Tag Archive for: blogs

Ten Tips for Vlogging

We live in a “YouTube” generation. YouTube, or more correctly, Google, describes this “group” as “Gen C”. Their analytics group writes:

Gen C is a powerful new force in consumer culture. It’s a term we use to describe people who care deeply about creation, curation, connection, and community. It’s not an age group; it’s an attitude and mindset – and here are 8 of its defining characteristics.

  • Gen C is a state of mind
  • Gen C strives for expression
  • Gen C is a taste-maker
  • Gen C defines the social network
  • YouTube is Gen C’s habitat for entertainment
  • Gen C is constantly connected
  • Gen C connects on YouTube on all screens
  • Gen C values relevance and originality

The full article is here: https://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/introducing-gen-c-the-youtube-generation_research-studies.pdf.

Regardless if Google is right, we have to admit that we live in a new electronic culture and it’s citizens are engaged in different ways. The question then is how do we as Gospel-sharers connect with this generation? My sense is that it is less and less through the written word (like this blog :-)) and more and more through the mediums they prefer. At the top of that list is YouTube. And that means that we all need to get a little more comfortable with video creation. A way to start is through the increasingly popular concept of vlogging. That’s a variant of blogging, except via video. I’ll explore this in more detail in my own blog, or perhaps I’ll create a vlog! But for now, here is the wikipedia definition of vlogging:

A video blog or video log, usually shortened to vlog/ˈvlɒɡ/, is a form of blog for which the medium is video, and is a form of web television. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take or cut into multiple parts. The vlog category is popular on YouTube. (Wikipedia article)

Application/audience

I’m convinced that vlogs, or video in general, is a tool that those in ministry need to get comfortable with. And it’s actually not as hard as you think. While traveling on business I took a few minutes in my hotel room to create a quick vlog using just my iPhone and a Shure microphone to prove to myself the fairly obstacle-free process of creating a vlog. All toll, this vlog took me about 1 hour to create and post. I used iMovie on the iPhone to put the clips together, and then, of course, YouTube to publish it. You can see the video below where I offer my version of a top ten list of vlogging tips. It’s not overly professional, but that is somewhat the characteristic of vlogs. They are meant to be fairly spontaneous, more casual, and hopefully engaging.

The top ten list includes: 1) Good audio, 2) Good lighting, 3) Distraction free background, 4) Friction-free workflow, 5) Turn distractions off, 6) Don’t over script, 7) Look “through” the lens, 8) Use lists, 9) Keep it short, 10) Log ideas. I go into more detail on each in the video.

See All Ministry Resources

445 – Something For Everyone

WELSTech has something for everyone on this community feedback episode. Topics include social media strategy, mobile photography, Google Apps for Education, church bulletins and more! Martin and Sallie also share the latest news from TechSmith and Google, helpful tips on Excel and the Chrome browser and worship/bulletin artwork from WELS artists.

The discussion:

BuffetThe listeners speak – Martin and Sallie share recent WELSTech community feedback.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Women’s Ministry Conference – July 21-23 at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Featured video:

Learn more about the upcoming Women’s Ministry Conference in this Together video update, saved on the WELSTech “Like’s” list on Vimeo

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 446 – Jason Schmidt joins Martin and Sallie for the last edtech discussion of the school year focusing on outdoor and rainy day tech for schools (and beyond). Release date: Wednesday, May 25

Get involved:

382 – Heart to Heart

This week on WELSTech we’re talking heart to heart with bloggers about a new blog for parents as well as revealing our Trekkie side and following the MLC College Choir on their Midwest tour. Martin shares a Windows-based Chromebook alternative, and we open the listener mailbag of WELSTech goodness.

The discussion:

Blogging for ministry – So you want to start a blog? Martin and Sallie cover the basics of blogging, from content ideas, style and challenges to popular blogging platforms and some of our favorite ministry blogs.

Platforms

Favorite Blogs

The interview:

Heart to HeartNew blog on the block – Martin and Sallie welcome Wendy Heyn and Ann Jahns to WELSTech to talk about a new parenting column from Forward in Christ magazine, Heart to heart. Each month a group of parents discuss a parenting topic and the conversation continues online via Heart to heart blog posts and comments. Ann and Wendy share their firsthand experience as new bloggers, and impressions of the supportive Christian community which is developing.

Ministry resources:

Frequent Church Attendance survey from Gallup

News in tech:

Reflecting on Leonard Nimoy’s recent death led to Star Trek technology that we use today

Picks of the week:

WELS insider:

MLC College Choir is currently touring the Midwest.

  • Check out their schedule to locate a concert near you
  • Follow MLC on Facebook to keep up with the fun experiences they are having

Need to know:

Need clock hours? Join us at WELSTech Conference 2015, and we’ll provide a certificate for 13.5 to 21 clock hours!

Community feedback:

  • Choice Eliminator for Google Forms
  • Printer Pro – Free iTunes App of the Week
  • Copyright resources on the WELSTech Wiki
  • The Miracle Morning
  • Tile

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 383 – We’ve arrived at Part 6 of What’s Best Next, WELSTech’s current book selection by Matt Perman, and it’s time to Execute our productivity plans! Watch and participate on 03/10/15 @ 4 pm Central – welstechlive.wels.net.

Featured videos:

Want to learn more about WordPress? Visit the WordPress Quickstart Video Library or tune in to the WELSTech Instructional YouTube playlist for the WordPress Tutorial 1: Introduction, part of the WordPress Theme Development playlist from LearnWebCode.

 

Get involved:

251 – Summer Software Showcase: KidBlog.org

We wrap up our Summer Software Showcase series this week with a focus on the classroom blogging tool, KidBlog, and the many ways it can be used in an education setting.  You won’t want to miss the latest Community Feedback and Martin’s browser tab trick either.

The discussion:

Goodbye Summer – Martin and Sallie record the last Summer Software Showcase segment, focusing on ministry uses of the classroom-centric blogging tool, KidBlog.org.

  • How to Use Blogs from Scholastic – Grades 3-5 and 6-8
  • Visit our sample WELSTech KidBlog.  The login link is in the upper right.
    • Admin login
      • Username: WELSTech Admin
      • Password: WELSTech
    • Student login
      • Username: WELSTech Student
      • Password: WELSTech

Ministry Uses

  1. Electronic Journaling – Check out Sallie’s list of writing prompts for elementary students
  2. Subject or topic specific writing
  3. Keyboarding practice
  4. Online discussion or Q&A
  5. Posting teacher assignments

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (23:13) 10 Commandments of Internet Research
  • The Mindset List
  • AwayFind
  • Information Literacy

Coming up on WELSTech:

(34:20) Episode 252 – Join Martin and Sallie next week for a countdown of the 7 Best Password Management Tips and Tools. (Release date – 09/04/12)

The featured artist:

(35:35)  We close the podcast with the music of  Revelation, a music ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran College (www.revelationwlc.com) – Ancient of Days 

Get involved:

226 – 7 Best Teacher Resources +

This week on the WELSTech Podcast we look at the 7 (or more) best teacher resource web sites.

The discussion:

Can we count? – Narrowing the list of classroom resource web sites to the best 7 proved to be a bit tough for Martin and Sallie, so instead they share the best of the best in 7 categories of education sites.

Teacher Resource Sites

  1. Subject specific
  2. Trends in education
  3. Resource exchanges
  4. Interactive whiteboards
  5. Video
  6. Free Technology For Teachers
  7. Personal Learning Network or PLN – Customized to individual interests and needs and made up of various blogs, Twitter accounts and Pinterest boards

Coming up in April …. 7 Best E-mail Productivity Tools and Tips

Ministry resources:

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(48:08) Episode 227 – The current book discussion draws to a close as we look at chapter 6, Regeneration, of The Church of Facebook. (Release date – 03/14/12)

The featured artist:

(48:37) We close the podcast with the music of Kevin Loersch – O Sacred Head, Now Wounded from his CD titled “Abide With Me

Get involved:

213 – The Blogging Bandwagon

This week’s WELSTech Podcast discussion is on lessons learned from blogging, and Jason Jaspersen joins the conversation to share info on his liturgical art web site, TheCLAPR.

The discussion:

Reflections on a year of blogging – Martin, Sallie and Adam Goede, author of The Daily Bible Challenge blog, share their thoughts on the blessings and challenges of regular blogging as well as lessons learned along the way.

The interview:

Behold the Lamb of God by Jonathan Mayer

Behold the Lamb of God by Jonathan Mayer

(16:08) Visually representing worship – Artist and teacher Jason Jaspersen from Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School joins Martin and Sallie to talk about TheCLAPR, The Confessional Lutheran Art Patronage Reference.  Jason shares the origin of the site and more about its goals of connecting artists with congregations and leaving a legacy of artwork that speaks to our strong Lutheran confessional stance.

Ministry resources:

  • (30:41) The Nativity Factor
  • The Natwivity

Picks of the week:

  • (32:52) How to make “Choose Your Own Adventure” videos on YouTube
  • Prey

WELS.net feature:

(41:14) Streams Seasonal Radio

Of interest:

(41:38) Mark your calendar for the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary streaming Christmas concert – December 11 @ 3:00 p.m. Central

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(51:30) Episode 214 – Martin and Sallie continue their discussion of The Church of Facebook by Jesse Rice, delving into Chapter 3, Dispensation. (Release date – 12/14/11)

The featured artist:

(52:01) We close the podcast with the music of Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com and on Facebook) – O Come Emmanuel from his CD titled “The Reason for the Season”

Get involved:

171 – Blog 365

This week the WELSTech Podcast topic is blogging, and we talk with Pastor Dan Walters about his post-a-day efforts.

The discussion:

Blog topics – Martin and Sallie share ideas for your blog, and invite you to take the WELSTech Blogging Challenge.  What better way to learn more about blogging and find your personal blogging niche than to post to your blog at least once per week for the rest of 2011.  Share a link to your blog so we can follow!

The interview:

Pastor Dan Walters(12:48) Pastor Walters is a blogger – Pastor Dan Walters from Our Savior in Springville, NY is blogging every day in 2011! He joins Martin and Sallie to share his experience and tips for successful blogging.

Ministry resources:

(26:50) Video presentations of Martin Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers

News in tech:

(28:14) New features on Vimeo and ScreenCast.com

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (37:53) Ryan Rosenthal from Faith in Fond du Lac, WI related his experience with the Gyration Mouse
  • Lesley Bergeman from Good Shepherd’s in West Allis, WI asked about the purpose of a mobile web site
  • John Shoosmith from Redeemer in Yakima, WA suggested WELS publications be added to Google Books
  • WELSTech was featured in several recent blog posts:
    • Mike talks about the Proclaimer at WELSTech by Rachel Hartmann on her Lutherans in Mexico blog
    • Check out WELSTech! by Pastor Dan Walters on Pastor Walters Has A Blog
  • Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE shared links via the WELSTech Group on Diigo

Coming up on WELSTech:

(45:04) Episode 172 – Gail Potratz joins the conversation, and we take a virtual tour of the world using Google Earth. (Release date 02/23/11)

The featured artist:

(45:40) We close the podcast with the music of Stephen Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com or stephenbautista on Twitter) – The Man Who Drove the Nail from his CD titled ”Abandon””

Get involved:

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:

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:

054 – The Art of Productivity

This week on WELSTech Martin shares some productivity tips from his WLS Winterim session and Sallie talks with Missionary Mike Hartman and his wife Rachel about their use of technology in the Mexico mission field.

Christmas 2010 Scavenger Hunt:

Clue #5

clue5

Remember, you can use your smartphone or an online decoder to decipher the message. This is the final clue so you can enter the contest by supplying the mystery message!  Additional contest details available here. Have fun!

The discussion:

  • Mind Like Water: The Art of Productivity – This week Martin is teaching a productivity course as part of the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Winterim schedule.  He recaps some of the information they are learning, and we hear from students in the class about why a productivity system is important.

The interview:

  • The HartmansTechnology in the mission field (18:36) –  Missionary Mike Hartman and his wife Rachel talk with Sallie about the mission work being done in Torreon, Mexico.  Rachel shares information about her Lutherans in Mexico blog and how she uses it to spread the news about the mission work with the world.
    • www.lutheransinmexico.com
    • missions.wels.net

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (28:18)
  • Of interest (35:42)
    • WELS marriage retreats – www.welsmarriageretreat.org
  • Community feedback (36:25)
    • Dan Smith of Holy Trinity in Des Moines, WA is using Google Calendar for his school but the print version isn’t formatted well for their newsletter.  Check out Sallie’s Picks of the Week in Episodes 026 & 027 for a solution.
    • John Shoosmith of Redeemer in Yakima, WA requested we share guidelines for NIV copyright on the WELSTech wiki, and we are happy to do so – “Copyright Guidelines for the NIV Bible”.
    • Linda Travis would like to display RSS feeds on her church web site.  Learn more at www.wels.net/jump/rss.
    • In response to a question from the webmaster at Good Shepherd in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, Martin shares more details about the synod’s multi-camera set up, including some hardware and software recommendations for running multiple cameras.
    • By popular demand, we’ve added a page to the WELSTech wiki with tips for “Getting Started” building a church or school web site.
  • Coming up on WELSTech (43:47)
    • Episode 055 – We talk with John Shoosmith, a WELS member in Yakima, WA, about the process of creating closed-caption sermon videos for the deaf and hard of hearing

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, WendySue Fluegge (www.wendysue.com) – The Instrument from her CD with the same title, The Instrument (45:18)

Get involved: