102 – Promises, Tools, and Bargains

This week on the WELSTech Podcast we take a final look at the concepts presented in the book Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky.

The discussion:

Expanding Your Life Scope – Martin and Sallie wrap up their discussion of Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody, looking at chapter 11 and the epilogue.  Tying all the concepts from the book together, three key components of digital groups emerge, and we see that these revolutionary changes should be accepted and taken for granted as we make use of them to spread the gospel message.

Ministry resources:

glo(22:44) BibleGlo.com – Multimedia Bible software

News in tech:

(26:28) Google Wave invites are trickling out.

  • Join the WELSTech public wave – search for this phrase …

with:public “Calling all WELSTech-ers!”

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (36:30) Perry Lund from Grace in Oskaloosa, IA sent us a link to his catechism class timeline of Luther’s life.
  • David Schuman from Peace in Janesville, WI shared thoughts on the use of virtual meetings in congregations and further thoughts on raising congregational awareness of technology.
  • As a follow up to our new public Google Calendar with the Christian Worship and Christian Worship: Supplement lectionary, Mark Ochsankehl shared a sample site with Google Calendar instructions for members.

Coming up on WELSTech:

(42:26) Gail Potratz joins the WELSTech crew as we share our picks of safe web sites for kids of all ages. (Release date 10/28/09)

The featured artist:

(43:25) This week we close with the music of WELS instrumentalist In His Service – Gabriel’s Message from their CD titled ”In the Fullness of Time”

Get involved:

101 – Help! We are Wave-less!

This week on the WELSTech podcast we focus on the powerful Bible study software tool, Logos.

The interview:

Pastor Aaron Frey(3:15) Logos Revisited – WELS resident Logos guru, Pastor Aaron Frey from Emanuel in Tawas City, MI, rejoins Martin and Sallie to share the latest news on the software.  Pastor Frey was previously on Episode 007 of the podcast and has since seen amazing growth in the Logos For Lutherans (L4L) Yahoo group which he created and administers. Listen as he shares tips he’s learned along the way, stories from Camp Logos II and a look into the future of the software.

Ministry resources:

  • (30:50) ref.ly from Logos generates short URLs for Bible references
  • Logos Ref Tagger creates roll-over links to Bible passages on your web site

News in tech:

(33:33) Google Wave invites trickle down to the masses.  Do you have one?

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(54:42) Episode 102 – We wrap up our discussion of Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody – Chapter 11 – Promise, Tool, Bargain. (Release date 10/21/09)

The featured artist:

(56:40) We close the podcast with the music of Kevin Loersch – The Lord’s Prayer from his CD titled “Abide With Me”

Get involved:

100 – WELSTech Celebrates the Century Mark

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie commemorate their 100th podcast with tech-in-ministry success stories from the listeners.

The discussion:

WELSTech BabyWELSTech and YOU! – The 100th WELSTech podcast anniversary is dedicated to the success stories WELSTech listeners have experienced using technology in their personal and public ministry.  Join Martin and Sallie as they share stories of audio and video editing, social networking, personal time management, Bible study, RSS reading, blogging, and more.

Coming up on WELSTech:

(39:50) Pastor Aaron Frey shares the latest news from Logos (Release date 10/14/09)

The featured artist:

(41:18) We close with music of WELS praise band Koine (www.koinemusic.com) – Jerusalem the Golden from their CD titled “Koine II”

Get involved:

099 – Books In The Cloud

This week on the WELSTech Podcast Gail Potratz joins the discussion as we look at Google Books.

The discussion:

Google BooksGoogle Books – Google’s mission to organize the world’s information extends to offline content with their Google Books initiative.  Gail Potratz, Technology Coordinator at Emanuel in New London, WI joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the impact Google Books will have on the future of education.

Ministry resources:

(16:44) Church Marketing Lab Flickr group

Picks of the week:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(34:37) The long anticipated 100th episode awaits and you won’t want to miss this special episode dedicated to YOU, the WELSTech listeners! (Release date 10/07/09)

  • Send us your tech-in-ministry (public or personal) success story for inclusion
  • All submissions will be including in our prize drawing for a WELSTech Sigg Water Bottle
  • Deadline for entries is October 2, 2009

Community feedback:

The featured artist:

(39:37) This week we close with the music of WELS pianist Dawn Gehlhar – Nearer My God To Thee from her CD titled ”Inspirations”

Get involved:

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.

The interview:

Brad Wheeling(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:

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.

Community feedback:

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”

Get involved:

097 – Clean Computing

On this week’s WELSTech podcast the conversation includes tips for computer maintenance and a look at electronic resources from NPH.

The discussion:

Maintaining your computer – From canned air to reinstalling operating systems, Martin and Sallie share tips and many free resources for keeping your computer running smoothly.

The interview:

(18:30) Delivering electronic resources – From Northwestern Publishing House (NPH), Martin and Sallie are joined by Kurt Adams, Director of Internet and Publishing Technology, and Mark Buske, Director of Marketing, and we learn about NPH electronic and downloadable products.  NPH.net offers over 250 digital products, including free downloadable Bible studies, and has several exciting electronic products in development.

   Kurt Adams and Mark Buske

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(50:04) WELSTech turns 100 on October 7th and we’re dedicating this special episode to YOU, our listeners!

Community feedback:

  • (52:03) Nathaniel Timmermann asked about web site review and design guidelines from a Christian perspective
  • The #WELSTech Twitter conversation this week included …
    • Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE shared a link to a TweetDeck “how-to” from Blogging Art and Practice
    • Pastor Aaron Frey from Emanuel in Tawas City, MI reported that Logos is a good reason not to use brand new versions of Internet Explorer.  We’ll talk more with Pastor Frey on Logos in an upcoming episode.
  • Missionary Larry Schlomer of the LATTE team was looking for tips to get started mind mapping, a great brainstorming, organizing and, believe it or not, presentation tool
  • Alan Bundt added his church, Good Shepherd in Wisconsin Rapids, WI to the growing list of congregations with Facebook fan pages
  • David Schumann from Peace in Janesville, WI suggested ministry applications for Google Earth

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:01:46) Episode 098 – Member focused web sites and an interview with Brad Wheeling from Concordia Technology Solutions will headline next week’s show. (Release date 09/23/09)

The featured artist:

(1:03:15) This week we close with the music of WELS band Corban Creek – Serve Him from their CD titled “Could It Be Me”

Get involved:

096 – Failure For Free

This week the WELSTech podcast includes motivation to try something new for gospel outreach as well as an interview about midi music for worship.

The discussion:

Do something! – Martin and Sallie return to their discussion of Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody, this time focusing on chapter 10, Failure For Free.  In terms of ministry opportunities this chapter helps us realize that it’s easy and free for our outreach, communication and technology committees to brainstorm creative methods and test drive today’s digital resources as tools for sharing the gospel without fear of failure.

  • WELSTech & YOU! – Help us celebrate WELSTech’s 100th episode by sharing your tech-in-ministry success stories via any of the WELSTech communication channels.

The interview:

Danny Weymeyer(16:00) Digital music for worship – Layman Danny Weymeyer from Good Shepherd in Deltona, FL joins Martin and Sallie to talk about the use of MIDI in worship settings, particularly when congregations do not have full time instrumentalist available for worship.

Ministry resources:

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(56:04) Episode 097 – Tips for maintaining your computer including fighting mal-ware, registry cleanup and disk de-frags wil be the topic of next week’s podcast. (Release date 09/16/09)

The featured artist:

(57:45) This week we close with the music of WELS artist Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com) – Paradise from his CD titled “A Witness”

Get involved:

095 – Tech Tabletalk with Young Pastors

This week the WELSTech Podcast features a special roundtable discussion with three pastors from the Seminary Class of 2007.

The discussion:

Ministry and technology reflections – A recent WELSTech poll of the Seminary Class of 2007 focused on technology usage and revealed some interesting results.  Martin and Sallie are joined by three pastors from that class who have recently completed their second year of ministry and were willing to share their experience with technology thus far.

Koschnitzke Casmer Huebner

Ministry resources:

(34:29) Video Tutorials for Logos Bible Software

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

  • (59:35) WELSTech & YOU! Our 100th WELSTech episode is fast approaching and we need your help to make it special.  Tell us how WELSTech has impacted your public ministry or personal life, and we’ll enter you into a drawing for a WELSTech 1.0L Sigg Water Bottle (retail value $27.49).
  • Next week we’ll look at chapter 10, Failure for Free, from Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody. (Release date 09/09/09)

The featured artist:

(1:03:38) This week we close with the music of WELS artist, Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com) – Look Out from his CD titled ”Climb The Mountain”

Get involved:

094 – Old People Talking New Tech

This week on the WELSTech Podcast Gail Potratz joins the discussion on one-to-one computing.

The discussion:

One-to-one in educationOne-to-One Computing – A “trending topic” in education circles today is the concept of equipping students as early as elementary school with their own portable computing device, thus giving them the ability to do normal computing tasks with all-the-time, anywhere access. Gail Potratz, Technology Coordinator at Emanuel in New London, WI joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the challenges and benefits of one-to-one computing as well as the tumbling prices on hardware and software.  Even if your school isn’t ready to implement this strategy today, it’s great to consider it in future planning.

News in Tech:

(21:33) Microsoft releases a beta cloud-based version of the SQL relational database on the Azure platform

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (35:45) Pastor Aaron Frey from Emanuel in Tawas City, MI tweeted his approval of DropBox for syncing Logos files
  • Teacher Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE shared info on a free account at abcteach.com for undergraduate education majors
  • Adam Miller for our own Technology team suggested we dedicate a future WELSTech episode to technology and the college student, focusing on campus ministry efforts and home congregation connections with the college crowd

Coming up on WELSTech:

(41:42) Tune in for a surprise episode featuring a panel discussion or a look at chapter 10, Failure for Free, from Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody. (Release date 09/02/09)

The featured artist:

(42:31) This week we close with the music of WELS artist, Steven Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com) – Trying to Catch the Wind from his CD titled ”Abandon”

Get involved:

093 – Back to School with Technology

This week on the WELSTech podcast we explore student and teacher prep for the new tech-driven school year.

The discussion:

Back to School with TechnologyPreparing to learn in a Web 2.0 world – This isn’t your grandmother’s back to school season, and with the advent of technology, parents, students and teachers need to prepare for the new school year in all new ways.  Listen as Martin and Sallie share ideas to help you get ready for technology in the new school year.

The interview:

(12:43) Joining Martin and Sallie this week is Joe Du Fore who teaches at Fox Valley Lutheran High School and also serves as Educational Technology Director.  Joe shares his thoughts on the use of technology at the high school level and tech tips for students and parents as they prepare to go back to school.

News In Technology:

(32:30) Goggle Chrome has bookmark syncing

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(49:16) Episode 094 – Gail Potratz joins us for a discussion of one-to-one computing in the classroom. (Release date 08/26/09)

The featured artist:

(50:20) This week we close with the music of WELS instrumentalist In His Time (www.adagioconcepts.com) – O God, Your Hand The Heavens Made from their CD titled ”In His Time”

Get involved: