695 – Church Communication Plans

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On today’s WELSTech Wendy Kuschel shares a preview of her upcoming session on communication planning happening at the WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership, and Martin chats with Nicole Balza about the Forward in Christ December feature on favorite Christmas hymns. You’ll want to explore the fun, interactive online experience they’ve created!

 

The interview

Martin and Sallie talk with Wendy Kuschel, Senior Communications Coordinator for St Mark Ministries in Green Bay, WI, about her upcoming session at WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership on Creating a Congregational Communications Plan.

You can still register for the Leadership Conference through December 5. It’s happening January 16-18, 2023, at the Hilton in Chicago, IL.

Ministry resource

Martin joins Nicole Balza on this week’s Together Video Update to talk about the Forward in Christ Favorite Christmas Hymns survey results. Check out the December magazine and the interactive Christmas hymn experience at forwardinchrist.net.

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Next time

The WELSTech Christmas special will feature an interview with Pastor Dan Sims from WELS Christian Aid and Relief.

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694 – One Button Dissertations

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WELSTech is back with our Incredibles of EdTech series. We welcome Rachel Feld to the discussion of multi-purpose tools that would make Elastigirl proud. MLC Spring registration is open, there’s still room for you at the Lutheran Leadership Conference, and picks of the week includes buttons for all things, including starting your car, and a presentation zooming utility.

 

The discussion

Tools to do it all – Prof. Rachel Feld from Martin Luther College joins Martin and Sallie this week as we continue our school year series – The Incredibles of EdTech. Just like Elastigirl, the discussion features versatile tools which can stretch to fill many edtech needs.

Ministry resource

Martin Luther College Continuing Education/Graduate Studies Spring 2023 classes

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Next time

Communication planning with Wendy Kuschel

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693 – Social Media Graphics

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Thanks for tuning in to WELSTech! This week we have fun graphic design tools to share, both free and fee-based, which do the heavy lifting when it comes to creating social media graphics which look professional. The rest of the show is packed with goodies including Bible study resources, an affordable classroom document camera, Leadership Conference news, and a look ahead at tech of the future. Join the conversation!

 

The discussion

Get creative – A picture is … an expected and well received method of communicating on social media. For those who feel graphically challenged to design social media image masterpieces, Martin and Sallie share some of their favorite sites for creating professional images to share on social media. Check out the sample image library they created using some of the tools discussed and reference this article on the 10 Best Tips for Social Media Photos for additional inspiration and guidance.

Tools for image creation
Stock image resources

Ministry resource

WELS Bible Studies

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership early bird discount extended

  • Register by November 23 at the discounted rate of $249 per person
  • January 16-18, 2023, at the Hilton in Chicago, IL

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692 – Brainstorming!

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WELSTech is coming to you this week from the offices of WELS Technology West, a.k.a., Sallie’s living room, as Martin and Sallie enjoy the rare circumstance of being in the same place for the recording. Today’s topic is brainstorming, and we have a myriad of tools to assist with the process. There are also multiple events to share, plus Martin has details on gadgets with waterproof lasers!

 

The discussion

Capturing great ideas – No matter the setting, church or school, there are constantly new projects, events, and initiatives to kickstart, and a group brainstorming session is a great way to do that. Martin and Sallie share tools and methods to brainstorm with a group, even from a distance, and to capture all the great ideas which are generated.

Tools
Books

Ministry resource

Common Sense Education Digital Citizenship Week

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Get ready for Computer Science Education Week – December 5-11, 2022

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691 – And 250 Episodes Later…

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Welcome back to WELSTech listeners and to a very special returning co-host, Gail Potratz. Our discussion focus of the day is school technology planning. We have an exciting announcement about (more than one) lectionary in Google Calendar as well as picks to improve your focus and to create tech plans and more, with flair. Plus, Martin is making notes all over the web – even in his digital Bible – and managing them in one place!

 

Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay

The discussion

Welcome back – After a long hiatus, Gail Potratz shares hosting duties with Martin and Sallie once again. (You’ll have to tune in to WELSTech Episode 443 from May 2016 for Gail’s last appearance.) Gail’s insights related to Educational Technology have only gotten better with time, and today she shares ideas around the importance of creating and updating formal School Technology Plans.

Check out the WELSTech Wiki for sample Tech Plans and templates to create your own. Add yours to the mix!

Ministry resource

Google Calendar Lectionary is back and expanded! Subscribe to the calendars for …

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Tap into the WELS Google Schools group on groups.io

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690 – The Incredible PICRAT

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It’s a happy day on WELSTech when we welcome back Rachel Feld and Jason Schmidt for a new school year season of edtech-focused discussion! We have an incredible theme for the year, and we kick it off with a discussion of instructional design frameworks. Rachel has a site which makes instructional videos easy, Jason is impressed with easy photo cleanup, and WELS Technology wants to hire you!

 

The discussion

Instructional Design – While Martin is away, Sallie is joined by Prof. Rachel Feld from Martin Luther College and Jason Schmidt, Executive Director of Wisconsin Virtual School, as we kick off a new school year series – The Incredibles of EdTech. This week the discussion focus is on foundational (and “Mr. Incredible-like” strong and durable) frameworks for describing the impact of tech-enhanced teaching, including the PICRAT and Triple-E models.

Ministry resource

Bible Lesson Media Resources

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

From the WELSTech Google Group

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689 – da bomb diggity

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Welcome back to the most awesome, cool, hip WELSTech podcast. We’ve packed this episode with lots of goodness, including interactive flat panels in the school and church, an open-source bibliography generator, live streaming guidance, and Google Classroom for Catechism. No doubt, it’s da bomb diggity!

 

The interview & discussion

Interactive Flat Panels – Chris Hunt from BDJ Tech chats with Martin and Sallie about the Newline Q interactive flat panel and the recently released Newline Engage Cloud whiteboarding software platform. Reach out to Chris for more details at 414-559-7182 or chris@bdjtech.net.

Ministry resource

Check out the Newline Q video series, and subscribe to the Newline YouTube channel.

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Coming up next on WELSTech

Just like that, we’re back in the school year, and that means Rachel Feld and Jason Schmidt will be back on WELSTech to discuss all things EdTech!

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688 – Tech-Enhanced Ministry: Ecosystems

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The Tech-Enhanced Ministry summer series on WELSTech draws to a close this week with a discussion of the good and the bad of choosing to live in a particular vendor’s space, be it Google or Apple or Microsoft. There are also new options for creating QR codes and reasons to use them in ministry. Video messages and great Facebook groups round out this week’s episode.

 

The discussion

Tech Ecosystems – Wrapping up the summer series on Tech-Enhanced Ministry, Martin and Sallie discuss the advantages and disadvantages of going “all in” with one of several tech ecosystems, including Apple, Microsoft, and Google.

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Facebook groups for the win!

Coming up next on WELSTech

Martin and Sallie talk interactive displays with Chris Hunt from BDJ Tech.

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687 – Tech-Enhanced Ministry: Mobile

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This week’s WELSTech discussion is all about Mobile and the apps that support ministry, the latest installment of our Tech-Enhanced Ministry series. We also explore some lesser-known iPhone settings, a slick power strip replacement, and a collection of education app tutorial links.

 

The discussion

Mobile – The convenience, versatility, and plethora of ever improving applications available on mobile devices, both phones and tablets, make them an obvious choice for many day-to-day ministry-related activities. Martin and Sallie share ministry ideas for mobile Bible-related apps, productivity tools, curriculum resources, photos, podcasts, security apps, social media, and communication tools.

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Jam packed spreadsheets of tutorial links for Google apps and other education centric apps

Coming up next on WELSTech

The Tech-Enhanced Ministry series wraps up with a discussion of the Google Ecosystem.

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686 – Tech-Enhanced Ministry: Personal Productivity

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The Tech-Enhanced Ministry series continues with today’s episode of WELSTech, and Martin and Sallie share their favorite tech for being productive. Today’s show also includes discussion of photo albums for events or projects, smart bulbs, video production training, and media resources to support Bible lessons.

 

The discussion

Personal Productivity – A common thread throughout WELSTech history is the discussion of personal productivity and the technology that supports it. Martin and Sallie tackle the topic again on this episode, breaking productivity down in terms of capture techniques and tools, storage, calendar and tasks, hardware, and consistent review practices.

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Coming up next on WELSTech

The Tech-Enhanced Ministry series continues with a discussion of all things mobile.

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