645 – Looking Back At 2020

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WELSTech wraps up year 13 of podcasts with a review of highlights from this pandemic year!

The discussion

Unprecedented – Martin and Sallie consider the blessings (and challenges) of tech in ministry as we close out 2020, a year like no other.

Events

Episode titles

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Ministry resources

Interviews:

Picks of the week

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644 – Five Below Cables

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WELSTech is back with the final installment of our Atomic Habits book discussion as well as an interview about cyber security training for children. Martin and Sallie make their last picks of 2020, and we learn about captioning video calls. The beautiful Christmas concert from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary closes this last podcast before Christmas, and we send our best wishes to WELSTech listeners for a joyous celebration of our Savior’s birth.

The discussion

Make It Satisfying – Just in time to apply to the new year, Martin and Sallie finish their book discussion of Atomic Habits by James Clear with a look at the 4th law and taking your habits from good to great.

Join us in January for our next book discussion of The Post-Quarantine Church by Thom Rainer.

The interview

Security education – MLC second-career staff ministry student Mike Tracy shares his experience in cyber security training, and, in particular, his thoughts on training children about information security.

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

How to Add Closed Captions to a Video Call

Community feedback

WELS now

Creating digital side doors featuring Pastor Peter Hagen and the Raised with Jesus podcast from the December Forward in Christ magazine.

Enjoy the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Christmas concert.

Next time

2020 is drawing to a close, and that means it’s time to look back at some of our favorite WELSTech moments of the year.

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643 – Mind Candy

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Tune in to this week’s WELSTech for a great discussion of the 3rd Law of Atomic Habits. Stay tuned in for a little bit of Elon, Van Gogh, virtual team building, and hymn previews plus lots more WELSTech goodness to enhance your public and personal ministry efforts!

The discussion

Reduce friction – Martin and Sallie return to the book discussion of James Clear’s Atomic Habits, this week focusing on the 3rd Law, Make It Easy (chapters 11-14).  Sallie even has a (short) chat with the author!

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

In the Facebook group WELS Educators During COVID-19 and Beyond, Lori Ehlke (St Paul’s, Onalaska, WI) shared an art tutorial video titled Van Gogh Nativity. Check out her YouTube channel for more – Ehlke Art.

Community feedback

WELS now

Christian Worship Hymn Preview

Next time

We wrap up our discussion of Atomic Habits (chapter 15 to the end) and chat with Mike Tracy about cyber security training for schools.

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642 – Screencast Tools and Tips

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We’re giving thanks this week on WELSTech – for our WELSTech community and for our awesome edtech co-hosts, Rachel & Jason. Tune in for a lively discussion of screencasting as well as picks, resources, and feedback that are sure to enhance your ministry efforts. Plus there’s something new on WELSTech, and you don’t want to miss the announcement!

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The discussion

Image by mmi9 from Pixabay

It’s really that easy – Martin and Sallie are joined by semi-regular classroom technology correspondents Rachel Feld, Director of Academic Computing at Martin Luther College, and Jason Schmidt, Instructional Technology Coach for Oconto Falls School District, and the topic of the day is screencasting.

Tools

Tips

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

WELS Educators During Covid-19 and Beyond

Community feedback

WELS now

While you are subscribing to WELSTech e-news, you may also want to sample a recent release of the weekly e-news from WELS Lutheran Schools, check out the archives, and subscribe.

Next time

We’ll do this again in two weeks, and the topic will be the 3rd Law of Atomic Habits – Make It Easy (chapters 11-14).

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641 – Make It Attractive

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This week on WELSTech we share the story of one school’s largely digital rebranding efforts that gave them community recognition and a large enrollment increase. We also have more from our Atomic Habits book discussion, a couple of great picks of the week, free early childhood education resources and more!

The interview

Rebranding for Outreach – Brian Polfer serves on the Board of Education at Carlsbad Christian Academy, the school ministry of Beautiful Saviour Lutheran Church, Carlsbad, CA. He joins Martin and Sallie to share details of the steps they took to more than quadruple their school enrollment this year – from changing the school name to Google and Facebook advertising to a mobile-friendly website and more.

The discussion

Temptation Bundling – Martin and Sallie explore the second law of Atomic Habits by James Clear, which adds temptation (incentive) bundling to habit stacking (chapters 8-10).

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

Christmas Event Planning Amid COVID-19 from Church Tech Today

Community feedback

WELS now

ChristLight Sunday School at Home is extended through Winter and Spring!

Pastor Donn Dobberstein, Administrator of WELS Discipleship, shares thoughts on the program.

Next time

Edtech with Rachel Feld and Jason Schmidt!

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640 – Zoom Done Right

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This week on WELSTech we talk about using Zoom video conferencing in ministry. The 2020 Gospel Outreach with Media Conference kicks off with some very interesting presentations, WELS Congregational Services has a brand new Evangelism kit to share, and we explore new software and app capabilities to make your ministry and life easier.

The discussion

Unexpected ministry platform – When we started the year of podcasting there’s no way we could have predicted the exponential usage of Zoom and other video conferencing platforms in ministry. Martin details best practices for using Zoom.

The interview

Zoom first-hand – Pastor Philip Casmer from Christ the Lord, Brookfield, WI shares his experience using Zoom for Bible class.

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

Visit the Gospel Outreach with Media 2020 Conference (gowm.org), now through November 9, for interesting approaches to sharing the Good News including …

Community feedback

WELS now

Watch the recent Together video update and check out new resources from WELS Congregational Services

Next time

Rebranding and Atomic Habits – Make It Attractive (chapters 8-10)

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639 – Make It Obvious

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Tune in for 52 minutes of WELSTech goodness including great tips on habit forming as well as special guest insight into the tech behind world mission work. There’s also recycling tips for old devices, Bible commentary discounts, church WordPress themes, and the perfect YouTube channel for budding videographers.

The discussion

Implementation and stacking – Martin and Sallie continue their book discussion of Atomic Habits by James Clear, looking at starting new habits, motivation, and the secret of self-control (chapters 4-7).

The interview

Pastor Paul Nitz recently returned from 25+ years of service as missionary to God’s people in Malawi and central Africa. Hear about his new role in World Missions and the tech that makes it all happen!

BONUS: Check out Pastor Nitz’s OneNote template for meetings for ideas on how templates can improve your work processes. Pastor Nitz writes, “I create the template in Excel and paste it in. I always choose to put in a page color to make the tables pop out. That, for me, takes care of the one thing about OneNote I really DON’T like, the huge colorless blank canvass effect.”

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

James Clear’s 3-2-1 Thursday newsletter

Community feedback

WordPress Themes for Churches – Google group discussion

WELS now

Looking for the perfect Pastor Appreciation gift? Visit Northwestern Publishing House for 25% off Bible Commentaries through October 15.

Next time

Video ministry and Atomic Habits – Make It Attractive (chapters 8-10)

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638 – Thoughts On Virtual Learning…Free Of Charge

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A new era of WELSTech has arrived as we welcome not one, but two classroom technology correspondents to the guest host chairs on the same episode! We’re talking hybrid education along with picks of the week, community feedback, and all the other WELSTech goodness we can pack into our time together.

The discussion

New school year, new challenges – This season on WELSTech we thought we’d double the fun for edtech discussion episodes by inviting both Rachel Feld, Director of Academic Computing at Martin Luther College, and Jason Schmidt, Instructional Technology Coach for Oconto Falls School District, to join Martin and Sallie on the same episodes.

Today we talk about the challenges and opportunities which are evident in classrooms this school year because of the pandemic. Jason and Rachel share tools for formative assessment which is important for gauging learning comprehension in normal situations and is magnified in hybrid/virtual learning situations.

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

Sunday School At Home with Christ Light from Northwestern Publishing House (NPH)

Community feedback

WELS now

Sign up for Marriage Moments, weekly videos with discussion ideas highlighting a Biblical marriage thought. Additional details are available here.

Next time

We’re back in two weeks with the 1st law of Atomic Habits plus an interview.

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637 – Atomic Habits

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This week, WELSTech starts fresh for the 2020-21 podcast season with a revised show lineup, a great interview on 21st century catechism, a new book discussion, and a couple of hardware picks of the week. There’s also community discussions around Instagram for ministry, Google for Education application requirements, and document camera recommendations. We cap it off with a celebration of 100 years of Campus Ministry!

The discussion

Back to the books – Martin and Sallie kickoff a new book discussion of Atomic Habits by James Clear with a look at the mathematics of compounding tiny changes over time to reach the tipping point and benefit from the exponential “power of latent potential.”

The interview

Catechism instruction – Pastor Paul Waldschmidt from Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, WI recently taught a summer course at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary titled Educational Technology for the Catechism Classroom. He chats with Martin and Sallie about the methods and tools he implemented in order to foster the 4Cs identified as 21st century skills – create, communicate, collaborate, and critical thinking – in his classroom.

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

Atomic Habits free resources

Community feedback

WELS now

WELS Campus Ministries celebrates their 100 year anniversary

Next time

We talk edtech with a pair of guest hosts – Rachel Feld and Jason Schmidt!

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636 – HR & A Pandemic

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On this episode of WELSTech we wrap up our summer look at ministry across the synod during the pandemic by talking with WELS Human Resources Director Dennis Maurer. We also discuss NPH’s new “at-home Sunday School” program. Google extensions and add-ons shine in the “Picks of the week” segment, and WELSTech listeners have lots to say about social media for schools, and more!

The interview and discussion:

Pandemic protocols at the CMM – WELS Director of Human Resources Dennis Maurer talks with Martin and Sallie about the policies and procedures which are in place at the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry (CMM).

Sunday School at home – New from Northwestern Publishing House (NPH) are resources for doing Sunday School from home using Christ-Light materials and free, age-appropriate video lessons by experienced WELS teachers.

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Featured videos/online course:

How to use Choice Eliminator add-on for Google Forms

Next time:

WELSTech goes back to the books with a kickoff discussion of Atomic Habits by James Clear.

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