Tag Archive for: presentations

574 – Harnessing Technology

Martin leads the WELSTech discussion this week with a look the Christian’s two-sided use of technology. Image-centric picks of the week are made just in time, the WELSTech Community has been a busy place, and Apple is stepping up to raise awareness about screen time.

The discussion:

Harnessing the Power of Technology … Before it Harnesses You – Martin shares highlights of his recent presentation at the Men of His Word event in Rochester, MN.

WELS now:

Interactive Faith Online Bible Study

  • To the Ends of the Earth: Beginning in Your Backyard – Led by Pastor Eric Roecker
  • November 7, 14 & 28 – 6 & 8 pm Central

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done by Matt Perman

Community feedback:

Featured video:

With Version 12 of the iOS operating system, Apple introduced Screen Time for tracking (and limiting, if desired) your mobile device usage. Learn more in How to start using Screen Time from Apple Support.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 575 – Jon Ruddat joins us to preview his WELS EdTechLead Summit presentation titled “How to use MailChimp to Send Automated Encouraging Emails.”  Release date: Wednesday, November 14.

Get involved:

542 – Back to the Basics: Presentations

The last installment in WELSTech’s “back to the basics” March focus is all about presentations. From classroom to Bible study to conferences, most listeners will agree that presentations are common across all ministry and non-ministry related roles. Jason Schmidt joins the conversation about tips and tools for great presentations. There’s a new Chrome OS platform and affordable robots for classrooms included in this week’s discussion as well.

The discussion:

Present that – Jason Schmidt from Bennington Public Schools in Omaha, NE co-hosts this week, and he’s all about #appsmashing your way to great presentations.

News in tech:

The first Chrome OS tablet is here

WELS now:

‘Tis the season to register!

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Polling tools for your presentations

Featured video:

Enjoy the MLC College Choir singing In My Father’s House.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 543 – April arrives with a focus on Awesome Apps, and the week 1 discussion is all things related to mobile photography. Release date: Wednesday, April 4.

Get involved:

512 – De-Stressing Presentations

WELSTech concludes our summer long focus on Ministry Resources with a toolkit for all of you who do presentations. Who doesn’t anymore? Take the stress out of the technology and focus on your content with these helpful tools and tips. Plus, Martin shares his video creation tool of choice, and Sallie fumbles a title, yet again!

The discussion:

On the road with confidence – Presentations can be stressful enough without concerns of projection, sound, and internet access. Martin shares the contents of his Portable Presentation Toolkit in our final Ministry Resource of Summer 2017.

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Featured video:

New on the WELSTech Product Demos YouTube Playlist is Green Screen by DoInk App Enables Creation of Green Screen Effects on iPad & iPhone.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 513 – September is a month for meetings as WELSTech returns to our regular schedule. Release date: Wednesday, September 6.

Get involved:

Portable Presentation Toolkit

Many of us do more than a few “presentations” both where we work and at times in situations where we don’t have a lot of control over the presentation technology available to us. That could be at a conference we are asked to speak at, perhaps a workshop or Bible study. Over the years I’ve found that the stress of giving a presentation shouldn’t be heightened by the unknowns of projectors, cables, internet and audio capabilities, especially if you prefer to use your own computer for the presentation. So I have developed a presentation “toolkit” that I never leave the office without.

Cables

Perhaps the most important component of my portable presentation toolkit is cables. Depending on what kind of computer you are using, your cable requirements may be a bit different, but there is still an element of the unknown because you don’t know what kind of cable is needed for the projector you will be asked to use. You also don’t know if the place where you have to connect to the cable is optimal for your presentation. For instance, I’ve been in classrooms where the cable hookup is in the back of the room where the teacher’s desk is, but I want to present from the front. That’s a problem. So cables are something I pay a lot of attention to. For my Surface Pro 4 computer I carry along:

  1. VGA Adapter
  2. HDMI Adapter
  3. VGA 15 Foot Extender Cable
  4. HDMI 15 Foot Extender Cable

The extender cables really come in handy if the plug you need to hook into is not in the front of the room. This gives you a lot of positional flexibility. Cables To Go and Monoprice are great places to find these adapters and cables that will work with your setup. A nice accessory to carry around all those adapters and cables without having them float around in your bag is a Grid-It board. They come in different sizes. I love mine.

Wireless

If you are lucky, you may have access to either an Apple TV or a Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter. These devices, when hooked up to the projector, allow you to float around the room without any wires. You just hook up to either of those two and stream your screen/presentation. Apple TV can receive the stream from your Mac or iPad, and with a software program like AirParrot 2 you can even stream from your Windows laptop. Keep in mind that to stream to an Apple TV (depending on which model it is) you have to be connected to the same network. Beware, this could be another source of stress.

One thing I do take with me is a Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter (MWDA). This is a USB flash drive sized device that plugs into any HDMI input. Most projectors have those these days. It does require a USB power source, which could come from an available USB port on the projector, or you could bring along your own portable USB charger (battery or wall outlet based). I like MWDAs because they don’t rely on wifi, but can connect directly to your computer. Warning, not all computers support connecting to MWDAs. They need to support the Intel WiDi standard, sometimes called Miracast. Many modern computers support this though.

Audio and Video

Not knowing what might be available in the room I’ve been given for the presentation, I always try to bring along my own speakers. Even when there is an audio cable provided, I sometimes prefer my own since I know how it will sound. Again, one less stresser. The one I use is the JBL Charge. It’s bluetooth and also has an audio-in jack. It’s small, and it has a nice size battery in it that can power your MWDA too…a great bonus!

The projector is the real wildcard in any remote presentation situations. It could be of poor quality. The bulb could go out. The connector could be bad. You know those times when you plug in and the whole screen has a green cast to it…or red…or blue. This has happened more than a couple times to me. So this may be overkill, but I always bring my own projector. If I don’t want to bring a larger one from our pool, I pack a P300 MicroProjector from AAXA Technologies. It’s only 400 lumens, but in a pinch it can be used in a dark room and project a 120 inch image. It runs on both DC or battery power. I’ve used it only a handful of times, but worth carrying along.

Connectivity

Often you will want to show internet web pages, apps, video or other things that require you to have a good internet connection. Don’t count on it! Countless times I’ve presented at conferences with the promise of internet and it either wasn’t available or so slow that it was unusable. Often there is internet but all the attendees are on it as well and the connection is often overwhelmed. I do always bring my cell phone to which I can “tether” my computer, but that isn’t full proof either as your phone may not have a good signal depending on the presentation room location within the building, or the area in general. ALWAYS have a plan B, which is my case is to take screen shots of any web site or app I need, and download in advance any video I’d like to play. One service I use a lot is YouTube Red, which allows you to download video to any mobile device for offline playback. So I bring my iPad along with any video I’d like to play, just in case I can’t get online or have sufficient speeds to play a video. Then I just hook up my iPad to the projector with either an html or vga dongle, or I do it wirelessly if an Apple TV is available.

One other gotcha, especially on school wifi is their content filtering software. They may have it setup to block YouTube and many other sites including social networking services. Depending on what you had hoped to share in your presentation via the internet, you may find your content blocked. Best to ask ahead of time if their network blocks certain sites critical to your presentation.

Conclusion

There are always going to be challenges with presenting technologies. Our job as presenters is to remove the unknowns and be able to focus on the message. Take matters into your own hands. So peace of mind is the driver here. Bringing along things like your own extension cord or multiplug might be a pain, but there will be times you’ll regret it if you don’t. The tools that I’ve mentioned above have been added to my bag over time, and there are rarely moments of panic anymore about the audio/visual technologies needed to present the materials I spent hours creating.

 

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362 – Pastor Tech Part 1

This week on WELSTech the results of the Pastor’s Tech survey are revealed. What new tools will you find intriguing? Sallie shared resources from her upcoming “Going Google” Teachers’ Conference presentations and Martin shares the power of the weekly review.

The discussion:

pastorsTechSurvey145x125The survey says – Martin and Sallie share the first of the results from the recent Pastor’s Tech survey including favorites from the Bible Study, Productivity/Planning, Member and Prospect Management and Presentation resources categories.

News in tech:

Ministry resources:

Tips & picks of the week:

WELS insider:

Need to know:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 363 – Making God supreme in your productivity is the topic of part 1 of What’s Best Next by Matt Perman. Read along and tune in next week for the discussion.  (Broadcast date – 10/14/14)

Featured videos:

This week’s featured video is part of the WELSTech Music YouTube playlist, Praise You (Obi’s Song).

 

Get involved:

288 – From Hong Kong to Sleepy Eye

This week’s WELSTech Podcast spans the globe as Martin joins us from the future, 13 hours ahead in Hong Kong! We feature a wrap up of the Presentation Zen book discussion and a new “Listener Review” segment. Martin also shares his thoughts on his Windows Surface Pro tablet, which he deemed worthy of making the trip to Hong Kong.

The discussion:

How engaging! – Martin and Sallie reach the conclusion of our latest book discussion, Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds (garrreynolds.com | @presentationzen), with a look at techniques for engaging your audience including getting rid of barriers, having the right equipment and keeping it real.

Listener reviews:

(19:40) This week we introduce a new feature on WELSTech … Listener Reviews.

  • Pastor Matt Arnold from St. Paul in Oconto Falls, WI kicks it off with his review of the Nexus 7 tablet.
  • Send us a video, audio or text review of your favorite tech-in-ministry product, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for great prizes!

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

  • (30:45) WELSTech Camp – September 14 at Martin Luther College – FREE!!
  • Google Education Summit – June 16-21 at Wisconsin Lutheran College – $200 registration discount with “WELSTech” promo code

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(45:30) Episode 289 – Martin and Sallie talk with Peter Frank from Concordia Technology Solutions about the online member database Church 360. (Release date – 05/21/13)

The featured artist:

(46:46) We close the podcast with the music of Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com and on Facebook) – Holy Holy Holy

Get involved:

285 – Introducing Tech

This week on the WELSTech Podcast we share ideas for successfully (and slowly) introducing tech in your congregation. We also share lots of new WELSTech goodies – from Twitter to Facebook to our very own Resources page. And we have something in our listener feedback mailbag for everyone. Keep calm and listen to WELSTech!

The interview & discussion:

(3:47) Slow and Steady – Are you ready to go digital with your church newsletter or add a projection screen in your sanctuary? On today’s WELSTech Martin and Sallie talk with Pastor Steve Schamber and Jason Petoskey from Holy Trinity in Wyoming, MI about their success with collaborative worship presentations. We also discuss ways to implement all types of tech in your congregation.

News in tech:

(40:53) Happy World Book Night 2013

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:15:29) Episode 286 – Next week Gail Potratz, one of our semi-regular classroom technology correspondents, joins the conversation with Martin and Sallie to take a look at the waning school year from an ed tech perspective – what worked and what didn’t in the 2012-13 classroom. (Release date – 04/30/13)

The featured artist:

(1:16:16) This week we close the podcast with the music of Kevin Loersch – Love Beyond All Telling

Get involved:

283 – Garr Connects With His Audience!

Today on the WELSTech Podcast we continue our Presentation Zen book discussion with a dive into the chapter 9 topic, audience engagement. We also take a look at a brand new ministry resource as Martin demos the Who Is Jesus? iBook, and we catch up on lots of great listener feedback.

The discussion:

Dull presentations forbidden – Leading off with an e-mail message from Presentation Zen author, Garr Reynolds (garrreynolds.com | @presentationzen), Martin and Sallie discuss chapter 9 of the book which focuses on the important skill of connecting with your audience during a presentation. Listen for the secret weapons they use to engage their audience.

Ministry resource:

(15:22) Who is Jesus? iBook

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(42:27) Episode 284 – Pastor Mark Parsons and Matt Visaggio share their work on BreadForBeggars.com, and we consider other specialty ministry sites. (Release date – 04/16/13)

The featured artist:

(44:19) We close with the music of WELS musician and staff minister Benhur Khamrang (Reverbnation) – Brothers, Sisters, Let Us Gladly

Get involved:

262 – Surprise, Surprise

The WELSTech Podcast is full of surprises this week as we discuss the next chapter of our current book selection, Presentation Zen, Martin unboxes and boots up a brand new computer, and Sallie has the latest news from Pinterest!

The discussion:

Planning Analog – The third chapter of our current WELSTech book selection, Presentation Zen, by Garr Reynolds makes for an interesting discussion as Martin and Sallie talk about the benefits of “unplugging” for brainstorming your presentation. Also in this chapter are helpful guidelines for creating presentation handouts.

Ministry resources:

(15:38) Logos 5 Release

News in tech:

An Unboxing + Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(49:50)  Live streaming of the WELS 2012 West Regional Choralfest

  • Pops Concert – Friday, November 16 at 7 p.m. Central
  • Sacred Concert – Sunday, November 18 at 2:30 p.m. Central

7 Best:

(50:39) Coming up in December … 7 Best Mobile Computing TipsShare your favorite hardware, apps and tips for a productive mobile experience.

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:02:57) Episode 263 – Join Martin and Sallie along with WELS Director of Information Services, Dan Rebers, for our Thanksgiving Week podcast as we share tips for PC (and Mac) maintenance. (Release date – 11/20/12)

The featured artist:

(1:04:15) We close with the music of L. A. Miller – Your Peace

Get involved:

257 – Getting Creative

Our WELSTech book discussion continues this week as we get creative in chapter 2 of Presentation Zen. Martin also shares first-hand tips from the recent photography workshop he attended, and we have a mail bag overflowing with great community feedback!

The discussion:

Childlike creativity – Martin and Sallie continue the discussion of Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds, this month focusing on chapter two. In it we learn that everyone can be creative if we start with a beginners mindset, unafraid of making mistakes.

The interview:

(14:05) Golden Photography Tips – Turning the WELSTech interview microphone around, Martin shares lessons learned from his recent Door County photo workshop experience including tips on the golden hour, rule of thirds and golden spiral.

Ministry resources:

  • (23:42) An alternate digital Prayer Notebook, shared by Pastor Rob Guenther from Grace in Kenai, AK, is to create a Google Calendar solely for prayer prompts and set the calendar to send e-mail reminders
  • Pastor Guenther also recommends the Daily Bread prayer e-newsletter by Pastor Mark Gabb of St. Paul’s in Beverly Hills, FL
  • Wysija is a slick WordPress plugin for MailChimp-like e-newsletter management from your WordPress blog

Picks of the week:

7 Best:

(34:23) Coming up in November … 7 Best Video and Webconferencing ToolsShare your favorite tools for video creation and connecting with others.

Of interest:

(35:55) Media Outreach in World Missions Conference

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(50:50) Episode 258 – Tune in for an update on the “State of Facebook” with ideas for using Facebook to enhance public and personal ministry. We’ll also talk with Josh Renner, whose gospel-outreach Facebook page, He Loved Us First, has over 84,000 “Likes.” (Release date – 10/16/12)

The featured artist:

(51:45) This week we close the podcast with the music of Kevin Loersch – Thy Holy Wings

Get involved: