147 – WELSTech Road Trip: Wrap Up

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.

  • Audio/Video Conferencing
  • Open SIS – open source student management system
  • Vodburner – Record Skype audio and video

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

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:

  • (48:50) Martin shared a link to a blog post about Avoiding Church Calendar Overload
  • The WELSTech Facebook Page chatter included a link to a Mike Westendorf concert video and an invite the the Pacific Northwest
  • Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE and Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI shared some great education technology links via the WELSTech Diigo group:

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

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.

  • Check out all the content on the St. Mark’s site to get ideas for your church or school site
  • View the sample Moodle course used to train students to update the St. Mark’s church and school Google calendar
  • Download the Google calendar Moodle course backup and restore on your own Moodle site
  • View instructions for logging into a sample Schoology.com course created by Maren

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:

  • Add a comment below
  • Send us an e-mail [email protected]
  • Leave us a voice mail 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.wels.net
  • Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation
  • Follow us on Twitter – mspriggs and welstechtrainer
  • Use the del.icio.us tag welstech
  • Use the diigo tag welstech
  • Join the WELSTech community:

144 – WELSTech Road Trip: Whidbey Island, WA

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.

  • Closed-Caption Video tips and tricks on the WELSTech Wiki
  • Congregations producing Closed-Caption videos
  • Redeemer’s “Scripture Alone” podcasts in iTunes
  • Admiralty Head Lighthouse on Facebook

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:

  • Add a comment below
  • Send us an e-mail [email protected]
  • Leave us a voice mail 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.wels.net
  • Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation
  • Follow us on Twitter – mspriggs and welstechtrainer
  • Use the del.icio.us tag welstech
  • Use the diigo tag welstech
  • Join the WELSTech community:

143 – WELSTech Road Trip: Watertown, WI

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.

  • Acer Netbook Products
  • A variety of netbook carts:
    • Option 1 from ComputerSecurity.com
    • Option 2 from CartWrite.com
    • Option 3 from PC-Security.com

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:

  • Add a comment below
  • Send us an e-mail [email protected]
  • Leave us a voice mail 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.wels.net
  • Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation
  • Follow us on Twitter – mspriggs and welstechtrainer
  • Use the del.icio.us tag welstech
  • Use the diigo tag welstech
  • Join the WELSTech community:

142 – WELSTech Road Trip: Houston, TX

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:

  • (21:21) Royalty-free images
  • 8BIT Network – Home to a variety of useful church technology sites
  • Google Calendar – Learn more on our archived podcast, 077 – BWTG: Google Calendar

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

  • Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE shared three helpful links:
    • Sample ChristLight SMART Board lesson
    • Collaborate with classrooms from around the world – Global SchoolNet
    • Online course management – Schoology.com
  • Martin shared a link to an article from MEDIA SALT titled The Future of Church Websites

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:

  • Add a comment below
  • Send us an e-mail [email protected]
  • Leave us a voice mail 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.wels.net
  • Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation
  • Follow us on Twitter – mspriggs and welstechtrainer
  • Use the del.icio.us tag welstech
  • Use the diigo tag welstech
  • Join the WELSTech community:

141 – WELSTech Road Trip: Fond du Lac, WI

Buckle up for this week’s WELSTech Podcast Road Trip.  We visit Fond du Lac, WI and talk with teacher Ryan Rosenthal about integrating technology in the classroom.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(2:18) Integrating Technology into the Classroom – Seveth grade teacher Ryan Rosenthal from Faith in Fond du Lac, WI joins Martin and Sallie for an interesting conversation about his Web 2.0 classroom experience.  Ryan offers great advice including encouraging teachers to “tweak” existing projects to include technology elements, rather than coming up with a new project.

Ryan Rosenthal

Fond du Lac
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (27:37) Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE shared two helpful links:
  • Alycia Cameron form Light of Life in Greenwood, IN and Brent Nemmers from Atonement in Plano, TX double up on the online church directory question.  A couple of potential solutions include
    • Concordia Technology’s Member Connect
    • Private pages on a FinalWeb site
    • Google Sites

Coming up on WELSTech:

(33:57) Episode 142 – We talk with Sally Valleskey from Abiding Word in Houston (deep in the heart of), Texas about their use of Shepherd’s Staff church management software. (Release date 07/28/10)

The featured artist:

(34:12) We close the podcast with music from Cross to Glory (www.crosstoglory.com) – My Old Friend from their CD titled “Life’s Song”

Get involved:

  • Add a comment below
  • Send us an e-mail [email protected]
  • Leave us a voice mail 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.wels.net
  • Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation
  • Follow us on Twitter – mspriggs and welstechtrainer
  • Use the del.icio.us tag welstech
  • Use the diigo tag welstech
  • Join the WELSTech community:

140 – WELSTech Road Trip: Birmingham, AL

This week the WELSTech Podcast Road Trip heads south to talk with Pastor Ben Kratz in Birmingham, AL about distance Bible classes with Skype.

The Draper boys check out a high tech vending machine in the Minneapolis airport.

The Draper boys check out a high tech vending machine in the Minneapolis airport.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(5:02) Distance Bible Class – Martin chats with Pastor Ben Kratz from Our Savior in Birmingham, AL about his use of Skype for distance Bible class.

Pastor Ben Kratz

Birmingham AL
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(30:32) Episode 141 – Fond du Lac, WI is the destination of next week’s virtual road trip.  We’ll talk with teacher Ryan Rosenthal about Web 2.0 in the classroom. (Release date 07/21/10)

The featured artist:

(31:15) We close the podcast with the instrumental music of In His Service (www.adagioconcepts.com) – O God, Forsake Me Not from their CD titled “In His Time”

Get involved:

  • Add a comment below
  • Send us an e-mail [email protected]
  • Leave us a voice mail 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.wels.net
  • Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation
  • Follow us on Twitter – mspriggs and welstechtrainer
  • Use the del.icio.us tag welstech
  • Use the diigo tag welstech
  • Join the WELSTech community:

139 – WELSTech Road Trip: Omaha, NE

This week the WELSTech Podcast Road Trip visits Teacher Jason Schmidt at Gethsemane in Omaha, NE to chat about SMART Board resources.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(2:49) SMART Classrooms – Our travel plans take us to the Midwest where we visit with teacher Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE.  WELSTech listeners will recognize Jason’s name from his many contributions to the show (and even a previous interview), and today’s show won’t disappoint as Jason shares a ton of classroom-oriented SMART Board resources and ideas with Martin and Sallie.

04-OmahaNE400
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(35:04) Episode 140 – Join us as we head south to Birmingham, AL to talk with Pastor Ben Kratz about long-distance Bible classes via Skype. (Release date 07/14/10)

The featured artist:

(35:45) We close the podcast with the music of Corban Creek – It Seems to Be the Day from their CD titled “Could It Be Me”

Get involved:

  • Add a comment below
  • Send us an e-mail [email protected]
  • Leave us a voice mail 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.wels.net
  • Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation
  • Follow us on Twitter – mspriggs and welstechtrainer
  • Use the del.icio.us tag welstech
  • Use the diigo tag welstech
  • Join the WELSTech community:

138 – WELSTech Road Trip: Liverpool, NY

This week the WELSTech Podcast Road Trip heads to Liverpool, NY to talk with Pastor Jeremiah Gumm about blogging.

Road trip:

roadtrip02c(5:50) Pastoral Blogging – The WELSTech Road Trip makes a virtual stop in upstate New York where Martin and Sallie chat with Pastor Jeremiah Gumm from Cross of Christ.  Pastor Gumm, the blogger behind The Shepherd’s Study, shares thoughts on his 2+ years of blogging – how and why he started his blog, the mechanics of setting up and managing a blog, and the blessings (64,000 hits and counting) and connections blogging has given him.

Pastor Jeremiah Gumm - The Shepherd's Story

Blog Dashboard
Blog Administration “Dashboard” (Click the view full size)

Adding a New Blog Post
Writing a New Blog Post Screen (Click to view full size)

Road Trip Tracker
The WELSTech Road Trip Tracker

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (39:16) Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE shared links via the WELSTech Diigo group:
  • Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI left us a voice mail with details on AT&T voice and data plan educator pricing
    • Include your voice in the next WELSTech Podcast.  Leave us a voice mail at 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Pastor Rob Guenther from Gethsemane in Raleigh, NC is using the Flashcard Touch app for iPod and iPhone to share Quizlet.com Catechism flash cards with his students
  • David Schumann from Peace in Janesville, WI used Inkscape to convert bitmap images to scalable vector format
  • Tom Hausman from Viterbo University in LaCrosse, WI shared a job posting for an Instructional Support and Design Specialist. Contact Martin for additional details.
  • Perry Lund from Grace in Oskaloosa, IA commented on the recent student management system podcast interview

Coming up on WELSTech:

(52:18) Episode 139 – We’re on the road again, but this time to an unknown techie virtual destination.  Tune in to find out where we visit, and learn something new in the process. (Release date 07/07/10)

The featured artist:

(56:39) We close the podcast with the music of Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com and on Facebook) – I Do Believe from his CD titled “The Way”

Get involved:

  • Add a comment below
  • Send us an e-mail [email protected]
  • Leave us a voice mail 405-FOR-WELS (405-367-9357)
  • Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.wels.net
  • Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation
  • Follow us on Twitter – mspriggs and welstechtrainer
  • Use the del.icio.us tag welstech
  • Use the diigo tag welstech
  • Join the WELSTech community: