579 – Christmas Communication

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WELSTech is back and loaded with Christmas joy for sharing with the world. Tune in for ideas and content to post on your website and via social media. Details on texting the good news are the focus of this week’s interview. Plus, the video of the week has a story of tech-in-ministry opening amazing doors around the world.

The discussion:

‘Tis the season to share the good news – Martin and Sallie discuss ways to let your online light shine during the Christmas season.

Ministry resource:

5 Best Practices For Using Invite Cards At Your Church

News in tech:

Microsoft to Replace Edge Web Browser

The interview:

Communicate via text – Randy Brice, a member of Immanuel in Manitowoc, WI and owner of All Access Ads, talks with Martin and Sallie about how his congregation is using affordable, secure text messaging (priced at 2 cents per text) to share their message. Visit the All Access Ads web site for additional details and to reach Randy.

WELS now:

C18 Resources from Congregational Services

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Sparked by “community feedback” from Pastor Rob Guenther, watch the St. John, New Ulm, MN sermon from December 2 where WELS Director of Ministerial Education Pastor Paul Prange shared a mission story with a tech twist during his sermon. The sermon starts at about 23 minutes and the tech part starts at about 30 minutes.

Learn more about this amazing opportunity God has provided to build a training center in Vietnam

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 580 – We talk with Teacher Perry Lund about his Microsoft OneNote/Teams presentation at next summer’s WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit.  Release date: Wednesday, December 19.

Get involved:

578 – Apps Worth Your Money

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Buckle up for a link-palooza of paid mobile apps on WELSTech this week! Plus, there’s lots of news in tech, streaming Christmas concerts, an interesting “children in worship” article series, and a WELSTech-er in video as well.

The discussion:

The survey says – Martin and Sallie, along with several members of the WELSTech Community, share their favorite paid mobile apps.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Live streaming Christmas concerts

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

What do you do with children in worship? – a new Worship the Lord series authored by Pastor Phil Huebner

Community feedback:

Jitsi.org – free, open-source video conferencing

Featured video:

Watch the Heart to heart interview of WELSTech-er Pastor Rob Guenter and his son Josiah on the topic of Raising Godly Men.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 579 – Tune in for ideas to share the Christmas joy.  Release date: Wednesday, December 12.

Get involved:

577 – Share Your Gifts

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On WELSTech this week, we welcome guest host Prof. Rachel Feld and talk about letting our lights shine online, and teaching our children to do the same, in the digital communication that we share. Martin Luther College has a new devotion booklet and all the higher education schools have Christmas concerts available via live stream starting this weekend. An added bonus – we cozy up the (virtual) fireplace!

The discussion:

Digital footprints – We welcome back Martin Luther College’s Rachel Feld, Director of Academic Computing and Online Learning, to discuss the third installment of our edtech book discussion of Faithfully Connected: Integrating Biblical Principles in a Digital World by Ben Boche and Jake Hollatz (available from Concordia Publishing House and Amazon). The chapter is titled “Digital Communication” and addresses the guidance we can give young people to understand the permanency of posting on the Internet and how our digital footprints can and should reflect our Christian beliefs.

News in tech:

Share Your Gifts – Apple Commercial

WELS now:

Live streaming Christmas concerts

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Martin Luther College devotion booklet – The Names of Jesus

Community feedback:

Featured videos and more:

What’s better than a cozy fire and Koiné Christmas music? Enjoy both in this Christmas Song Playlist of 2 Hours of Christmas Hymns from Koiné.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 578 – Next week we’ll share the mobile apps we were willing to pay for, and whether we think it was money well spent. Release date: Wednesday, December 5.

Get involved:

576 – Et tu, Brute?

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Tune in to WELSTech for a special interview with Northern Wisconsin District President Joel Zank about the newly rebooted Call System used to prepare candidate lists for open called positions. Martin has night vision and Sallie is driving through early church history. All that while giving thanks with a smile.

 

The interview and discussion:

Technology and the COP – WELS Conference of Presidents (COP) is made up of Presidents from each of WELS 12 districts. Pastor Joel Zank from Mt. Olive in Appleton, WI serves as the President of the Northern Wisconsin District. Recently he and others worked closely with our Technology team to implement a major rewrite of the Call System used by the COP to search for candidates to fill called positions.

News in tech:

Google Gives the Pixel Camera Superhuman Night Vision

WELS now:

364 Days of Thanksgiving resources

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Amazon Smile

Community feedback:

From Tech Tools for WELS Teachers

Featured videos and more:

Celebrate Thanksgiving with Now Thank We All Our God, a video with music notation from Koiné Worship Media, added to the WELSTech Music Playlist.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 577 – Professor Rachel Feld returns to the guest host chair, and we return to this season’s edtech book discussion of Faithfully Connected. We’ll look at chapter 3 – Digital Communication.  Release date: Wednesday, November 28.

Get involved:

575 – Encouraging Emails

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On WELSTech we’re excited about next summer’s EdTechLead Summit, and today listeners will hear from a sectional speaker and learn more about what to expect at the event, so they can get excited too. There’s news from Flickr that may be concerning to some, plus Martin offers Amazon support for a much-desired feature.

The interview and discussion:

EdTechLead19 Speaker – Jon Ruddat shares a preview of his WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit presentation titled “How to use MailChimp to Send Automated Encouraging Emails.”

News in Tech:

WELS now:

Interactive Faith Online Bible Study

  • To the Ends of the Earth: Beginning in Your Backyard – Led by Pastor Eric Roecker
  • November 14 & 28 – 6 & 8 pm Central

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Community feedback:

Featured videos and more:

Get excited for #EdTechLead19! We are!!

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 576 – Northern Wisconsin District President Pastor Joel Zank discusses the work of district presidents and the technology that assists with call list generation. Release date: Wednesday, November 21.

Get involved:

574 – Harnessing Technology

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Martin leads the WELSTech discussion this week with a look the Christian’s two-sided use of technology. Image-centric picks of the week are made just in time, the WELSTech Community has been a busy place, and Apple is stepping up to raise awareness about screen time.

The discussion:

Harnessing the Power of Technology … Before it Harnesses You – Martin shares highlights of his recent presentation at the Men of His Word event in Rochester, MN.

WELS now:

Interactive Faith Online Bible Study

  • To the Ends of the Earth: Beginning in Your Backyard – Led by Pastor Eric Roecker
  • November 7, 14 & 28 – 6 & 8 pm Central

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done by Matt Perman

Community feedback:

Featured video:

With Version 12 of the iOS operating system, Apple introduced Screen Time for tracking (and limiting, if desired) your mobile device usage. Learn more in How to start using Screen Time from Apple Support.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 575 – Jon Ruddat joins us to preview his WELS EdTechLead Summit presentation titled “How to use MailChimp to Send Automated Encouraging Emails.”  Release date: Wednesday, November 14.

Get involved:

573 – Kids and Commerce

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This week WELSTech is all about edtech as Martin and Sallie are joined by Jason Schmidt, and we continue the discussion of Faithfully Connected. Add to that a long list of news, picks, Pinterest ideas, and community feedback, and this episode is brimming with ideas for tech-in-ministry.

The discussion:

Digital commerce – Jason Schmidt, Technology Coordinator for Bennington Public Schools, joins Martin and Sallie to continue our edtech discussion of Faithfully Connected: Integrating Biblical Principles in a Digital World by Ben Boche and Jake Hollatz (available from Concordia Publishing House and Amazon). Chapter two of the book focuses on teaching children a Christian worldview of self-control and contentment in our marketing-driven society.

News in tech:

WELS now:

5 to Thrive podcast

Picks of the week:

Ministry Pinterest resource:

32 Practical Ways to Use Pinterest as an Educator

Community feedback:

Featured videos and more:

A bit of history you may not be aware of …. The History Behind Cntl+Alt+Del, a new addition to the WELSTech Presentation/Teaching Videos Playlist.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 574 – “Harnessing the Power of Technology – Before it Harnesses You” was the topic of a recent presentation Martin shared at the Men of His Word Conference in Rochester, MN. Tune in for the highlights of this interesting talk. Release date: Wednesday, November 7.

Get involved:

572 – The Myth of Neutral Technology

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The WELSTech lineup this week includes an interesting preview of EdTechLead19 from presenter, Dr. Gary Locklair, news about the Gospel Outreach with Media online conference, happening now, and much ado about screen captures!

The interview and discussion:

EdTechLead19 Speaker – Dr. Gary Locklair, Chair of Computer Science at Concordia University Wisconsin, shares a preview of his WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit presentation titled “The Myth of Neutral Technology.”

  • EdTechLead19 early bird registration will be $325
  • Reserve your room at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells. Summit pricing is $159 per night and includes water park passes.

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Community feedback:

Featured videos and more:

Continuing the release day excitement, check out details of Snagit 2019 and watch the reveal video.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 573 – Mr. Sunshine, Jason Schmidt, returns to WELSTech for a discussion of chapter 2 of Faithfully Connected.  Release date: Wednesday, October 31.

Get involved:

571 – Caring about Campus Ministry

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Tune in to WELSTech this week for a look at tech (and non-tech) ways of reaching out to today’s college students. You’ll also hear about the latest Google hardware, tips for using an iPad and Apple TV as a presentation whiteboard, and online training to aid your church and school office. All this, and more, awaits!

The interview and discussion:

Campus Ministry – Martin talks with Pastor Charlie Vannieuwenhoven, chairman of the WELS Campus Ministry Committee, about the history and technology behind outreach to college students.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Community feedback:

Featured videos and more:

Learn more about the latest product announcements from Google on Let Google Take Over – Tech News Weekly 53.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 572 – Dr. Gary Locklair joins us to preview his WELS EdTechLead Summit presentation titled “The Myth of Neutral Technology.”  Release date: Wednesday, October 24.

Get involved:

570 – How Private Is Your Data?

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This week on WELSTech we continue our discussion of data privacy with a technical look at collecting, sharing and deleting data…as well as encrypting it wherever it may be. There is a new Facebook Group for WELS Teachers interested in tech tools. Finally, Martin shares a great grammar checking Chrome plugin that may take your writing to the next level.

The discussion:

Do you know where your data is? – Martin shares information he’s learned regarding the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which went into effect in May and how data protection and privacy just got a lot more important. Challenge #1 is actually finding all the places your data may live. Download his PowerPoint slide deck to review and share locally.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Community feedback:

Featured videos and more:

Koine Worship Media gets us in the Reformation spirit with A Mighty Fortress is Our God with Musical Notation. Great for personal or family singalongs.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 571 – WELS Campus Ministry will be featured next week as new technical tools are available to help students get and stay connected.  Release date: Wednesday, October 17.

Get involved: