from his CD with the same title (48:26)

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Nov 12 2008

Episode 045 – Nov 12 2008

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie are celebrating National Distance Learning Week.  They also interview WELS member and businessman John Simonson on web marketing techniques.

Listen now or download Episode 045 (48:01)

The discussion:

  • Check out Martin’s completed deck project 
  • National Distance Learning Week - Distance education is growing in popularity, and with today’s Web 2.0 tools, the barriers to creating your own distance learning initiative are virtually gone.  Martin and Sallie discuss the components of a distance learning offering and share tips for starting your own objective-based online learning.  We also showcase WELS’ many online learning resources for Bible study, ministry support and more. 

The interview:

  • John SimonsonSearch Engine Optimization (14:56) -  WELS member John Simonson from Good Shepherd in West Bend, WI is a business owner of a web development company, WebStream Dynamics.  John joins Martin and Sallie to share his knowledge on marketing web sites and search engine optimization, and we look at applications of these techniques for church web sites.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (31:35)
  • Of interest (37:29)
    • Live streaming of the Western Regional Choral Festival concert
      • November 16 @ 2 p.m. CST from Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School in New Ulm, MN
  • Community feedback (39:18)
    • The WELSTech facebook group has 94 members! Will you be member 100?
    • Ryan Rosenthal from Faith in Fond du Lac, WI shared a link to LibriVox.org.  The goal of the site is to make all public domain books available as free audio books.
  • Coming up on WELSTech (42:53)
    • Episode 046 - We’ll take a look at “Event Driven Marketing” as you prepare your web site for the Advent and Christmas season.  The interview will be with Brian Shaffer of FinalWeb.net, and he’ll share new features being implemented for their web hosting customers.

The featured artist:

  • This week we close with the music of In His Service featuring WELS musicians Dr. Patricia Backhaus and Valerie Floeter (www.adagioconcepts.com) – Gabriel’s Message from their CD titled In His Time (45:03)

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Nov 5 2008

Episode 044 – Nov 5 2008

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie are joined by Gail Potratz, our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, and we hear about Gail’s recent adventure in podcasting at the Wisconsin Lutheran State Teachers’ Conference.

Listen now or download Episode 044 (53:29)

The discussion:

  • Gail PotratzPodcasting teachers - Gail Potratz, Technology Coordinator for Emanuel in New London, WI, joins Martin and Sallie to share her experience leading a breakout session on podcasting at the Wisconsin Lutheran State Teachers’ Conference last week.  The session goals were to learn about the uses of Audacity, free, open-source audio editing software, as well as share ideas for using technology in the classroom.  We hear ideas from many of the participants as they make their podcasting debut!

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (30:01)
  • WELS.net feature (42:51)
  • Community feedback (43:47)
    • Following up on last week’s comment from Kevin Smith at Christ in Zumbrota, MN, we heard from Jenifer with ProCare Software who offered to help out with a future podcast episode
    • Perry Lund, an elder and Sunday school teacher from Grace in Oskaloosa, IA, shared info on how he uses his iPhone for ministry
    • Join the conversation on the WELSTech listserve
  • Coming up on WELSTech (46:50)
    • Episode 045 - We celebrate National Distance Learning Week and talk with WELS Internet entrepreneur John Simonson about marketing tips for congregational web sites
    • In December – We’ll be discussing Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Kevin Loersch – Abide With Me from his CD titled Abide with Me (48:55)

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Oct 29 2008

Episode 043 – Oct 29 2008

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie tackle texting and twittering as they discuss mobile technology and applications for future ministry.  They also interview Pastor Hans Caauwe on his use of Apple’s new iPhone 3G.

Listen now or download Episode 043 (51:48)

The discussion:

The interview:

  • Pastor Johann CaauweiPhone in Ministry (17:40) -  Pastor Johann Caauwe from Trinity in El Paso, TX joins Martin and Sallie to share his experience of using the new iPhone 3G in his ministry - a great example of technology as a servant in ministry.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (35:15)
  • Of interest (40:55)
    • Live streaming of the Spanish Reformation Service
      • October 31 @ 7 p.m. CDT from Risen Savior Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, WI
  • Community feedback (41:38)
    • Andy from Mt. Olive in Overland Park, KS suggested a future show topic on web site software options
    • Kevin Smith from Christ in Zumbrota, MN pointed us to ProCare Software for pre-school management
    • Ryan Rosenthal from Faith in Fond du Lac, WI shared his experiences with introducing new technology in his classroom and congregation
  • Coming up on WELSTech (46:12)
    • Episode 044 - Podcasting from the Wisconsin Teachers Conference with our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, Gail Potratz

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, WendySue Fluegge (www.wendysue.com) - All from her CD titled The Instrument (47:30)

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