143 – WELSTech Road Trip: Watertown, WI

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The WELSTech Podcast Road Trip heads to Watertown, WI, and we learn about school hardware solutions.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(8:03) School hardware ideas – Our virtual tour of the WELS 12 Districts continues with a stop in Watertown, WI to talk with teacher and technology director Drew Willems from Trinity-St. Luke’s.  Join Martin and Sallie as we learn about the school hardware configuration for their two-campus setting which includes a network, SMART Boards, a dedicated computer lab and, most recently, a batch of netbooks on a secure charging mobile cart.

Drew Willems

Watertown WI
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (36:46) Pastor Johann Caauwee from Trinity in El Paso, TX and blogger at A Shepherd’s Study shared a link to Concordia Technology Solution’s brand new Church 360 (Church360 on Twitter) online church management system.
  • Parish Administrator Dan Schoeffel form St. Paul’s in Onalaska, WI shared his congregation’s Time and Talent surveys (all in .doc Word format) for adults and teens as well as a page they call “Serving My Lord” with scripture verses about time and talent.  We’ve started a brand new page on the WELSTech Wiki to house church office documents.
  • Pastor Caauwee also followed up on a previous discussion about online church directories to point to Olan Mills the free online directory that comes with any pictorial directory project congregations create using Olan Mills.  Check out the sample (use password: secret).
  • From the #WELSTech Twitter feed we learned:
  • Steve Zambo from Salty Earth Pictures shared their latest video series, “PC’s Take”, with Pastor Clark Schultz reviewing movies.  Find PC’s Take on Facebook.
  • Deacon Mike from Deer Valley in Phoenix, AZ asked about a low-cost web conferencing solution, and we recommended Vyew.com

Coming up on WELSTech:

(49:23) Episode 144 – WELSTech heads to the Pacific Northwest to visit with John Shoosmith for an update on closed-caption video and more.  (Release date 08/11/10)

The featured artist:

(50:12) We close the podcast this week with the beautiful piano music of Dawn Gehlhar – Christ Be My Leader from her CD titled ”Inspirations”

Get involved:

142 – WELSTech Road Trip: Houston, TX

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This week the WELSTech Podcast Road Trip takes us to Houston, TX where we visit with Sally Valleskey about church management software.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(4:30) Church management software – Martin and Sallie journey deep in the heart of Texas to Houston and catch up with Sally Valleskey from Abiding Word.  Sally shares her experience with their church management software, Shepherd’s Staff.

SallyValleskey

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The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(34:31) Job posting – WELS is looking for a .NET/SharePoint/C# Programmer.  Contact Martin for more details.

Community feedback:

    • (36:20) Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI commented on our recent road trip stop in Fond du Lac, WI with teacher Ryan Rosenthal
      • Ryan shared an image of our youngest WELSTech fan:

bibs

Coming up on WELSTech:

(44:22) Episode 143 – Tune in for a surprise road trip destination.  Our WELS districts tour would be complete with visits to the Dakota/Montana, Western Wisconsin, Pacific Northwest and Arizona/California districts.  (Release date 08/04/10)

The featured artist:

(45:20) This week we close with the music of Revelation, a music ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran College (www.revelationwlc.com) – Agnus Dei from their CD titled ”More Than Conquerors”

Get involved:

141 – WELSTech Road Trip: Fond du Lac, WI

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Buckle up for this week’s WELSTech Podcast Road Trip.  We visit Fond du Lac, WI and talk with teacher Ryan Rosenthal about integrating technology in the classroom.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(2:18) Integrating Technology into the Classroom – Seveth grade teacher Ryan Rosenthal from Faith in Fond du Lac, WI joins Martin and Sallie for an interesting conversation about his Web 2.0 classroom experience.  Ryan offers great advice including encouraging teachers to “tweak” existing projects to include technology elements, rather than coming up with a new project.

Ryan Rosenthal

Fond du Lac
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(33:57) Episode 142 – We talk with Sally Valleskey from Abiding Word in Houston (deep in the heart of), Texas about their use of Shepherd’s Staff church management software. (Release date 07/28/10)

The featured artist:

(34:12) We close the podcast with music from Cross to Glory (www.crosstoglory.com) – My Old Friend from their CD titled “Life’s Song”

Get involved:

140 – WELSTech Road Trip: Birmingham, AL

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This week the WELSTech Podcast Road Trip heads south to talk with Pastor Ben Kratz in Birmingham, AL about distance Bible classes with Skype.

The Draper boys check out a high tech vending machine in the Minneapolis airport.

The Draper boys check out a high tech vending machine in the Minneapolis airport.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(5:02) Distance Bible Class – Martin chats with Pastor Ben Kratz from Our Savior in Birmingham, AL about his use of Skype for distance Bible class.

Pastor Ben Kratz

Birmingham AL
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(30:32) Episode 141 – Fond du Lac, WI is the destination of next week’s virtual road trip.  We’ll talk with teacher Ryan Rosenthal about Web 2.0 in the classroom. (Release date 07/21/10)

The featured artist:

(31:15) We close the podcast with the instrumental music of In His Service (www.adagioconcepts.com) – O God, Forsake Me Not from their CD titled “In His Time”

Get involved:

139 – WELSTech Road Trip: Omaha, NE

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This week the WELSTech Podcast Road Trip visits Teacher Jason Schmidt at Gethsemane in Omaha, NE to chat about SMART Board resources.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(2:49) SMART Classrooms – Our travel plans take us to the Midwest where we visit with teacher Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE.  WELSTech listeners will recognize Jason’s name from his many contributions to the show (and even a previous interview), and today’s show won’t disappoint as Jason shares a ton of classroom-oriented SMART Board resources and ideas with Martin and Sallie.

04-OmahaNE400
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(35:04) Episode 140 – Join us as we head south to Birmingham, AL to talk with Pastor Ben Kratz about long-distance Bible classes via Skype. (Release date 07/14/10)

The featured artist:

(35:45) We close the podcast with the music of Corban Creek – It Seems to Be the Day from their CD titled “Could It Be Me”

Get involved:

138 – WELSTech Road Trip: Liverpool, NY

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This week the WELSTech Podcast Road Trip heads to Liverpool, NY to talk with Pastor Jeremiah Gumm about blogging.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(5:50) Pastoral Blogging – The WELSTech Road Trip makes a virtual stop in upstate New York where Martin and Sallie chat with Pastor Jeremiah Gumm from Cross of Christ.  Pastor Gumm, the blogger behind The Shepherd’s Study, shares thoughts on his 2+ years of blogging – how and why he started his blog, the mechanics of setting up and managing a blog, and the blessings (64,000 hits and counting) and connections blogging has given him.

Pastor Jeremiah Gumm - The Shepherd's Story

Blog Dashboard
Blog Administration “Dashboard” (Click the view full size)

Adding a New Blog Post
Writing a New Blog Post Screen (Click to view full size)

Road Trip Tracker
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (39:16) Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE shared links via the WELSTech Diigo group:
  • Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI left us a voice mail with details on AT&T voice and data plan educator pricing
    • Include your voice in the next WELSTech Podcast.  Leave us a voice mail at 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Pastor Rob Guenther from Gethsemane in Raleigh, NC is using the Flashcard Touch app for iPod and iPhone to share Quizlet.com Catechism flash cards with his students
  • David Schumann from Peace in Janesville, WI used Inkscape to convert bitmap images to scalable vector format
  • Tom Hausman from Viterbo University in LaCrosse, WI shared a job posting for an Instructional Support and Design Specialist. Contact Martin for additional details.
  • Perry Lund from Grace in Oskaloosa, IA commented on the recent student management system podcast interview

Coming up on WELSTech:

(52:18) Episode 139 – We’re on the road again, but this time to an unknown techie virtual destination.  Tune in to find out where we visit, and learn something new in the process. (Release date 07/07/10)

The featured artist:

(56:39) We close the podcast with the music of Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com and on Facebook) – I Do Believe from his CD titled “The Way”

Get involved:

137 – WELSTech Road Trip: New Ulm, MN

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This week the WELSTech Podcast Road Trip stops by Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School in New Ulm, MN.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(2:11) Student Management System – The next stop on the WELSTech Road Trip takes Martin and Sallie to New Ulm, MN to talk with Heath Dobberpuhl, teacher and registrar at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School (MVL).  MVL recently converted to a new student management system, making their cookie sales (and grade management) much easier for teachers, staff and parents alike.  Listen as Heath shares their experience with the system.

Heath Dobberpuhl

Class Section Summary
The Class Section Summary screen (Click the view full size)

Missing Assisgnment Settings
The Missing Assignments Settings Screen (Click to view full size)

02-New Ulm MN
The WELSTech Road Trip tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

(28:45) Martin shared several noteworthy links:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(34:07) Episode 138 – The WELSTech summer 2010 Road Trip heads east to Liverpool, NY to meet Pastor Jeremiah Gumm and learn about pastoral blogging. (Release date 06/30/10)

The featured artist:

(34:55) We close the podcast with the music of Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com and mikewestendorf on Twitter) – Found from his CD titled “Climb the Mountain”

Get involved:

136 – WELSTech Road Trip: Aurora, CO

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Go on the road with the WELSTech Podcast as we explore distance counseling in Aurora, CO.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(3:13) Distance Counseling – Martin and Sallie pack their virtual bags and head across the country to visit Aurora, CO where we visit with Liz Seelow from New Beginnings – A Home For Mothers and Dan Nommensen from Wisconsin Lutheran Child and Family Services (WLCFS).  Liz shares her first-hand experience with the WLCFS Member Assistance Program distance counseling service.  Listen for tips on starting a similar program in your area.

nommensenSeelows

A typical Member Assistance Program session
A typical Member Assistance Program session

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The WELSTech Road Trip tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

(24:40) Pastor Rob Guenther from Gethsemane in Raleigh, NC shared lots of ideas and questions including a link to Format Factory, and audio video converter

Coming up on WELSTech:

(30:42) Episode 137 – The next stop on the WELSTech summer 2010 Road Trip is Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School in New Ulm, MN where we’ll talk with teacher and registrar Heath Dobberpuhl about their new student management system. (Release date 06/23/10)

The featured artist:

(31:30) We close the podcast with the music of Stephen Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com or stephenbautista on Twitter) – Trying to Catch the Wind from his CD titled “Abandon”

Get involved:

135 – Cash or Credit?

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This is book discussion week on the WELSTech Podcast as we wrap up our look at Shane Hipps’ The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture.

The discussion:

ProjectorWrapping Up – Martin and Sallie complete their discussion of Shane Hipps’ book, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church, looking at chapter 8, “Worship in Electronic Culture”.

News in tech:

Picks of the week:

WELS.net feature:

(33:50) “Like” WELS on Facebook – facebook.com/welslutherans – and you may win a $20 gift card to Northwestern Publishing House (NPH).  There will be one giveaway per week through August!

Of interest:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(48:04) Episode 136 – The WELSTech summer 2010 Road Trip gets underway.  Tune in to find out where we stop first. (Release date 06/16/10)

The featured artist:

(49:14) We close the podcast with the music of Kevin Loersch – When Love is Found from his CD titled “Abide With Me”

Get involved: