523 – Fortified Networks

This week on WELSTech, we bring in the network security experts from our own WELS Technology team for an overview of the why, what, and how of network security, cloud security, firewalls, and VPNs. There’s also an exciting conference announcement, royalty-free Christmas images and videos, and a mobile app that’s really great at social media marketing.

The interview and discussion:

Networks – Networks are everywhere. Chances are you have one at home and work. How safe is it? How about your information that lives in it? We are joined by two synod employees whose job it is to keep bad guys out and help users practice safe computing. Dan Rebers and Rob Benson help us all think smartly about fortifying our networks.

News in tech:

iPhone X is here

WELS now:

  • Mark your calendars! WELS EdTechLead19, (our next WELSTech + Education & Leadership conference) is scheduled for June 25-27, 2019 at Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells, WI
  • Visit WELS Campus Ministry (wels.net/campus-ministry) to connect college students with WELS congregations and resources

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Ripl – A Marketing Team in Your Pocket

Community feedback:

Reach out to local media with tech in ministry topics – Shepherd of the Lakes, Fairmont, MN

Featured video:

Check out new daily video devotions from Your Time of Grace. The current series is title “Joy in Hard Places.” Watch Joy in Humility.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 524 – Security month continues as we discuss phishing and virus defense with Martin Luther College Network Services personnel. Release date: Wednesday, November 22.

Wartburg image attribution: By Ingersoll – Self-photographed, Public Domain, Link

Get involved:

Ripl – A Marketing Team in Your Pocket

522 – Pa33w0rds!

A new month of WELSTech brings a new topic…this one both timely and critical…security! How safe is your data? Who knows your password? How about your social security number? What can you do to protect yourself and your organization? We’ll talk passwords, encryption, private networks, and everything else security to help you figure out how best to protect all your stuff and yourself!

The discussion:

Let me in – Martin and Sallie discuss all things password – from managing passwords to two-factor-authentication to strong passwords and phrases. It’s the most important topic we all dread!

News in tech:

WELS now:

The current Interactive Faith online Bible Study, Luther’s Lasting Impact, led by Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Prof. Joel Otto, will wrap up on November 8 at 6 pm and 8 pm (central).

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Writing a Password Policy

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Read PC Magazine’s recently updated Best Password Managers of 2017 article and watch the embedded “How Your Password Was Stolen” video, fully of geeky goodness, Lego-style.

Following up on last week’s video selection, visit the CELC’s page on 95 Theses for the 21st Century for text versions of the statements.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 523 – The security discussion turns to networks, virtual private networks (VPNs), and tunnels with WELS Technology team members Dan Rebers and Rob Benson. Release date: Wednesday, November 15.

Get involved:

Writing a Password Policy

Passwords have been around for as long as the internet has, and if you count your ATM pin codes, even longer. They were used in Roman times and were critically important in the Battle of Normandy…a battle my father fought in. Here is an interesting snippet from Wikipedia.

Passwords in military use evolved to include not just a password, but a password and a counterpassword; for example in the opening days of the Battle of Normandy, paratroopers of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division used a password—flash—which was presented as a challenge, and answered with the correct response—thunder. The challenge and response were changed every three days. American paratroopers also famously used a device known as a “cricket” on D-Day in place of a password system as a temporarily unique method of identification; one metallic click given by the device in lieu of a password was to be met by two clicks in reply. (click for full article)

We use passwords for our home alarm systems, to get into our bank accounts, and to retrieve email. They secure our 401K’s, tax returns and photo libraries. They are important. And increasingly so as we personally, and as non-profit organizations are under constant attack by those who’d love to get into our stuff. But how many of us know how to write a strong password security policy? If you are responsible for your organizations security, you need to know.

Password Policy Template

I ran across an excellent blog post over the weekend that should help your thinking when crafting a good password policy for your ministry team or faculty. It was called Password Policy Template, but it offered more than just that. Some of the key takeaways include:

  • Password Creation
    • A password should be unique, with meaning only to the employee who chooses it.
    • Employees must choose unique passwords for all of their company accounts, and may not use a password that they are already using for a personal account.
    • All passwords must be changed regularly, with the frequency varying based on the sensitivity of the account in question.
  • Protecting Passwords
    • Employees may never share their passwords with anyone else, period!
    • Employees must refrain from writing passwords down and keeping them at their workstations.

There were other nice tips there as well. Read the article for more.

Related resources

Complex Password Generators:
Good Articles:

See All Ministry Resources

521 – Reformation 500!

Video month concludes on WELSTech in style with guest host Jason Schmidt and a celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, including great ministry resources for the occasion. Jason does a deep dive on his school district’s use of WeVideo, something any Chromebook enabled school might be interested in.

The discussion:

Student video production – Jason Schmidt, a long-time WELSTech friend, shares the hosting responsibilities on this edtech focused show as we discuss video creation in the classroom – content, software, pricing, and more.

News in tech:

WELS now:

  • Interactive Faith online Bible Study – Luther’s Lasting Impact – Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Prof. Joel Otto leads the study on Wednesday’s now through November 8 at 6 pm and 8 pm (central).
  • Join the conversation at the Gospel Outreach with Media (gowm.org) online conference, now through November 13

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Reformation Resources Roundup

Community feedback:

Featured video:

500 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a door. 500 years later, Lutheran leaders from the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference developed a new set of 95 theses for the 21st century.

Also, tune in for the archived Reformation 500 service at Martin Luther College (service folder).

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 522 – The November WELSTech security focus kicks off with a discussion on password safety. Release date: Wednesday, November 8.

Get involved:

Reformation Resources Roundup

On this very special day – October 31, 2017 – WELSTech celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation with a collection of Reformation resources for use in ministry and personal settings.

Fun & Educational

Books

Multi-Media

Video

See All Ministry Resources

520 – Video Tips from the Pros

WELSTech continues a month-long focus on video for church and school as we add Steve & Beth Zambo to the conversation. They share helpful ideas about storytelling, interview techniques, “B” roll footage and more. Martin encourages you to clean up your computer desktop while Sallie is all in for Reformation 500. Plus, we are excited to play some audio encouragement regarding video from our friend Philip Wels!

The interview and discussion:

Reunited – The Zambos (Steve & Beth) join the show to offer video tips and tricks. Steve is the president of Salty Earth Pictures and Professor of Digital Cinema & Media at Wisconsin Lutheran College, while Beth works for WELS Christian Aid & Relief. Their years of experience will help the rest of us up our video game and perhaps encourage us to make video a bigger part of our ministries.

News in tech:

WELS now:

  • Interactive Faith online Bible Study – Luther’s Lasting Impact – Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Prof. Joel Otto will lead the study on Wednesday’s now through November 8 at 6 pm and 8 pm (central).
  • Join the conversation at the Gospel Outreach with Media (gowm.org) online conference, now through November 13

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

More Favorite Productivity Tips: Cleaning Up Your Desktop

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Sallie’s going all in with the Reformation theme and two new Presentation/Teaching videos. First up is The Story of Martin Luther (Playmobil Animation).

And then, the companion Behind the Scenes of the Martin Luther Playmobil Animation, for those interested in making a video along these lines.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 521 – Join us for a WELSTech Reformation 500 celebration and a bit of sunshine from our friend Jason Schmidt as we discuss school video production. Release date: Wednesday, November 1.

Get involved:

More Favorite Productivity Tips: Cleaning Up Your Desktop

Being in the technology business for many years means I have seen a lot of computer screens and a lot of user desktops. While I have never done a scientific study, I’d guess that an easy majority of them are so full and seemingly disorganized that the user probably knows where a few key files are, but the rest…forget about it. It seems that “desktop” is a dumping ground, home base, halfway house, and miscellaneous whatever, all rolled in to one. At times I’ve been guilty of it too. My ministry productivity quotient went way up however when I finally followed these three simple tips to a healthier desktop.

Tip One: Your desktop should be reserved for documents you need to have one click access to.

Not all documents are created equal, and their relative importance can change over time. Take a look at your desktop right now and identify at least one document you haven’t opened, looked at or otherwise thought about in the last three months. Find any? If you did, it’s like trying to drive down the road and having abandoned cars just sitting there, in your way, slowing you down. Why are they there? Why aren’t they parked in someone’s garage, or towed away, or taken to the dump?

It’s your job to keep the path between you and your destinations as fast and friction free as possible. Not littered with all kinds of things that are just taking up space, making you look at them over and over again for no good reason. And then each time you look at them you think, “I should really clean this place up.” What a waste of brainpower. Knowledge workers like you need clear, distraction free paths to your work. Not an obstacle course. Clear those unneeded or unused documents away. Put them in folders. Delete them. Take a few hours. They’re digital. It won’t take long. You won’t even need to break a sweat.

Tip Two: Don’t use your desktop for applications

One of the wastes of computer desktop space is to leave or put shortcuts to application start up icons there. So you have your Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Email Client, Browser…and the list goes on. Whether you use Windows or Mac you have a Start/App Menu AND  a Task Bar/Dock. Use them for those frequently used apps. While I’ve seen some computers that do have them there, they ALSO have links to them on the desktop! Great! Two ways to get to the app. Sound more productive? Not really. You only need one. In fact, you really don’t need any icons to apps on the desktop or the taskbar/dock. Wait a minute…what? That’s right. The fastest way to open an app is to not even take your fingers off the keyboard. “Resist the mouse!” Say it with me. “Resist the mouse!”

Just tap the Windows key (on a PC) or the Command Key plus Spacebar (on a Mac) and type the first couple letters of the app you want to open and hit enter. More than likely those first couple letters will net you the app you are looking for. Your computer is smart. Let it do the work for you. Give it a try. I almost never use the mouse to open an app. Opening Microsoft Word is as easy as Windows Key -> “wo” -> Enter Key. Opening the Chrome browser is Windows Key -> “ch” -> Enter Key. Sweet!

Tip Three: Change the default location of your desktop to a cloud service.

I saved the coolest tip for last. Perhaps the geekiest too. Unfortunately I think this tip is only for you Windows users. Did you know you can change where your desktop files are stored? Basically that means that whenever you “think” you are throwing something on your desktop, you are “really” storing it in a location of your choosing. My recommendation, if you are OK with the security side of it, is pick a cloud service. I use OneDrive for instance, and have it sync to my computer. Then I change the desktop location to it, and presto, I have anything that is sitting on my desktop also synced to the cloud. This makes it easy to get at my most active files from almost anywhere and any computer…or mobile device.

It’s actually very easy to do. Here is a quick tutorial on it. Another option is to use Google Backup and Sync to make sure your desktop data is stored in the cloud. One of the most frequent “oh no” moments I’ve observed in helping co-workers is when they realize they were saving stuff else where, to the cloud, etc. But neglected to consider the stuff on their desktop. Important stuff!

So just take care to use the desktop wisely. It is a great surface on which to work. Quick. Easy. Efficient. You can now make it even better.

Additional Resources

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519 – Back to the Future

The WELSTech discussion this week focuses on video, the next media frontier. Your social media feeds are dominated by them, and YouTube “channels” have become yesterday’s websites. How will your ministry respond to the video generation? Join Martin and Sallie as they discuss video, channels and how reaching out today seems to mean getting smarter at video creation, curation and presentation.

The discussion:

Video channels – Martin and Sallie consider time travel and decide there’s no time like the present to get serious about beefing up your video channels!

News in tech:

WELS now:

Interactive Faith online Bible Study – Luther’s Lasting Impact – Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Prof. Joel Otto will lead the study on Wednesday’s now through November 8 at 6 pm and 8 pm (central).

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Reformation Fun

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Community feedback spills into our weekly featured video selection thanks to Michael Vlieger from Risen Savior, Mankato, MN. He shared the Explaining Computers YouTube channel and two great videos. First, check out a demo of DaVinci Resolve in DaVinci Resolve 14 Free Video Editor.

And then, get your maker hat on as you watch an overview of Raspberry Pi Google AIY Voice Kit. You can learn more about the kit from the Google AIY site and purchase it from MicroCenter and other retailers.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 520 – Filmmakers Steve and Beth Zambo join the conversation to discuss planning, production, and distribution of video. Release date: Wednesday, October 25.

Get involved:

Reformation Fun

Celebrate the Reformation with this free downloadable group puzzle experience, A Day in the Life of Tölpel, The Luthers’ Dog.

Players will travel around Wittenberg with Martin Luther’s dog, Tölpel, as their tour guide, learning about the city of the Lutheran Reformation. The 28-page download contains everything you need to host a fun puzzle event!

Martin Luther loved his dog, Tölpel, and he mentioned Tölpel throughout his writings. (Really, I didn’t make that part up!) This puzzle is an “historical fiction” narrative in which Tölpel will explore Wittenberg in search of challenges. He’ll discover a challenge at each new destination he visits. Each time he solves a challenge, he’ll earn a puzzle piece. Earn all six puzzle pieces, and Tölpel will be able to solve the puzzle and become a wiser and happier dog.

This game was developed by Kevin & Sallie Draper as part of the ReformationFun.com site. We want to share it freely so WELSTech-ers can enjoy it during this special season of Reformation 500!

Application/audience

The puzzle game can be enjoyed with any group including classroom, catechism class, Sunday school, youth group, family game night, etc.

Typical time to complete​: 30 to 45 minutes

Ages​: 8-108

  • Younger children can play as well, but each group should have at least one strong reader who can read the clues to the others in the group.

Optimal group size​: 4-8

  • Multiple groups can work through the puzzle at the same time. Simply print multiple sets of clues. It would also be a good idea to have the groups play in separate designated areas, for instance, the four corners of a classroom.

Puzzle resources

Download the game resources in PDF format using the links below. Start by reading the instructions. You will then need to print the puzzle resources and either the color or black & white version of the Lutheran Rose.

IMPORTANT​: These documents should only be read by the Puzzlemaster! The Puzzlemaster will prepare and oversee the puzzle for the players. Reading this document will spoil the puzzle for anyone who wants to participate in solving the puzzle

See All Ministry Resources