151 – Gail’s Back!

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This week WELSTech welcomes back our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, Gail Potratz, and we talk about technology accountability for teachers.

The discussion:

Technology accountability – After a summer hiatus, Martin and Sallie are happy to welcome back to WELSTech Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI.  Gail shares her ideas about encouraging teacher technology proficiencies and discusses the plan they will follow in her school this year.

The interview:

Dr. Bernard Bull(21:12) Information Literacy – Dr. Bernard Bull, Assistant Professor of Education at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, WI, talks with Gail about teaching digital natives to be educators and shares advice for all teachers of today’s digital native students.

News in tech:

(38:38) Double authentication coming to Google

Picks of the week:

WELS.net feature:

(57:37) Follow WELS online:

Community feedback:

  • (59:39) Pastor Emile Burges from Trinity in Caledonia, WI shared a suggestion for a Office Administrator Conference.
  • Terry Baier from First Lutheran in La Crosse, WI is considering  the possibility of collaborating with other congregations to share a software support position
  • E-mail WELSTech with ideas, comments or inquiries about either comment

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:04:15) Episode 152 – WELSTech addresses “The Evils of E-mail” as we share tips and tricks for managing your overwhelming e-mail inbox. (Release date 10/06/10)

The featured artist:

(1:05:50) We close the podcast with the instrumental music of In His Service (www.adagioconcepts.com) – Thy Strong Word from their CD titled “In His Time”

Get involved:

149 – Calling All Secretaries

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This week on the WELSTech podcast we begin a new series focusing on the technology used by church and school secretaries and administrators.

The discussion:

Something new on WELSTech – The new fall season of podcasting is in full swing and there’s a new topic to explore!  With this episode we kick off a series which will focus on the important role of office administrator or secretary for the church and/or school and the technology they use to do their jobs.  Martin and Sallie encourage listeners to share the podcast with office personnel and talk about ways to help them network and share ideas.

The interview:

Joanne Nemmers(16:45) Managing the school office – Joanne Nemmers, school secretary for Calvary in Dallas, TX talks with Martin and Sallie about life in the school office.  Find out about her favorite piece of office equipment, the challenges of after-school-care accounting and more.

Ministry resources:

(35:36) KidBlog.org

News in tech:

(38:36) Google Instant Search – Introduction video & details

Picks of the week:

WELS.net feature:

(52:39) Visit the WELSTech Wiki for online worship links and add your congregation

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:04:20) Episode 150 – Next week we explore Flickr photo sharing for churches and schools plus we talk with designer Diahann Lohr from Adunate Word & Design. (Release date 09/22/10)

The featured artist:

(1:05:45) We close the podcast with the music of Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com and on Facebook) – Forgiveness Is Grace from his CD titled “The Way”

Get involved:

148 – Sallie’s Pick

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This week the WELSTech Podcast “hits the books” with the kick-off of a new book discussion.

The discussion:

Leading 21st Century SchoolsA new book selection – Leading 21st Century Schools by Lynne Schrum and Barbara B. Levin (browse sections on Google Books) is the latest book discussion selection for WELSTech.  To get the ball rolling, Martin and Sallie highlight Chapter 1 and apply the concepts to school leaders, teachers and pastors.

Ministry resources:

(19:19) Men’s Network

News in tech:

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(41:47) Episode 149 – Joanne Nemmers, school secretary at Calvary in Dallas, TX, joins Martin and Sallie as we look at technology in the school and church office.  Encourage your office administrator to tune in!  (Release date 09/15/10)

The featured artist:

(44:01) We close the podcast with the music of Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com and mikewestendorf on Twitter) – Press On from his CD titled “Climb the Mountain”

Get involved:

147 – WELSTech Road Trip: Wrap Up

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This week the WELSTech Podcast includes a summer Road Trip recap and the return of some of our favorite features.

Christmas 2010 Scavenger Hunt:

 Clue #2

clue2

Remember, you can use your smartphone or an online decoder to decipher the message.  Additional contest details available here.  Have fun!

Road trip:

roadtrip02cReliving the trip – Coming off of an 11-week virtual tour of the synod, Martin and Sallie revisit each stop and reflect on the lessons learned.  From managing the church office to integrating technology in the classroom, from video conferencing for counseling and Bible class to video closed captioning, from Bible study software to pastoral blogging, the Road Trip highlighted creative uses of technology to assist with and further gospel ministry.

Ministry resources:

(26:30) Seminary Video Library (RSS)

News in tech:

(27:47) Updates to Office Web Apps and Facebook Docs

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(39:52) Episode 148 – We kick off a brand new book discussion, this time looking at Leading 21st Century Schools by Lynn Schrum and Barbara B. Levin.  (Release date 09/08/10)

The featured artist:

(41:15) We close the podcast with the music of Stephen Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com or stephenbautista on Twitter) – Forged in the Fire from his CD titled “Abandon”

Get involved:

146 – WELSTech Road Trip: MI, PA and FL

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This week the WELSTech Podcast summer Road Trip wraps up with a round table discussion of three leading Bible software packages.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(5:16) Bible software – On this week’s final virtual road trip, Martin and Sallie travel via the magic of technology to three destinations at once!  Pastor Steve Bauer from Faith in West Newton, PA, Pastor Dan Witte from Risen Savior in Lakewood Ranch, FL and Pastor Aaron Frey, President of Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw, MI, participate in a lively discussion about their favorite Bible software tools, Accordance, BibleWorks and Logos respectively.

  • Visit the WELSTech Wiki Bible Software resource page for helpful links, reviews, screen shots and more. While you are there, create an account and add your Bible software experience to the page!

Pastors Bauer, Witte and Frey

Road Trip Tracker
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(54:59) Episode 147 – Our travelin’ days are over so we pause to reflect on the summer “Road Trip” series and get back into the swing of things with our normal features.  (Release date 09/01/10)

The featured artist:

(56:20) We close the podcast with the music of Kevin Loersch – When Love Is Found from his CD titled ”Abide With Me”

Get involved:

145 – WELSTech Road Trip: Citrus Heights, CA

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The WELSTech Podcast Road Trip travels to California to hear the tech-in-ministry success story of St. Mark’s in Citrus Heights.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(3:20) Technology serving St. Mark’s – Joining Martin and Sallie today are Maren McPeak, Webmaster, and Matt Bauer, Principal, from St. Mark’s in Citrus Heights, CA.  Listen as they share technology ideas from their church and school including use of their web site, iTunes, Facebook and Moodle.

Maren McPeak and Matt Bauer

Citrus Heights CA
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(36:34) Episode 146 – The summer 2010 WELSTech Road Trip series wraps up with a virtual visit to three states as we compare and contrast Bible study software.  (Release date 08/25/10)

The featured artist:

(37:44) This week we feature the music of  Koine (www.koinemusic.com | Facebook) – Fight the Good Fight from their CD titled ”Church Bells”

Get involved:

144 – WELSTech Road Trip: Whidbey Island, WA

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The WELSTech Podcast Road Trip visits the Pacific Northwest to talk with John Shoosmith about closed-caption videos.

Christmas 2010 Scavenger Hunt:

Clue #3

clue3

Remember, you can use your smartphone or an online decoder to decipher the message. Additional contest details available here. Have fun!

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(3:51) Clearing the fog around closed-caption video production – John Shoosmith, lay member of Redeemer in Yakima, WA, hosted a welcome stop on the WELSTech Road Trip in the Pacific Northwest District.  Martin and Sallie interviewed John previously on WELSTech way back on episode 55 in January 2009 regarding his work with closed-caption video. Much has changed in our Web 2.0 world since then, so it is great to have an opportunity to check in with John for an update.

John Shoosmith

Heading West
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(43:40) Episode 145 – California, here we come!  WELSTech rolls into Citrus Heights to learn about the technology in use at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and School.  (Release date 08/18/10)

The featured artist:

(45:03) This week we feature the music of Branches Band (www.branchesband.com | Facebook) – The Name of the Lord from their CD titled ”My Tongue”

Get involved:

143 – WELSTech Road Trip: Watertown, WI

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The WELSTech Podcast Road Trip heads to Watertown, WI, and we learn about school hardware solutions.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(8:03) School hardware ideas – Our virtual tour of the WELS 12 Districts continues with a stop in Watertown, WI to talk with teacher and technology director Drew Willems from Trinity-St. Luke’s.  Join Martin and Sallie as we learn about the school hardware configuration for their two-campus setting which includes a network, SMART Boards, a dedicated computer lab and, most recently, a batch of netbooks on a secure charging mobile cart.

Drew Willems

Watertown WI
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (36:46) Pastor Johann Caauwee from Trinity in El Paso, TX and blogger at A Shepherd’s Study shared a link to Concordia Technology Solution’s brand new Church 360 (Church360 on Twitter) online church management system.
  • Parish Administrator Dan Schoeffel form St. Paul’s in Onalaska, WI shared his congregation’s Time and Talent surveys (all in .doc Word format) for adults and teens as well as a page they call “Serving My Lord” with scripture verses about time and talent.  We’ve started a brand new page on the WELSTech Wiki to house church office documents.
  • Pastor Caauwee also followed up on a previous discussion about online church directories to point to Olan Mills the free online directory that comes with any pictorial directory project congregations create using Olan Mills.  Check out the sample (use password: secret).
  • From the #WELSTech Twitter feed we learned:
  • Steve Zambo from Salty Earth Pictures shared their latest video series, “PC’s Take”, with Pastor Clark Schultz reviewing movies.  Find PC’s Take on Facebook.
  • Deacon Mike from Deer Valley in Phoenix, AZ asked about a low-cost web conferencing solution, and we recommended Vyew.com

Coming up on WELSTech:

(49:23) Episode 144 – WELSTech heads to the Pacific Northwest to visit with John Shoosmith for an update on closed-caption video and more.  (Release date 08/11/10)

The featured artist:

(50:12) We close the podcast this week with the beautiful piano music of Dawn Gehlhar – Christ Be My Leader from her CD titled ”Inspirations”

Get involved:

142 – WELSTech Road Trip: Houston, TX

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This week the WELSTech Podcast Road Trip takes us to Houston, TX where we visit with Sally Valleskey about church management software.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(4:30) Church management software – Martin and Sallie journey deep in the heart of Texas to Houston and catch up with Sally Valleskey from Abiding Word.  Sally shares her experience with their church management software, Shepherd’s Staff.

SallyValleskey

07-HoustonTX400
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(34:31) Job posting – WELS is looking for a .NET/SharePoint/C# Programmer.  Contact Martin for more details.

Community feedback:

    • (36:20) Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI commented on our recent road trip stop in Fond du Lac, WI with teacher Ryan Rosenthal
      • Ryan shared an image of our youngest WELSTech fan:

bibs

Coming up on WELSTech:

(44:22) Episode 143 – Tune in for a surprise road trip destination.  Our WELS districts tour would be complete with visits to the Dakota/Montana, Western Wisconsin, Pacific Northwest and Arizona/California districts.  (Release date 08/04/10)

The featured artist:

(45:20) This week we close with the music of Revelation, a music ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran College (www.revelationwlc.com) – Agnus Dei from their CD titled ”More Than Conquerors”

Get involved: