769 – AI for the Assist

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This episode of WELSTech features an interview with Ryan Kirchoff where he shares an overview of his recent Leadership Conference presentation on our favorite topic – Artificial Intelligence. Are You an Influencer is the topic of an upcoming webinar. Sallie has a new favorite song, and Martin has a new favorite gadget. Which one will be your favorite?

The discussion

Assist versus lead – Instructional coordinator and consultant Ryan Kirchoff shares highlights from his recent WELS Leadership Conference session on AI and the Church (presentation resource). Since late-2022 when AI was first shared, Ryan’s work at Fox Valley Lutheran High School and with Blueprint-Schools.com has taken on an element of educating others about what and how AI can serve ministry.

  • Ryan’s latest course, AI for Impact, is specially priced at $99 per school during February

Ministry resource

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Managing a strategic plan with Trello

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768 – Many Hats, Many Cats

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Tune into this episode of WELSTech for a master class in herding cats as we navigate a lively discussion of the MLC degree and certificate offerings for technology directors. There’s also a broad range of picks of the week, Martin’s Screens and Souls presentation from Leadership Conference, and some free Google training to discuss.

The discussion

Technology director – Martin and Sallie welcome our semi-regular edtech co-hosts, Dr. Rachel Feld and Jason Schmidt, along with yet another friend in the ed tech space, Dr. Bob Martens, Martin Luther College (MLC) Director of Information Technology. The discussion centers on the MLC Technology Director graduate degree program (a 30 credit MS Education Administration program) as well as two new certifications also offered by MLC in Education Technology Leadership and Technology Integration, each requiring 9 credits.

Summed up as learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable, the three share how the program teaches edtech leadership skills needed to manage the many facets of the ever-changing edtech learning environment.

Ministry resource

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  • Free Google Certifications – Google Certified Educator Level 1 & 2 as well as Gemini Certified Educator and Gemini Certified student

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767 – Best of 2025

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Take a look back at 2025 with Martin and Sallie as they share highlights, memories, and favorites from year 18 of the WELSTech Podcast.

Events

Ministry resources

Interviews

Picks of the year

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Year 19 of WELSTech is ahead of us. What will it hold for tech-in-ministry?

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766 – Christmas Conversation with Melanie

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Merry Christmas from WELSTech! We’re continuing our holiday tradition of sharing a special Christmas interview with our listeners. This year, we’re excited to welcome Melanie Giddings from the Lutheran Schools Office to talk about the important work underway to develop a new religion curriculum.

The interview

A new curriculum in development – Melanie Giddings, Curriculum Coordinator from WELS Lutheran Schools, joins Martin and Sallie to share an inside look at the work being shared by many hands on a new Pre-K to 12 religion curriculum being developed to succeed Christ Light.

Christmas Coloring Book Collab

There’s still time to submit your AI-generated Christmas coloring page for inclusion in a WELSTech crowd-sourced coloring book. Send your entries to [email protected], and we’ll choose a random contributor to receive some sweet WELS swag!

Try this prompt:

A black and white coloring page for kids of [YOUR TOPIC], thick lines, white background, no shading, no grey scale, simple vector style.

Next time

Join us in January for our look back at WELSTech 2025!

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765 – Christmas Coloring

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‘Tis the WELSTech Christmas season! Join us for a giveaway announcement that involves the good news of Christmas, coloring books, and AI. You could win a fun WELS item while you exercise your AI skills. Christmas concerts, anniversary offerings, travel apps, managing your smart home, and free EDU GPT round out this episode. Let’s goooo!

The discussion

Celebrating in color – Martin and Sallie are collocated, Christmas-color coordinated, and collaborating on a coloring project. Everyone is invited to participate in an AI experiment, creating Christmas-related coloring pages which we’ll compile into a sharable book. Send your entries to [email protected], and we’ll choose a random contributor to receive some sweet WELS swag!

Try this prompt:

A black and white coloring page for kids of [YOUR TOPIC], thick lines, white background, no shading, no grey scale, simple vector style.

Ministry resource

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Chat GPT is free for teachers until June 2027

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Melanie Giddings, Curriculum Coordinator from the Lutheran Schools office, shares details on this important work.

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764 – NotebookLM: The Godzilla of AI

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This week on WELSTech we take a deep dive into Google’s NotebookLM. Discover how this AI tool uses only your uploaded documents to create everything from video and audio overviews, flashcards, and summary documents, plus learn about other innovative AI tools like Hume Voice AI and the Plaud audio recorder that are changing the way we work and communicate.

The discussion

I wonder …. – Martin and Sallie are joined by Dr. Rachel Renno, Director of Academic Computing for Martin Luther College, and Jason Schmidt, Director of Technology for Oshkosh (WI) Area School District to discuss Google’s NotebookLM and how it leverages AI only on the documents you upload. Use NotebookLM to generate video and audio overviews of your content as well as summary documents, flashcards, and quizzes. Plus, it integrates easily into Google Classroom!

Ministry resource

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763 – Planning That Works

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On this episode of WELSTech, we take a closer look at one of the standout offerings from the upcoming WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership. We also revisit the WELS Strategic Plan, with a special focus on the Calling pillar. Plus, we’ve got our usual lineup of helpful Picks of the week and the latest Community Feedback. Ready to dive in? Simply press Play!

Podcast: Download (Duration: 38:39 — 35.4MB)

The interview and discussion

Church Planning – Martin chats with John Rathje, Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Kent State University, about his upcoming breakout session at the WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership titled Planning That Works.

Ministry resource

WELS Strategic Plan – Christ Through Us

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Community feedback

From the WELSTech Google Group

Next time

Jason and Rachel return for some educational technology goodness!

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762 – Llamas in the Machine

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This episode of WELSTech opens with an overview of the recent WELS Artificial Intelligence (AI) survey. The AI theme continues throughout the show, featuring details on the new Hour of AI initiative, a powerful prompt designed to help organize scattered thoughts, a WELS-centric GPT tool, and the latest edition of the TAAFT (There’s an AI for That) newsletter. And yes—watch out for AI llamas!

The discussion

The survey says – Martin shares preliminary insights from the recent AI survey distributed to WELS called and lay workers. While analysis is ongoing, the results will guide and prioritize the efforts of the AI Task Force. Notably, information on ethical considerations and ministry-specific use cases of AI emerged as top desired resources.

Ministry Resource

Updated Google Calendar lectionaries for

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Community feedback & events

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John Rathje shares a bit about his Lutheran Leadership Conference session on planning that works. Register early to secure your spot and take advantage of discounted pricing.

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761 – Comms and Cardigans

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Fall has arrived on WELSTech, and we’re reminiscing about childhood sweater weather.  We share a church communication focused interview as well as details on all the happenings at January’s Lutheran Leadership Conference. The picks of the week include worksheet alternatives for teachers as well as a great place to keep things. It’s time to press play!

Podcast: Download (Duration: 44:22 — 40.6MB)

The interview and discussion

Modernizing Church Communication – Martin and Sallie talk with Dr Kristi Meyer, Prof. of Mathematics at Wisconsin Lutheran College, and part-time communications coordinator at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, WI. She and Pastor Kyle Bitter are teaming up to present a breakout on the topic of church communication at the upcoming Lutheran Leadership Conference. Kristi shares a preview of their breakout content, including one of her game-changing tools for improving communication.

Ministry resource

WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership

  • January 19-21 at the Chicago Hilton
  • 4 Keynotes & 69 Breakouts
  • Register now for early bird pricing – $299

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760 – Listening to Your Flock

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For the 760th time, welcome to WELSTech, a podcast at the intersection of technology and ministry. This episode features a discussion of the dos and don’ts of church and school surveys. Also included is a new source for liturgical art, a deep dive into “Smart” Health, and a new vocabulary word – workslop! Eek!

The interview and discussion

Survey Best Practices – Martin and Sallie welcome Alycia Cameron, and she shares her experience with conducting surveys and how that applies to churches and schools. Listen for guidelines on whether you need a survey and the suggested length of a survey, plus much more.

Ministry resource

Part 1 of Christ Through Us, WELS strategic plan: Culture

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