405 – You and Your Camera

/in , ,

The WELSTech summer Imagine That series continues with a discussion of photography and an announcement of a new WELSTech Photo Challenge. There’s also 3D and camera exposure picks of the week and plus loads of community feedback!

The discussion:

PHOTO CHALLENGESay Cheese – The latest WELSTech series, Imagine That, is back as Martin and Sallie discuss the ins and outs of photography including camera selection criteria, tutorials on lighting and exposure, and ideas for what to photograph in a church and school setting. They also announce details of the WELSTech Photo Challenge and the August photo categories.

August 2015 Photo Challenge

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 406 – Imagine That continues as Martin and Sallie share image editing techniques to enhance your photography. Join us Tuesday, August 18 at 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net

Get involved:

404 – Stock Options

/in , ,

WELSTech kicks off a new series focusing on the effective use of imagery for communication in public and personal ministry settings. This week Martin and Sallie share a lengthy collection of stock image web sites.

The discussion:

WTphotographer1 145x125Stock Up – Martin and Sallie kick off a 5-week summer series, Imagine That, with a discussion of stock image resources. Get started with a ‘short’ discussion on stock photography.

Christian Imagery

Free Stock Images

Fee-based Stock Images

Mobile Stock Images

Clip Art

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 405 – Grab your camera and join Martin and Sallie for a discussion of photography in part 2 of our summer Imagine That series. Join us Tuesday, August 11 at 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net

Get involved:

403 – One in Christ

/in ,

WELSTech comes to you from WELS Convention at Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw, MI this week. Martin and Sallie talk with several delegates about their convention experience and share lots of great ministry resources along the way. Martin’s pick of the week is a great utility for quickly and easily typing Christian Worship hymn verses.

The interviews:

Sallie-ConventionLogo2The delegates perspective – Martin and Sallie welcome four synod convention delegates to the show and get their first-hand impressions of the synod convention experience as well as a taste of technology in their various ministry settings. Special thanks to Prof. Paul Koelpin from Martin Luther College, Prof. Carl Hochmuth from Luther Preparatory School, Missionary Terry Schultz who most recently served in the Caribbean and Layman Brent Nemmers from Atonement in Plano, TX.

The discussion:

Ministry resources abound – Viewers get a bonus treat in this episode of WELSTech as Martin and Sallie break up the interviews with not one, but three, ministry resources!

Picks of the week:

Featured video:

This video feature is something our convention delegates will also be viewing, the preview trailer for My Son, My Savior. Find it on the WELSTech Presentation/Teaching Videos playlist on YouTube. Learn more about this film, scheduled for release Fall 2015, at MySonMySavior.com.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 404 – Martin and Sallie are back in their normal broadcast seats just in time to kick off a 5-week summer series, Imagine That, which will focus on working with digital imagery. Join us Tuesday, August 4 at 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net

Get involved:

402 – Convention Tech

/in ,

The biennial WELS Convention is just around the corner so this week’s WELSTech includes an overview of the technology at work to bring synod convention to those who observe from afar. A discussion of the the redesign of the WELS.net site is included. Plus there’s new developments from Google, recommendations for screen casting software and news regarding the much anticipated update to the Google Lectionary Calendar.

The interview and discussion:

leeHitter145x125Sharing the news – Lee Hitter, Director of WELS Communications, chats with Martin about the various ways the events of next week’s synod convention will be available. He also shares information on the recent WELS.net redesign and move to the WordPress platform.

News in tech:

WELS now:

WELS Night at Miller Park

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Ministry resources:

  • New on the Google Lectionary Calendar is Church Year A 2015-16. Thanks to Pastor Jon Schroeder for your work on the calendar which a huge help in worship planning to many!

Featured video:

The newest addition to the WELSTech “Like’s” list on Vimeo  is the latest Heart to Heart parenting webcast hosted by Nicole Balza. Tune in for a discussion of bullying, over-parenting and discipline.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 403 – Martin and Sallie broadcast from the 63rd Biennial Convention of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and chat with delegates about their convention experience. Join us Tuesday, July 28 at a special time, 4 pm Eastern (3 pm Central) – welstechlive.wels.net

Get involved:

401 – Growing the WELSTech Community

/in ,

This week on WELSTech we reflect on the recent conference and share resources from the many presenters in attendance. Our ministry resource is a new site with free biblical imagery, and updates to both WELS.net and the online WELS Yearbook are reviewed. The featured video is of a satirical IGNITE visit from C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape on the 8 Rules of PowerPoint Complexity.

The discussion:

bundtPixel145x125Takeaways – Martin and Sallie look back at the WELSTech Conference experience and share some of their favorite takeaways from the event including a compilation of the social comments, the joy of techie fellowship, resources from the various presenters and a look at the happy winner of the Chromebook Pixel, Allan Bundt.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Ministry resources:

Featured video:

Pastor James Aderman closed out the WELSTech Conference IGNITE session with a satirical look at what not to do in PowerPoint from the perspective of the C.S. Lewis character Screwtape. We’ve added the video to the WELSTech Presentation/Teaching Videos playlist on YouTube.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 402 – Less than a week before the start of Synod Convention, Martin and Sallie walk you through the technology being employed to bring the convention to you. Join us Tuesday, July 21 @ 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net

Get involved:

400 – WELSTech Celebrates 400!

/in ,

This episode of WELSTech is a live recording from WELSTech Conference 2015 held at Country Springs Hotel and Resort in Waukesha, WI. Martin and Sallie celebrate episode 400 with a live audience and special guests from the conference talking about church branding, technology planning and church intranets.

The discussion:

400Selfie145x125Anniversary celebration – Martin and Sallie broadcast the 400th episode of WELSTech from WELSTech Conference 2015 in front of a selfie-worthy live audience! There were plenty of shiny tech giveaways throughout to keep things fun. Special guests and topics include …

  • Ian Welch – Church branding
  • Bob Albrecht – Technology planning
  • Pastor Rob Guenther – Church intranets

Picks of the week:

Featured videos:

Visit the WELS Live Stream archives for recordings of other group sessions held at WELSTech Conference:

  • Thursday night keynote by Steve Boettcher
  • Friday morning devotion by Pastor Mark Parsons and keynote by David Tess
  • Friday night IGNITE
  • Saturday morning devotion and keynote by Martin Spriggs

A special giveaway:

Little Luther enhances the celebration, and Martin and Sallie commit to race Martin Luther to 500 in 2017 as we look forward to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the 500th WELSTech Podcast.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 401 – Martin and Sallie share lessons learned, old and new WELSTech connections and special memories from WELSTech Conference 2015 – Tuesday, July 14 @ 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net

Get involved:

399 – WELSTech Then And Now

/in ,

It was 399 episodes ago that WELSTech began its podcasting journey. We’ve seen some significant technology changes along the way. Today Martin and Sallie take a walk down technology lane to explore those changes and note some of the things that really haven’t changed. They also say RIP for old friends like Google Reader and Picnik.

The discussion:

Retro WELSTechRetro podcasting – In anticipation of the milestone 400th episode of WELSTech, Martin and Sallie roll back time to the beginning of WELSTech in January 2008 and review the transformation of tech-in-ministry over our 7.5 years of podcasting.

WELS now:

News in tech:

Picks of the week:

  • Google for Education – Training Center
  • dbrand

Community feedback:

Ministry resources:

Featured video:

Keeping the WELSTech retro theme, we circle back to our featured artist from episode 001, WELS Musician Mike Westendorf. Check out his “Songs We Carry” Behind the Album video on the WELSTech Music YouTube playlist.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 400! – Live from WELSTech Conference 2015, Martin and Sallie celebrate the milestone episode on a special day – Friday, July 10 @ 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net

Get involved:

398 – Hootsuite

/in ,

Martin flies solo but brings with him one of his favorite social networking tools – Hootsuite. If you have anything to do with your organizations social media activities, you might find this tool invaluable! And wouldn’t you know, in Sallie’s absence, there is more than just a little Community Feedback Martin struggles through…even a Pinterest post.

The discussion:hootsuite145x125

Make your social network manageable – You know that your organizations social network activities you be better. If only you had more time, a better strategy, or compelling content. This “monologue” provides excellent tips for content and network usage, as well as a walkthrough of Hootsuite — one of the best ways to schedule your social media posts, plus much more.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

  • Slack – Team Messaging That Works!

Community feedback:

Ministry resources:

  • Check back next week

Featured video:

New this week on the WELSTech Product Demos YouTube playlist is Ben Hommerding’s recent Review of the Chromebook Pixel. One WELSTech Conference attendee will walk away with one of these!

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 399 – Take a walk down WELSTech Lane with Martin and Sallie as we look back at at retro shows and look ahead to the big 400. Watch and participate on 06/30/15 @ 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net

Get involved:

397 – Documentation Fun

/in ,

This week’s WELSTech focus is documentation, and Martin and Sallie demonstrate the ease of screen capture and video editing using TechSmith’s Snagit and Camtasia software. Martin shares a timely tip on keeping your passwords doubly secure, plus resources covering image sizing for social media and considerations for use of stock photography are highlighted.

The discussion:

techsmithDon’t reinvent the wheel – Documentation of church and school technical processes can increase quality and consistency of repeated tasks. Martin and Sallie share thoughts on processes which could benefit from documentation and tools for creating annotated images or videos to enhance documentation.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

  • The Gooru – Google Apps Training Resources
    • 5 Hidden Features In Google Apps That Everybody Should Be Using
    • Google Apps Admin Training Videos
    • Google Apps Adoption
  • Google Authenticator

Community feedback:

Ministry resources:

Featured videos:

This week we’ve added another video to the WELSTech Product Demo playlist – What can Snagit 12.0 do? Features Overview

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 398 – It’s Martin’s turn to be a solo act, and he plans to share tips for managing social media with Hootsuite. Watch and participate on 06/23/15 @ 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net

Get involved:

396 – Anything Goes

/in ,

On this week’s WELSTech Sallie broadcast solo and shares some interesting tech recommendations from her Facebook friends.

The discussion:

Note Pad and PenLatest and Greatest – Sallie’s on her own today as Martin vacations. But no worries as her Facebook friends pitch in to share their latest and greatest tech. From Pastor Kurt Hagen’s unfailing pen and paper technology to brand new Bible and education tools, there’s something for everyone.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Ministry resources:

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 397 – Martin is back and we’ll talk about documentation fun using TechSmith products. Watch and participate on 06/16/15 @ 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net

Featured videos:

The newest WELSTech Product Demo video is courtesy of Pastor Rob Guenther – Introducing the Lily Camera

Get involved: