759 – Academic Integrity

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WELSTech is back with an unexpected AI buzz word discussion that’s a hot topic in schools right now – Academic Integrity. Jason and Rachel return bringing videos, gems, and flow to the podcast. Plus, there’s a new tech-enabled look at WELS 10-year strategic plan. Your earbuds are waiting!

The discussion

AI using AI – Martin and Sallie are joined by Dr. Rachel Renno, Director of Academic Computing for Martin Luther College, and Jason Schmidt, Director of Technology for Oshkosh (WI) Area School District to discuss the other “AI,” academic integrity in an artificial intelligence world.

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758 – A Season of AI

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The first episode of the 2025-26 season of WELSTech is unlocked! Martin and Sallie kick off with a Lutheran-flavored AI theme for the season and share resources to assist with school AI policies. Sallie has a random pick of the week, and Martin shared Gmail keyboard shortcuts. All this and more. Let’s go!

The discussion

A place of AI – Martin and Sallie kick off a new season of WELSTech under the theme AI: What does this mean? First up is a look at school guidelines and policies around AI. Feel free to make copies of the shared resource documents and edit them to meet the needs of your school.

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757 – Cybersecurity Tips

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How vulnerable is your church or school to hacking? On this episode of WELSTech learn why vigilant training on threat avoidance is important in ministry settings and find links to available (and many times free) resources to assist with those efforts. Sallie shares a family friendly YouTube channel and Martin has some hardware to detect those pesky leaks.

The discussion

“The single most hackable piece of any computer system is, unfortunately, the people.” – Cybersecurity Basics for Churches from Concordia Technology Solutions

The weakest link – Martin and Sallie share ideas regarding church and school digital security and ongoing training.

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A new season of WELSTech begins

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756 – 10 SMART Goals

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The WELSTech summer tips and tricks keep coming with this week’s rundown of church marketing ideas courtesy of Grace Ungemach. Set a goal and see what changes may take place in your outreach efforts. Sallie’s got new hardware, Martin has a new Inbox, and WELS Intersections is talking about church communication guidelines. You don’t want to miss this jam-packed episode!

The discussion

Get SMART – Martin and Sallie’s discussion springboards off of a recent newsletter article titled 10 SMART goals for church marketing by Grace Ungemach at lutheran.marketing. From avatars to Instagram, email opens to runways, you are sure to find at least one goal to adopt, personalize for your church or school, and learn from.

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Out tips & tricks summer series wrap-up

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755 – Social Media Graphics That Matter

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Tune in to WELSTech 755 for a discussion on church social media graphics, including examples and templates to follow. Martin shares his latest gadget pick, plus we talk about a Facebook guide on branding your digital community.

The discussion

Why Social Media Graphics Matter – Martin and Sallie discuss the ins and outs of social media graphics, including keeping it simple, being consistent, using branding, and templating the designs.

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See you in August for more tips & tricks!

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754 – Photos That Matter

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Tune in to WELSTech 754 for tips and tricks related to church photography. There’s also discussion regarding finding an icon for any need and the effect of AI on mission outreach. Plus the WELSTech Google Group is in the spotlight with lots of great input on the topic of cyber security training.

The discussion

Click, click, click – Martin and Sallie discuss a recent blog post from Concordia Technology Solutions titled 10 Tips for Capturing Impactful Photos of Church Activities.

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Recent conversations in the WELSTech Google Group

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More tips & tricks to come!

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753 – Make Announcements Matter

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This week on WELSTech we reveal ways to write church announcements which get the word out on needed topics without being ignored by those you’re trying to reach. AI weaves itself throughout the conversation from personalized AI in picks of the week, an overview of the AI for Education site, and new rules around AI for Google students of all ages. Plus, Android users will be happy to interact with their text messages from their computer.

The discussion

Announcing … – Martin and Sallie discuss challenges that crop up when writing church announcements and guidelines that keep your announcements concise and action driven.

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Come back for our next tips & tricks summer installment

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752 – Healthy Church Staff Communication

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Welcome to WELSTech summer series 2025! Join us as we talk about practical tips and tricks to make public and personal ministry efficient and effective. The series kickoff focus is church office communication. Martin and Sallie share AI picks of the week, and there’s a Chromebook discussion thread in the WELSTech Google group.

The discussion

Church Staff Communication – Martin and Sallie chat about tools, etiquette, and standards around church staff communication. In-person or digital, response expectations, and collaboration are all pieces of the communication puzzle. Having best practices in place makes for smooth office operations.

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From the WELSTech Google group – Teacher Michael Vlieger from Risen Savior in Mankato, MN asked about Chromebook repurposing after

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Come back for our next tips & tricks summer installment

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751 – Making Music with AI

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This episode of WELSTech features an interview with Pastor Nate Seiltz who recently creating 3 albums of music without singing or playing a note himself. With AI at his fingertips, he transformed his ideas for gospel outreach music into reality, and you can to! We also share survey results regarding church use of AI, a handy (AI-generated) summary of recent tech news with an emphasis on its impact on the church, and ideas for using AI to extend the impact of your weekly sermon.

The discussion

Music for outreach – Pastor Nate Seiltz, Director of WELS Multi-Language Publications, talked with Martin and Sallie about his recent AI-assisted production of 3 albums of songs geared toward sharing the good news of salvation in Christ. His artist name is Freetide. “Free” because grace is free, and he is free from sin and eternal death in Christ. “Tide” signifies movement, the Holy Spirit’s work in him through His Word and movement in his life as he lives by grace.

  • Made New (Spotify | Amazon Music) – These songs walk through the darkness of doubt, the fire of trials, and the ache of waiting—but they lead to grace, healing, and freedom. With honest lyrics and uplifting melodies, Made New is a declaration of what God does with the broken: He restores. He renews. He makes us new.
  • Fruits of the Spirit (Spotify | Amazon Music) – These nine songs walk through each fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22–23, reflecting on how they each take root in real life. 
  • Living Proof (Spotify | Amazon Music) – From first steps into grace to standing fearless in Christ, these songs tell a true story — of scars healed, chains broken, hope renewed. We are not who we were. We are living proof that mercy is real, and grace still wins.
  • Suno.com

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  • Sign up for Concordia Technology Solutions webinar series – Tuesday, June 3, 2025
    • Church Members 360 – 10 am CT
    • Church Ledger 360 – 11:30 am CT
    • Church Unite 360 – 1 pm CT
  • Turn one sermon into a week of discipleship – Facebook post from WELS Intersections

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  • Our 2025 Summer series – Tips & Tricks – kicks off.

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A Season of SAMR - final podcast of the school year. Focuses include SAMR and Leadership, AIAS, earphones, implementation software

750 – A Season of SAMR

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The WELSTech co-hosts for all things edtech are driving this episode as we wrap up our SAMR focus with how it assists education leaders. We also introduce the AI Assessment Scale, a tool for clearly stating acceptable levels of AI use. Rachel has new headphones for “weird” ears that don’t like earbuds, and Jason shares a tool that uses AI to create individual student feedback. Bonus: It’s also a time-saver for teachers.

A Season of SAMR - final podcast of the school year. Focuses include SAMR and Leadership, AIAS, earphones, implementation softwareThe discussion

SAMR and Leadership – We close out our season-long look at the SAMR framework for education technology integration with our favorite edtech gurus, Dr. Rachel Renno, Director of Academic Computing for Martin Luther College, and Jason Schmidt, Director of Technology for Oshkosh (WI) Area School District. School leaders may find policy creation and maintenance challenging, but policies are definitely worth the effort as they provide needed structure to make decision making easier. And while a dedicated AI policy may not be needed, incorporating AI guidelines into standard policies – Acceptable Use, Academic Integrity, Data Privacy, etc. – is wise.

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  • Shokz – Bone conduction open-ear headphones
  • Snorkl – AI student feedback

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  • Pastor Nate Seiltz from WELS Multi-Language Productions shares stories of AI music creation.

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