Episode 040 – Oct 8 2008

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This week on WELSTech the focus is social networking and how online connections can be utilized for ministry.  Martin and Sallie talk with Andy Theimer, a WELS member who has started an online group aimed at connecting WELS business people.

The discussion:

  • Social networking inside the congregation – Martin and Sallie explore ways to extend your ministry efforts online via social networks.  From file sharing to gathering information via web forms to two-way interaction about Bible class topics on discussion forums, using web 2.0 tools to connect with members and connect members to other members with like interests (Mom’s groups, etc.) will become more and more acceptable and expected in this digital age.
    • Create your own social network at Ning.com

The interview:

  • Andy TheimerinWELS (21:31) – Andy Theimer, WELS member and entrepreneur, joins Martin and Sallie to share information about a group he’s started on the business-oriented social networking site LinkedIn called “inWELS”.  Listen and learn more about the benefits of being part of “inWELS”.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (40:11)
  • WELS.net feature (48:46)
    • WELS Yearbook – www.wels.net/jump/yearbook
  • Of interest (51:08)
    • WELSTech contest – Extended to midnight, Sunday, October 12th
      • Phone in your comments (414-375-2334) to this question: What digital devices do you use in your classroom or Bible class?
      • All comments will be entered in a drawing for a $15 gift certificate to the WELSTech Podcast store – www.cafepress.com/welstech
    • www.k12onlineconference.org
  • Community feedback (53:46)
  • Coming up on WELSTech (57:48)
    • Episode 041 – All about newsletters – For your congregation or school as well as the synod’s Together newsletter
    • Episode 042 – Redesign – Why and how to redesign your web site plus the inside scoop on the upcoming WELS.net redesign

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Revelation music ministry (www.revelationwlc.com) – God of Wonders from their We Walk By Faith CD (59:05)

Get involved:

Episode 039 – Oct 1 2008

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This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie talk about ways to “Go Green” with church and school electronics.  They also interview Pastor Mark Cares about the success of his new blog which targets outreach to Mormons.

The discussion:

  • WELSTech Goes GREEN – Martin and Sallie share ideas for churches, schools and individuals to reduce, reuse and recycle their electronics for both environmental and, at times, monetary gain.  In these ways we can be wise stewards of the gifts entrusted to us.

The interview:

  • Pastor Mark CaresUsing Blogs for Outreach (22:50) – Pastor Mark Cares, author of Speaking the Truth in Love to Mormons, joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the exciting attention his new blog, Markcare’s Weblog, is receiving and how the blog fits into Truth in Love Ministries overall plans for outreach to Mormons.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (39:09)
  • WELS.net feature (44:03)
    • Spanish language resources
      • Cristo Palabra de Vida – www.cristopalabra.net
      • Blog – cristopalabra.wels.net
      • Virtual Church – www.iglesiavirtual.wels.net
      • Upcoming chat on Reformation – October 28 @ 8 p.m.
  • Of interest (47:40)
    • WELSTech Contest – Phone in your comments (414-375-2334) to this question: What digital devices do you use in your classroom or Bible class?
      • All comments received by October 7, 2008 will be entered in a drawing for a $15 gift certificate to the WELSTech Podcast store – www.cafepress.com/welstech
    • WELSTech Wiki – Share your church media experience
  • Community feedback (55:13)
    • Pastor Kevin Draper from St. John’s in Sleepy Eye, MN shared information on potential wireless microphone problems.  Listeners are invited to update the WELSTech Wiki – microphones page with additional resources on this topic.
    • Listener Ralph Miller pointed us to the multi-media Bible resource, iLumina Gold Premium Edition
    • Pastor Steve Bauer from Faith Lutheran Church, in West Newton, PA shared links to free open source software for churches

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Michael Schroeder (wctc.net/~mas) – In My Life from his CD titled A Witness (59:54)

Get involved:

Episode 038 – Sep 24 2008

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This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie are joined by Gail Potratz, our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, and we discuss digital devices in the classroom and kick off a new WELSTech contest.

The discussion:

  • Digital devices in the classroom – Are computer labs necessary in today’s schools?  Martin, Sallie and Gail share ideas for integrating digital devices into the classroom learning process.
    • Interactive whiteboards
    • Computers
    • WELSTech ContestPhone in your comments (414-375-2334) to this questionWhat digital devices do you use in your classroom or Bible class?
      • All comments received by October 7, 2008 will be entered in a drawing for a $15 gift certificate to the WELSTech Podcast store – www.cafepress.com/welstech

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (30:25)
  • WELS.net feature (40:37)
    • Sunday School Teacher Training – www.wels.net/jump/wnusstraining
  • Community feedback (42:08)
    • Cindy Krueger, member of Shepherd of the Hills in Lansing, MI, shared a link to Michigan Library Consortium’s (the other MLC) list of open source software recommendations
    • Anna, a student at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School, asked about uses of technology in church – a religion class assignment

The featured artist:

  • We close with the music WELS artist Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com) – Prelude to Praise from his CD titled Run Boy Run (45:27)

Get involved:

Episode 037 – Sep 17 2008

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This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie soar into the cloud of web-based computing applications and discuss the exciting, affordable possibilities for church office needs.

The discussion:

  • Slide Rocket presentationChurch Office Computing in the Cloud – Martin recently attended the Office 2.0 Conference, and he shares with us his vision of “cloud” or web-based applications for the church office.  You may follow along via Martin’s online “Church Office 2.0” SlideRocket presentation as you listen to the podcast discussion.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (36:24)
  • WELS.net feature (42:27)
    • Committee on Relief blog – relief.wels.net
  • Of interest (44:11)
    • Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Symposium on Church
  • Community feedback (45:19)
    • Jason Winget’s congregation uses QuickBooks software for financial management, and he is looking for procedures for conducting a church accounting system audit.  Check out his WELSTech listserve post.

The featured artist:

  • This week we close with the music of In His Service featuring WELS musicians Dr. Patricia Backhaus and Valerie Floeter (www.adagioconcepts.com) – O God, Your Hand the Heaven’s Made from their In His Time CD (47:10)

Get involved:

                         

Episode 036 – Sep 10 2008

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This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie focus on methods for organizing paper and digital content so that it can easily be retrieved when needed.  They also interview one of the founders of the popular video podcast, GeekBrief.tv.

The discussion:

  • Getting Organized – Besides the mounds of paper everyone is required to deal with on a daily basis, pastors and teachers are also known to generate a lot of written, audio and video resources.  Keeping track of all this “stuff” and, most importantly, being able to retrieve it when needed, are the subjects of Martin and Sallie’s discussion today.
    • Dealing with paper
      • General filing tips
      • Setting up “43 Folders”
      • Digitize with the Fujitsu ScanSnap
    • Desktop search
    • Multiple desktops
      • www.360desktop.com
      • Mac Spaces
    • Tagging

The interview:

  • Neal CampbellLifting the curtain on video podcasting (23:39) – Neal Campbell, the self-described “eccentric dork” behind the camera at the nationally known video podcast, GeekBrief.tv, joins Martin and Sallie to share some of the secrets behind their “Shiny, Happy Tech News” and how churches might get started podcasting or videocasting.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (41:43)
    • Capture and share images and screen videos – www.jingproject.com
      • View the WELSTech site tour created with Jing
    • Sync notes across computers and mobile phones – www.evernote.com
  • WELS.net feature (48:10)
    • Visit WELS Kingdom Workers Mission Information Center to request mission related materials for display in your church or school – www.wels.net/jump/wkw-mic
  • Community feedback (50:19)
    • We have 8 new members of the WELSTech wiki, and we are still asking listeners to share their church media experience – welstech.wetpaint.com
    • John Shoosmith from Redeemer in Yakima, WA is looking for free audio sound bites to mix into a new podcast he is developing – Check out www.soundsnap.com

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS recording artist Kevin Loersch as he sings a medley of Children of the Heavenly Father and Jesus Loves Me from his CD titled Abide With Me (54:42)

Get involved:

Episode 035 – Sep 3 2008

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This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie take a closer look at the tools used to create and share church media and invite WELSTech listeners to share their experience in this area.  Martin interviews Paul Jackson, one of the founders of MediaShout, a congregational display system software.

The discussion:

  • Let’s collaborate on church media – Church media includes all things related to audio and video recording and production, including hardware components, software and even training.  Using a wiki site, Martin and Sallie added initial information on various church media resources.  WELSTech listeners are encouraged to share their experience, how-to’s, things to avoid and any other useful ideas in the wiki.
    • Help us build church media resources on the WELSTech wiki – welstech.wetpaint.com

The interview:

  • MediaShoutMediaShout (18:20) – Martin had the opportunity to talk with Paul Jackson of MediaShout about their congregational display system software.  Learn about the software capabilities and pricing as well as the features that makes MediaShout different from other church media software.

The tidbits:

The featured artist:

  • We close with the music WELS artist, WendySue Fluegge (www.wendysue.com) – Nearer My God To Thee from her CD titled Favorite Hymns (41:35)

Get involved:

Episode 034 – Aug 27 2008

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This week on WELSTech Martin, Sallie and our semi-regular classroom correspondent, Gail Potratz, discuss congregation and school uses for wikis.  Also, we are joined by Maria Andersen as she shares how Web 2.0 leveled the playing field when it comes to teaching online.

The discussion:

  • Wikis – Martin, Sallie and Gail give listeners a crash course on wikis, a very popular Web 2.0 tool which can be used for web-based collaboration in churches and schools.  Featuring easy set-up and update functions that anyone can do without HTML or other programming knowledge, wikis also allow for inclusion of all forms of multi-media content.
    • www.wikispaces.com
      • Gail’s sample WELSTech wiki – welstechwiki.wikispaces.com
    • www.pbwiki.com
      • Educator tools
    • www.wetpaint.com
      • Martin’s sample WELSTech wiki – welstech.wetpaint.com
    • Set up you own server-based wiki using open-source MediaWiki.org

The interview:

  • Maria Anderson - real and avatarLeveling the online education playing field (20:10) – Maria Andersen, who serves on the Math Faculty at Muskegon Community College, joins Martin and Sallie to discuss her experiences as an online calculus teacher and share how Web 2.0 tools allow all her students to communicate with her regardless of their software and hardware set-up.  You’ll even hear the story behind the purple calculus teacher avatar that Maria uses on her blog.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (39:05)
  • WELS.net feature (50:00)
    • Through My Bible in 3 Years – a variety of flavors to suit every taste
      • Pamphlet from NPH
      • Read online or subscribe for e-mail or RSS delivery – www.wels.net/jump/bible3
      • Listen on your computer or MP3 player – www.wels.net/jump/bible3podcast
      • Display the RSS feeds on your web site
      • Combine it all into a Bible reading program for your congregation – Sample from St. John’s in Sleepy Eye, MN – www.stjohnsse.com/in-the-word
  • Of interest (53:41)
    • WELS Marriage Retreats – www.wels.net/jump/marriageretreat
  • Community feedback (54:40)

The featured artist:

  • We close with the music WELS contemporary praise band, Koine (www.koinemusic.com) – Chief of Sinners Though I Be from their CD title Koine (59:42)

Get involved:

Episode 033 – Aug 20 2008

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This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie discuss take-aways from a conference on church media and Martin talks with Matt Frazier about a new church communication tool.

The discussion:

  • Church Media 101 – Martin recently attended the ECHO: Church Media Conference in Dallas, TX and found a WELSTech listener’s dream suite of topics and tools for ministry in a digital age. Listen as he and Sallie discuss some of his impressions on the conference and a few of the ministry-centric applications he discovered.
    • Host audio and video sermons online – www.sermonplayer.com
    • Church Copyright Administration – www.churchca.com
    • Automated telephone message – www.phonevite.com
    • Read Martin’s blog posts from the conference – www.wels.net/imprint/technology

The interview:

  • Matt FrazierChurch Communications Web 3.0 Style (19:30) – Joining Martin is Matt Frazier, CEO of Pursuant, to discuss web-based communications for congregations using a brand new Web 3.0 tool, Unifyer.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (46:53)
  • WELS.net feature (53:22)
    • WELS Imprint blog – www.wels.net/imprint
  • Of interest (56:00)
    • WELS Event Calendar – www.wels.net/jump/calendar
      • Church Librarians Organization Fall Conference – September 13 – Star of Bethlehem in New Berlin, WI
      • Friends of Seminary Day – October 4 – Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
      • Schedule of fall district pastor conferences
  • Community feedback (56:49)

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS pianist, Dawn Gehlhar – Nearer My God To Thee from her Inspirations CD (59:54)

Get involved:

Episode 032 – Aug 13 2008

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This week WELSTech listeners will hear about several impressive Web 2.0 discoveries Sallie found at a recent conference.  Also Martin and Sallie talk with Pastor Bryan Gerlach from WELS Commission on Worship about the forthcoming Electronic Editions of the Christian Worship: Supplement.

The discussion:

The interview:

  • Pastor Bryan GerlachThe Electronic Editions of the Christian Worship: Supplement (23:19) – Today Martin and Sallie talk with WELS Administrator for Worship, Pastor Bryan Gerlach, about the electronic resources that are going to be available to support the Christian Worship: Supplement.
    • Purchase the Accompaniment and Electronic Edition of the Supplement from Northwestern Publishing House (available Fall 2008)
    • OneLicense.net
    • Worship resources for the Supplement
    • Worship the Lord newsletter – Issue #30 focuses on the Electronic Editions of the Supplement

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (35:41)
    • Online file conversion – YouConvertIt.com
    • PC application launcher with a Mac feel – RocketDock.com
  • WELS.net feature (41:48)
    • WELS Campus Ministry – www.wels.net/jump/campusministry
      • Directions devotions
      • Lightsource magazine
      • Word on Campus podcast
      • Sign up for free Meditations & Forward in Christ subscriptions
  • Of interest (44:06)
    • WELS Web Hosting with FinalWeb
      • Features and links for getting started – www.wels.net/jump/webhosting
      • Online user community – www.wels.net/jump/wnuwebhosting
  • Community feedback (46:39)

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Revelation music ministry (www.revelationwlc.com) – Such Joy from their We Walk By Faith CD (53:10)

Get involved:

Episode 031 – Aug 6 2008

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This week Martin and Sallie share some pros and cons of using open source software and talk with Pastor Steve Daley about how he uses Linux and other open source software to carry out his pastoral duties.

The discussion:

  • What is Open Source? – WELSTech listeners have no doubt heard us share open source software suggestions in past podcast episodes.  Today Martin and Sallie define exactly what is “open source” and look at the pros and cons of using open source solutions.

The interview:

  • Pastor Stephen DaleyLinux in the church office (23:47) – Pastor Steve Daley from Petra in Sauk Rapids, MN has used the Linux operating system and a variety of Linux-based open source applications to carry out many of his pastoral responsibilities for the past four years.  Listen as Pastor Daley talks with Martin and Sallie about what prompted him to get started with Linux and how you too can make use of these tools to carry out your ministry.
  • Evolution e-mail
  • The Sword Project – Open source Bible software
  • Run Windows software on Linux
  • Virtualization
  • Distrowatch.com

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (46:14)
    • 37 Interesting Ways to use Your Interactive Whiteboard by Tom Barrett – link courtesy of José Picardo at boxoftricks.net
    • Password generator – www.supergenpass.com

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS musician, Michael Schroeder (wctc.net/~mas) – The Beatitudes from his CD titled A Witness (55:00)

Get involved: