477 – 2016 Retrospective

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It seems like 2016 just started, but WELSTech has arrived at our annual “best of” show to close out the year. Listen as Martin and Sallie review their favorite interviews and ministry resources from 2016. They also count down their top picks of the year. All this to cap off 9 years of tech-in-ministry goodness known as WELSTech!

The discussion:

Looking back – Martin and Sallie share favorite memories of WELSTech from 2016.

Favorite series

Favorite interviews
Contests
Picks of the year

Featured video:

The newest addition on the WELSTech Music YouTube playlist is O Holy Night from Koine.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 478 – Help WELSTech welcome a new year of broadcast and learn how Mark Meyer is teaching coding at Immanuel in Greenville, WI. Release date: Wednesday, January 4.

Get involved:

Merry Christmas from WELSTech

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Martin and Sallie invite you to enjoy this special video message …

 

476 – Interview: Synod Archivist

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On this week’s WELSTech Christmas special, Susan Willems, the new synod archivist, joins the show to talk about what an archive is, some interesting facts about the synod archive and why your congregation or organization might want to start your own. In addition, we feature WELS President Schroeder’s Christmas message.

The interview:

Preserving the past for the future – Martin chats with our new synod archivist, Susan Willems, about her many responsibilities including the transfer of archives to the CMM, the job of digitizing the resources, and the planned searchable online catalog of resources. Susan also offers tips for congregations considering starting their own archives.

Featured video:

Watch WELS President Mark Schroeder’s Christmas Message, the newest addition on the WELSTech “Likes” list on Vimeo.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 477 – Martin and Sallie look back at the best of 2016. Release date: Wednesday, December 28.

Get involved:

475 – Wall To Wall Tech … And Ministry

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It’s “Community Feedback” day on WELSTech, and there is something for everyone. Get a behind-the-scenes tour of the new, improved Google Sites, see Trello in action, and check out video camera recommendations. Plus, there’s DOS-prompt nostalgia, podcast recommendations, and smart light bulbs to light your way. See what everybody is talking about.

The discussion:

Last time in 2016 – Our WELSTech listeners come through again with feedback on all types of tech in ministry goodness.

News in tech:

Say goodbye to the MS-DOS command prompt

WELS now:

Christian Leadership Conference – January 6-8 in Orlando, FL

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Check out WELS Technology Projects on Trello, an example of a method of communicating project progress

Featured video:

Watch the December update from Academia Cristo and iGlesia Luterano Cristo, the newest addition on the WELSTech “Likes” list on Vimeo.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 476 – Celebrate Christmas week with a very special WELSTech episode featuring the new synod archivist, Susan Willems. Release date: Wednesday, December 21.

Get involved:

474 – Promotion Time

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On WELSTech this week, Professor Bill Pekrul from Martin Luther College joins the show to talk about ways to promote your church and school through social media and other digital channels. Sallie shares a list of favorite digital tools, while Martin drops his cell phone…on purpose.

The interview and discussion:

Promotion planning – Martin and Sallie talk with Professor Bill Pekrul, Director of Public Relations at Martin Luther College, about promoting church and school. Bill stresses the key to great promotions is adopting realistic, effective, and sustainable plans.

News in tech:

Netflix Adds Offline Viewing

WELS now:

Tune in for the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Christmas Concert live stream on Sunday, December 11 at 3 and 7 pm Central

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Check out the 30-day free trial of Proclaim 2.0

Featured video:

Replay the Martin Luther College live streamed Christmas Concert.

mlcchristmas600x342

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 475 – Martin and Sallie share listener feedback! Release date: Wednesday, December 14

Get involved:

473 – Makerspaces

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This week on WELSTech, our inner-nerdiness comes out as Rachel Feld joins the edtech conversation for a look at the popular trend, Makerspaces. Martin shares info on several affordable options in the Internet of Things realm, there’s WELS music for the Christmas season available, as well as a special Pinterest board full of ideas for Advent.

The discussion:

Design, create, iterate – It’s education week on WELSTech! Martin and Sallie are joined by Rachel Feld, 1st and 2nd grade teacher from Bethany in Kenosha, WI, and the topic du jour is Makerspaces. The New Media Consortium Horizon Report 2016 K-12 Edition (p. 36-37) identified Makerspaces as an important development in K-12 education technology. Find out why and hear ideas about adding a makerspace to your school.

News in tech:

Google Home

WELS now:

WELS Seasonal Radio

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Check out Rachel’s Advent board on Pinterest

Featured video:

The newest addition on the WELSTech Presentation/Teaching YouTube playlist is Get Going with Your School Maker Faire.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 474 – Prof. Bill Pekrul, Director of Public Relations at Martin Luther College, joins Martin and Sallie to talk about church and school promotion. Release date: Wednesday, December 7.

Image information:

The feature image used on this post is courtesy of Flickr user 5chw4r7z and is licensed for reuse and modification under Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0. We modified the image by cropping to our standard feature image size.

Get involved:

472 – 364 Days of Thanksgiving

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Welcome to Thanksgiving week on WELSTech. We are thankful that you joined us! Just like every week, Martin and Sallie share lots of reasons to be thankful for technology in ministry, including the popular 364 Days of Thanksgiving blog and book, a special WELS Missions issue of Forward in Christ magazine, and the ability to support the synod while you shop with Amazon Smile.

The interview & discussion:

Counting our blessings – Martin and Sallie recently talked with Pastor Andrew Schroer from Redeemer in Edna, TX about his popular book, blog and syndicated newspaper column, 364 Days of Thanksgiving (Facebook | Twitter). Learn how the daily exercise of journaling your reasons for giving thanks can focus your attention on our triune God, the giver of all good things.

News in tech:

Snapchat unveils $130 connected sunglasses

WELS now:

WELS Missions and You – Bonus Issue of Forward in Christ magazine – Request a free copy

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Purchase 364 Days of Thanksgiving from Northwestern Publishing House or Amazon

Featured video:

From WELS’ Moments with Missionaries album on Vimeo, learn more about our outreach efforts in Vancouver, British Columbia, the newest addition on the WELSTech “Likes” list on Vimeo.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 473 – Teacher extraordinaire Rachel Feld is back to talk Makerspaces in education. Release date: Wednesday, November 30.

Get involved:

471 – 200 Pixels

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We’ve arrived at another community feedback week on WELSTech, and the sites and resources shared are functional, friendly, free, and favorable for furtherance of ministry. :-D Sallie’s coding Minecraft sheep to produce diamonds, Martin’s scanning historic photos with his smart phone, and WELS has a new youth ministry resource worth checking out. Listen & learn!

The discussion:

Tab-palooza – Sallie’s loaded up a whopping 27 tabs of WELSTech goodness for this week’s WELSTech community feedback discussion. From G Suite tricks and updates to ministry tech ideas for the upcoming Advent and Christmas season to a tool for creating virtual reality scenes, there’s something for everyone!

News in tech:

WhatsApp Video Calling

WELS now:

Forward in Christ archive

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

New Youth Ministry Resource Available – Order from NPH

Featured video:

Learn more about the Transformed program for Youth Ministry by watching Pastor Jon Enter’s 2016 Youth Rally Transformed Workshop, the newest addition on the WELSTech “Likes” list on Vimeo.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 472 – We’re giving thanks WELSTech-style as we talk with Pastor Andrew Schroer, author of 364 Days of Thanksgiving. Release date: Wednesday, November 23.

Get involved:

470 – Social Media in Ministry: Twitter

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This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie broadcast from the new WELS Center for Mission and Ministry Welcome Center and discuss one of the biggest social networks that congregations don’t know quite what to do with…Twitter. Tune in for ideas on building a Twitter following for your organization and helping your members “spread the Word.”

The discussion:

Twitter for MinistryWelcome to Twitter – The latest installment in the WELSTech Social Media for Ministry series focuses on the micro-blogging platform, Twitter. Check out the Twitter for Ministry infographic for tips on the why, what, who and how of Twitter.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Follow WELS on Twitter – @WELStweets

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Follow Concordia Technology on Twitter – @ConcordiaTech

Featured video:

Visit Getting Started with Twitter for 6 short video overviews on using Twitter.

Twitter Help

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 471 – Tweet @WELSTech or #WELSTech and be part of Community Feedback week! Release date: Wednesday, November 16.

Get involved:

469 – Addiction

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On this week’s WELSTech we tackle a difficult topic, Internet addictions including the use of pornography. Learn some practical tips and resources to help yourself or others you are close to who may suffer from some type of internet addiction. Martin test drives a new, affordable computer solution, and we share a brand new lectionary for the upcoming Church Year A.

The interview & discussion:

Too much or inappropriate use of technology – Martin and Sallie discuss the many types of addictions which can come from use of technology. Staff Minister Dan Schoeffel shares his experience working on the Conquerors Through Christ initiative to support those struggling with the sin of pornography.

News in tech:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Church Year A Lectionary from the Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV) of the Bible by the Wartburg Project

Featured video:

This week we’ve added video of a 4-year-old’s ABC Bible Verses to the WELSTech Presentation/Teaching Videos Playlist on YouTube. Download the verses from Homeschool Creations.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 470 – Martin and Sallie are side by side in the lovely WELS Studio to share ideas on Twitter for Ministry. Release date: Wednesday, November 9.

Get involved: