098 – Intranets and Internal Communication

This week the WELSTech podcast we look at the set up of private, member oriented web sites.

The discussion:

Member focused web sites – Facilitating member-only online communication and collaboration is the purpose of a church or school Intranet.  Martin and Sallie test drive a few Web 2.0 tools that could function as congregational Intranets and share some of the pros and cons of implementing this type of solution.

• Ning.com lets you create your own social network – Sample Ning network: welstech.ning.com – Login and test drive for yourself using these guest credentials:
  • Email Address:  [email protected]
  • Password:  guest
• Google Apps for education and non-profits
  • Read about Joshua Schoeneck’s experience implementing Google Apps at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School
• WikiSpaces.com
• Box.net
• ChurchCommunityBuilder.com
• Unifyer.com
• MemberConnect from Concordia Technology Solutions
• FinalWeb secure resources – Sample site – Login and test drive for yourself using these guest credentials:
  • Username:  guest
  • Password:  guest

The interview:

(23:16) Member Connect – Brad Wheeling, Marketing Manager for Concordia Technology Solutions (CTS), joins Martin and Sallie to discuss their intranet and church managment software solutions.  The CTS web-based solutions allow congregations flexibility in terms of where and who can make needed updates to information.

• Visit Concordia Technology Solutions online – cts.cph.org
• Learn more about WELS partnership discounts from CTS

Ministry resources:

(39:53) 100 Open Courses to Make Yourself an Internet Whiz

Picks of the week:

• (41:01) Myna from Aviary – online audio editing
• LinkSys WMB54G Wireless-G Music Bridge

Of interest:

(46:20) WELSTech & YOU! – The WELSTech 100th episode is just two weeks away and we need your help celebrating.  Share your favorite take-aways from the show via any of the WELSTech communication channels.

• One lucky contributor will win a WELSTech Sigg Water Bottle
• Deadline for entries is Friday, October 2, 2009

Community feedback:

• (47:46) Ryan Rosenthal from Faith in Fond du Lac, WI sharing info on upcoming SMART Board webinars.
• Pastor Jeremiah Gumm from Cross of Christ in Liverpool, NY is looking for equipment recommendations for creating podcast recordings of his sermons.  Check out the WELSTech Wiki Audio Recording page.
• Following up on last week’s podcast, Sallie shared articles on partitioning your hard drive in preparation for the Windows 7 upgrade.
• Via #WELSTech tweets from Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE and Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI we discovered some amazing resources:
  • Dissecting a Facebook Fan Page
  • 14 Application Cheat Sheets & Posters for Popular Programs
  • How to Become a Twitter Teacher in 23 Steps or Less
  • SafeShare.tv for distraction free videos
    • View a sample (ubercool Post-It Note stop motion) video via SafeShare
  • AudioPal adds voice to websites for free
  • How to Build a PLN (Personal Learning Network)
• Visit the WELSTech listserve archives for a discussion of educational cloud solutions including Google Apps and Windows Live @edu.
• John Shoosmith from Redeemer in Yakima, WA embedded a Google Street View of his church on his church web site.  Check out maps.google.com to find out if Google has created a street view of your location.

Coming up on WELSTech:

(57:50) Episode 099 – Gail Potratz, our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, joins the podcast to discuss the impact of the Google Books initiative on education. (Release date 09/30/09)

The featured artist:

(59:25) This week we close with the music of Revelation, a music ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran College (www.revelationwlc.com) – God of Wonders from their CD titled “We Walk By Faith”

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