534 – #trackhopper

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This week on WELSTech, we finish off our month-long focus on professional development by talking to Jason Schmidt about his approach to conferences, advanced degrees and helping others “sharpen” their tech skills.

The discussion:

Formal education – Just back from the Future of Education Technology Conference 2018 in an unknown destination, semi-regular education co-host Jason Schmidt shares his thoughts on certifications and advanced degrees as well as church and school financial support of staff professional development. He also shares his favorite “shiny” tech he observed at the conference – the Sharper Origin, a hand-held CNC machine (video).

News in tech:

WELS now:

  • Interactive Faith online Bible Study – Isaiah: God confronts and comforts his people – Pastor Daniel Habben from St. John’s, Antigua leads the study on Wednesday’s now through February 7 at 6 pm and 8 pm (central).
  • Mark your calendars for WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit – June 25-27, 2019 at Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells, WI – Sign up for information

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

MathCounts – Middle-school Math competition, club and video competition

Community feedback:

Daily video devotions from Peace in North Mankato, MN are reaching 2,000+ subscribers. tune in on Facebook (facebook.com/PeaceDevotions) or at peacedevotions.com.

Featured video:

This week’s WELSTech double feature kicks off with a sample instructional video from our Ministry Resource discussion – MathCounts Mini #77 – More Counting Using Cases.

And, new on the WELSTech Vimeo “Likes” List is WELS Year in Review.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 535 – The February WELSTech focus on training volunteers kicks off with a discussion of worship projection and an interview with Kristen Tetteh from Proclaim software. Release date: Thursday, February 8.

Get involved:

533 – Skills Sharpening Survey

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Skills Sharpening January continues on WELSTech! We were excited to see great participation in a survey of faculty and staffs from around the country sharing what they are doing for professional development. Tune in to see how you or your organization compares.

The discussion:

The survey says – We asked WELSTech-ers to share their church and school professional development experience and learned a lot in the process!

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

5 Google Tools You Should bE Using on Your Church Website

Community feedback:

Allan Bundt from Good Shepherd Church and School in Wisconsin Rapids is looking for advice on Chromebook management because their school is not accredited and, therefore, doesn’t qualify for Gsuite for Education.

Featured video:

Get creative with Kahoot by using this technique – What is a Blind Kahoot!? – a new addition on the WELSTech Instructional playlist.

 Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 534 – Jason Schmidt shares his perspective on formal skill sharpening – certificates, advanced degrees, etc. Release date: Wednesday, January 24.

Get involved:

532 – Sharpening Your Bible Study

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If there is one skill you want sharp, it’s Bible Study. Today’s technology tools make that easier than ever with online bibles, bible studies, tools, and more. Today’s picks are “google-centric” and there’s a great interview with Pastor Brock Groth, the man behind understandchristianity.com.

The discussion:

Rooted and built up – The topic of “Sharpening Your Skills” naturally leads the Christian to consider ways to grow their knowledge of God’s Word. Martin and Sallie discuss digital Bible features, resources from WELS and Northwestern Publishing House (NPH) for being in the Word, and ways to incorporate Bible study into meetings, journaling and social media.

The interview:

Understand Christianity – Pastor Brock Groth from St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Citrus Heights, CA shares the story behind his website, UnderstandChristianity.com. What started as a book effort is now an informative site, featuring notes from Pastor Groth’s Seminary studies transformed into informative posts on Bible teachings and popular Timelines.

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Shepherd’s Staff 2018

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Minnesota District President Charles Degner’s sermon on 1 Peter 1:10-12 is a great encouragement study God’s Word, our great heritage! Watch the archived live stream of the MN District Reformation 500 service from the The Chapel of the Christ at Martin Luther College. The sermon begins at the 1:02:00 mark in the video.

 Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 533 – Helping others sharpen their skills can be a challenge. Tune in for a WELSTech discussion on the topic. Release date: Wednesday, January 24.

Get involved:

531 – Skill Sharpening

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A new year brings new opportunities and professional development resolutions. We all have a lot to learn, especially if we would like to keep up with current options in technology. This episode covers different ways to plan for, curate and consume learning resources that will keep you current. You may even be inspired to share your knowledge via a blog or, dare we say, a podcast!

The discussion:

Learn something new – Martin and Sallie kick off the January discussion topic, Sharpen Your Skills, with a look at sources and methods for professional and personal development.

News in tech:

WELS now:

  • Interactive Faith online Bible Study – Isaiah: God confronts and comforts his people – Missionary Daniel Habben from St. John, Antigua leads the study on Wednesday’s beginning January 10 through February 7 at 6 pm and 8 pm CST.
  • Mark your calendars for the WELS Ed, Tech, Lead Summit, happening June 25-27 at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells, WI. Learn more and sign up for updates at welsedtechlead.com.
  • List your tech skills and find skilled WELS/ELS techies at skills.welstech.net.

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Ripl Pro

Community feedback:

Projection and Wi-Fi hardware available on the WELSTech Google Group

Featured video:

New on the WELSTech YouTube Instructional Playlist, Starting a PLN on Twitter: A Quick Guide For Teachers from Common Sense Education. Consider subscribing to their YouTube channel.

 Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 532 – The “Sharpen Your Skills” focus continues next week. There’s still more to learn! Release date: Wednesday, January 17.

Get involved:

530 – 10 Years of WELSTech

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2018 begins with another celebration – 10 years of WELSTech! We look back at episode one and ahead to a new year of exciting new tech and ministry ideas. Sallie has a “magic” cube that you have to see to believe, and Martin has his sights set on better mobile applications for our WELS audience.

The discussion:

New in 2018 – Martin and Sallie celebrate 10 years of WELSTech podcasting and talk about the year ahead. From bullet journals to grand kids to full-time RVing, the year promises to be an exciting one on the personal level.

And of course, there’s lots of exciting new technology to look forward to this year as well. Sallie shares her experience with the Merge Cube, while Martin explains PWAs (installable web sites). And the biggest news is a brand new tech skills clearing house called WELSTech Skills (skills.welstech.net). Add a listing to showcase your tech skill set and search the listings to find skilled workers.

News in tech:

The Verge 2017 tech report cards

WELS now:

Interactive Faith online Bible Study – Isaiah: God confronts and comforts his people – Missionary Daniel Habben from St. John, Antigua leads the study on Wednesday’s beginning January 10 through February 7 at 6 pm and 8 pm CST.

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

All-Hashtag

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Learn about the latest mission developments in Latin America in the December 2017 Update, a new addition on the WELSTech Vimeo Like’s list.

 Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 531 – Tune in for the start of our January WELSTech focus – Sharpen Your Skills. Release date: Wednesday, January 10.

Get involved: