212 – Schoology

/in ,

It’s education technology week on the WELSTech Podcast as Martin and Sallie welcome back Gail Potratz and discussion Schoology.

The discussion:

Classroom Meets Facebook – Gail Potratz, Technology Director at Emanuel in New London, WI, joins Martin and Sallie for a discussion of Schoology, the web-based course management system that looks and feels a lot like Facebook but has classroom specific privacy with student, teacher and parent access.

The interview:

(14:53) The Voice of Experience – Gail talks with Beth Sanders (MsSandersTHS on Twitter) from Birmingham, AL about her use of Schoology in her 1:1 Social Studies high school classrooms.

News in tech:

(42:10) Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Picks of the week:

WELS.net feature:

(51:33) Streams Seasonal Radio

Of interest:

(52:50) Mark your calendars for streaming Christmas concerts

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(57:04) Episode 213 – Jason Jaspersen shares his web site dedicated to liturgical art resources, and Martin and Sallie revisit the weekly blogging challenge. (Release date – 12/07/11)

The featured artist:

(58:14) We close the podcast with the music of Revelation, a music ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran College (www.revelationwlc.com) – A Voice Cries Out from the CD titled “Led By The Light”

Get involved:

211 – Digital Thanks

/in ,

This week the WELSTech Podcast celebrates Thanksgiving with lots of ideas for showing thanks to volunteers.

The discussion:

Thanksgiving WELSTech-style – Martin and Sallie are in thankful moods, particularly for the superb WELSTech community of listeners!  Listen for lots of “techie” ideas for saying thanks to congregation and school volunteers including using social channels to broadcast thanks and setting up a regular system for spreading your thankfulness.

Ministry resources:

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(25:22) Mark your calendars for streaming Christmas concerts

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(38:43) Episode 212 – Gail Potratz joins Martin and Sallie for a discussion of the online classroom platform, Schoology. (Release date – 11/30/11)

The featured artist:

(39:28) We close the podcast with the music of Stephen Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com or stephenbautista on Twitter) – You Came to Live in Me from his CD titled “Abandon”

Get involved:

210 – A Wealth of WELSTech Resources

/in ,

This week the WELSTech Podcast is all about the WELSTech podcast Wiki and show notes web sites.  Take the tour and tap into the many helpful resources.

The discussion:

Choral Fest Afterglow – Whether you missed the fun or just want to re-live the National High School Choral Fest weekend of song, you’ll enjoy the archives at MLC-TV (Pops 1 | Pops 2 | Sacred). Check out Sallie’s homegrown highlight video as well.

Fill up your tool belt – Martin and Sallie give an overview of the features of the WELSTech Wiki and WELSTech show notes web sites.

Ministry resources:

Picks of the week:

News in tech:

(28:54) Kindle Fire release – Read reviews from Engadget and CNet

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(43:24) Episode 211 – Giving thanks with technology is the topic of next week’s WELSTech podcast. (Release date – 11/23/11)

The featured artist:

(43:48) We close the podcast with the music of Kevin Loersch – The Lord’s Prayer from his CD titled “Abide With Me”

Get involved:

209 – The Church of Facebook

/in ,

This week the WELSTech Podcast welcomes author Jesse Rice as we discuss his book, The Church of Facebook.

The discussion:

“Home is where …” – Returning to the current book discussion, Martin and Sallie look at Chapter 2 of The Church of Facebook and discuss the reasons Facebook feels like “Home” to so many people.

The interview:

(13:52) Chat with the author – Jesse Rice (@JesseRice on Twitter) talks with Martin and Sallie about his book, The Church of Facebook. Find out how Jesse sees Facebook as both a catalyst and a symptom of our ability to connect and what Jesse thinks is the churches’ biggest mistake on Facebook.

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(39:37) Watch live video streaming of the WELS National Choral Festival on MLC TV

  • Pops concert – Friday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m.
  • Sacred concert – Sunday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m.

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(51:23) Episode 210 – Uncover hidden treasures as Martin & Sallie lead a virtual walking tour of the WELSTech show notes page and the WELSTech Wiki (wear your sneakers). (Release date – 11/16/11)

The featured artist:

(52:20) This week we close the podcast with the music of Koine (www.koinemusic.com | Facebook) – God’s Word is Our Great Heritage from their debut CD titled “Koine”

Get involved:

208 – What Will Google Change Next?

/in ,

This week on the WELSTech Podcast shut-in ministry using technology is the discussion topic and we hear about Nebraska Lutheran High School’s firewall software experience.

The discussion:

Tech in shut-in ministry – Martin and Sallie explore ways that technology can assist and enhance ministry to members who are home bound and unable to attend traditional church services.  Listen for discussion of recorded worship, Bible class and more plus ideas for sharing photos and tips for visitation tracking and mileage calculations.

The interview:

(16:24) Safe Computing – We’ve got twice the brainpower behind this school network security discussion as both Greg Boggs, Owner of Quality Communications, and Joshua Johnson, Nebraska Lutheran High School Math Teacher and Technology Director, join Martin and Sallie to talk about SmoothWall, a firewall and filtering solution recently added to the ShopWELS program.

News in tech:

(37:13) Smaller, cheaper tablets could become a big deal

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(46:53) Watch live video streaming of the WELS National Choral Festival on MLC TV

  • Pops concert – Friday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m.
  • Sacred concert – Sunday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m.

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:08:30) Episode 209 – The Church of Facebook author, Jesse Rice, joins Martin and Sallie to talk about the latest WELSTech book selection. (Release date – 11/09/11)

The featured artist:

(1:09:03) This week we close with the instrumental music of flutist Jeannine Dennis – Mary Did You Know? from her CD titled ”O Holy Night”

Get involved: