Digging Technology - Israel archaeology dig

602 – Digging Technology

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Summer arrives on WELSTech this week as we begin a series on the various areas of WELS Congregational Services, with Special Ministries in the lead-off position. Martin and Sallie share hardware picks with mom in mind, and the community feedback bag includes media content, brave browsing, and STEM career options in agriculture!

The discussion:

Digging Technology - Israel archaeology digAll the hats – Pastor Jim Behringer, Administrator for WELS Special Ministries, joins Martin and Sallie to kick off our summer series on Congregational Services. We learn about the many and varied audiences Special Ministries serves and the army of behind-the-scenes volunteers who assist with the ministry efforts.

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Here’s a sample video from WELS Special Ministries – Luther’s Seal (Captioned) for deaf and hard of hearing.

Get involved:

Faithfully Connected authors

601 – Don’t Give Jason Your Password!

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Spring has arrived on WELSTech as we wrap up our season-long book discussion of Faithfully Connected with guest host Jason Schmidt and an interview with the authors. Jason shares a “life changing” Google tool and a great book recommendation for summer. Plus, there’s news from Last Pass, a recommendation for Pear Deck, and the debut of the BORAM. Listen now!

The discussion and interview:

Faithfully Connected authors

Dr. Ben Boche and Dr. Jake Hollatz

Finding balance –  Jason Schmidt, edtech co-host extraordinaire, joins Martin and Sallie to wrap up our book discussion of Faithfully Connected. We cover chapter 9, Digital Security, and the conclusion.

And, as a special bonus, Martin and Sallie talk with the authors of Faithfully Connected, Dr. Ben Boche and Dr. Jake Hollatz, to learn more about the motivation and message of the book.

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Learn more about Pear Deck for Google Slides in this introductory video.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 602 – Pastor Jim Behringer, administrator for Special Ministries, kicks off our summer focus on WELS Congregational Services.  Release date: Wednesday, June 5.

Get involved:

Idea

600 – Fixin’ To Launch A School Intranet?

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Welcome to WELSTech 600! In this milestone episode we wrap up our series on church and school intranets, discover some interesting new podcasts and video channels, and gear up for graduation and call day.

The discussion:

Idea

School Intranets with Trello – This Spring we’ve focused on building church and school intranets, or private web sites. Today we share a sample school Intranet design using Trello (reference the how-to video on Episode 592 for Trello tips) and recap intranet best practices.

News in tech:

Google Pixel 3a

WELS now:

Graduation & Call Day festivities

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Christ for Disciplers Podcast by Pastor Paul Steinberg

Community feedback:

Featured video:

What’s new in ChromeOS Version 74? from the Chromebook Classroom (Josh Sowash) YouTube channel

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 601 – The WELSTech hat trick is happening as we welcome guest host Jason Schmidt, wrap up our edtech book discussion of Faithfully Connected, and chat with the book authors!  Release date: Wednesday, May 22.

Get involved:

599 – Yet Another Reason To Attend WELS EdTechLead

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WELSTech returns with a chat about one of the most popular sectionals happening at this summer’s EDTechLead Summit. There’s also hardware and elastic picks of the week, free food for teachers, and password wisdom to share with your co-workers and friends.

The interview:

Tell your story in video – Jon Witte, Director of Bands at Luther High School, Onalaska, WI, gives listeners a sneak peek into his church and school promo video sectional happening this summer at WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit.

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Where teachers can get free food and discounts for Teacher Appreciation Week May 6-10

Community feedback:

Featured video:

How to pick a proper password

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 600 – Join us for our 600th tech-in-ministry conversation as we explore school intranets in Trello.  Release date: Wednesday, May 15.

Get involved:

598 – Digital Health and Wellness

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Tune in to this week’s WELSTech for a “healthy” discussion of the positive and negative effects of a digital lifestyle on our overall wellness plus ideas for teaching and modeling smart tech limits. We’re happy to have Martin Luther College Professor Rachel Feld on hand as we celebrate MLC Day, and Martin shares details on our current audio recording platform.

The discussion:

Finding balance –  Rachel Feld is back in the edtech guest host chair to chat with Martin and Sallie about chapter 8 of Faithfully Connected – Digital Health and Wellness.

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Check out Google’s Applied Digital Skills playlist on YouTube for more free training, such as how to Create an Interactive Story.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 599 – Jonathan Witte shares a sneak peek into his Church and School Promotional Videos sectional happening this summer at #EdTechLead19.  Release date: Wednesday, May 8.

Get involved:

597 – Summer STEM+

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We’re gearing up for Summer on WELSTech as we talk with Kristin Knickelbein about Summer STEM+ Camp success. Also this week, get ready for MLC Day, but wait for a foldable phone; study your Bible and Catechism; plus, find out “who’s on first” pick this week!

The interview:

Reaching out with STEM – Teacher and Technology Director Kristin Knickelbein from St Mark, Eau Claire, WI organized and ran a successful summer STEM+ Camp  in 2018 (and plans to do it again this summer). She will be sharing her experience at WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit. She chats with Martin and Sallie about what attendees can expect in her EdTechLead sectional.

News in tech:

Galaxy Fold screens are reportedly breaking already

WELS now:

Celebrate Martin Luther College – MLC Day is May 1

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Luther’s Small Catechism – Web | Android | iOS

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Preview the WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit fun!

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 594 – MLC Professor Rachel Feld joins the conversation as we continue our edtech book discussion of Faithfully Connected, looking at chapter 8 – Digital Health and Wellness.  Release date: Wednesday, May 1.

Get involved:

596 – School Intranets … Google Style

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It’s Holy Week on WELSTech, and the discussion centers around the why, what, and how of building school intranets. But the tech-in-ministry goodness doesn’t stop there. We have Easter images, WELS on your desktop, a projection worship discussion, a musical devotion Facebook Watch Party, and embedded audio on Google Slides to share as well. Enjoy!

The discussion:

Build a School Intranet with Google – The Let’s Build an Intranet series turns to privatizing, organizing, and collaborating on school information, and Martin and Sallie share ideas for building in the Google space. Reference the how-to video on Episode 588 for additional tips and demonstration of building these solutions.

News in tech:

Logos 8 is now available

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Community feedback:

Featured video:

We have double the Easter joy in video format this week with President Schroeder’s Easter Message

and Koiné’s Lily Mini Movie.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 597 – Kristen Knickelbein shares a preview of her #EdTechLead19 sectional titled Hack Outreach: Summer STEM+ Camp.  Release date: Wednesday, March 24.

Get involved:

595 – Digital Law … and Gospel

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WELSTech returns with a discussion of digital law and digital rights and responsibilities, covering important lessons for students (and adults) regarding ethics, copyright, our freedom of speech, and responsibilities that come with it. We’ve also got Pinterest boards with supporting resources, as well as a further discussion of copyright related to movies and music in school settings.

The interview:

Can do/Should do –  Martin and Sallie welcome our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, Jason Schmidt, and we discuss chapters 6 & 7 of Faithfully Connected – Digital Law and Digital Rights and Responsibilities.

Photo by Sebastian Pichler on Unsplash

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry Pinterest resource:

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Learn more about Jason’s pick of the week – Bark for Schools Demo

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 596 – Using Google for your School Intranet.  Release date: Thursday, April 18.

Get involved:

594 – Talking Design with Bri

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WELSTech is back, and we’re all about design this week. We get tips and tools from WELS in-house graphic designer, talk identity/logo guidelines, and feature videos on the topic. There’s also chatter about three tech giants including news from Apple, magic for Google Drive, and new Microsoft hardware.

The interview and discussion:

Visual Communication – Briana Lambrecht, Creative Services Coordinator for Communication Services, talks with Martin and Sallie about graphic design, WELS communication resources, and favorite (sometimes FREE) tools to get creative!

News in tech:

Thoughts on Apple’s News+, Card,  Arcade, and TV+ event — something for everyone

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

WELS Identity Guidelines

Community feedback:

Featured videos:

Check out these design tutorial YouTube channels recommended by Briana:

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 595 – Jason Schmidt joins the conversation as we continue our edtech book discussion of Faithfully Connected, looking at chapters 6 and 7 – Digital Law and Digital Rights & Responsibilities. Release date: Thursday, April 11.

Get involved:

593 – Seesaw

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WELSTech is back with a preview of this summer’s #EdTechLead19 event. Teachers Stephanie Krahn and Kurt Gosdeck talk about their sectional covering the use of SeeSaw for student portfolios. WELS has Lent and Easter music for your listening pleasure, and there’s an exciting ministry resource that may be just what your church or school needs to go mobile!

The interview:

Student portfolios – WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit co-presenters Stephanie Krahn, 3rd grade teacher at West De Pere school district, and Kurt Gosdeck, 4th grade teacher and tech coordinator at St. Mark, Green Bay, share a preview of their sectional topic, SeeSaw: Student-Driven Portfolios Made Easy featuring the SeeSaw app.

  • Register now for early-bird pricing!
  • IGNITE
  • Register for the #EdTechLead19 giveaway, and you could win a free night at the Kalahari (restrictions & black-out dates apply) or a $25 Amazon gift card! Share with friends for extra entries in the drawing!!

News in tech:

Facebook struggles to deal with epic outage

WELS now:

WELS Lenten and Easter Radio

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Glide App – Create mobile apps from a Google Sheet

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Create your first app with Glide

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 594 – Jason and Sallie co-host while Martin takes a much-deserved vacation.  We continue our edtech book discussion of Faithfully Connected, looking at chapters 6 and 7 – Digital Law and Digital Rights & Responsibilities.  Release date: Wednesday, March 27.

Get involved: