Tag Archive for: edtech

586 – Minus 23

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It’s cold outside, but we’re warm on WELSTech! Thaw out while you listen to our edtech discussion of digital literacy. We’ll also share the latest from Apple regarding the Facetime bug that may allow others to spy on you, a Chrome extension that solves memory issues, and the first-ever commercial on WELSTech!

The discussion:

Stay warm – The post office may have suspended operation on this record setting cold day, but WELSTech must go on! Join Martin, Sallie, and guest host Jason Schmidt, our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, for a discussion around teaching digital literacy from chapter four in our Faithfully Connected (available from Concordia Publishing House and Amazon) book discussion.

News in tech:

WELS now:

Grow in Grace Notes Devotions

Picks of the week:

Ministry Pinterest resource:

Digital Literacy board

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Check out Common Sense Media’s Educator’s Professional Development Library for a host of great resources. Many of the videos link to lesson plans. A free account is required. Sample: Private and Personal Information.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 587 – Martin and Sallie chat with Philip Wels about live streaming and archiving worship video.  Release date: Wednesday, February 6.

Get involved:

534 – #trackhopper

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This week on WELSTech, we finish off our month-long focus on professional development by talking to Jason Schmidt about his approach to conferences, advanced degrees and helping others “sharpen” their tech skills.

The discussion:

Formal education – Just back from the Future of Education Technology Conference 2018 in an unknown destination, semi-regular education co-host Jason Schmidt shares his thoughts on certifications and advanced degrees as well as church and school financial support of staff professional development. He also shares his favorite “shiny” tech he observed at the conference – the Sharper Origin, a hand-held CNC machine (video).

News in tech:

WELS now:

  • Interactive Faith online Bible Study – Isaiah: God confronts and comforts his people – Pastor Daniel Habben from St. John’s, Antigua leads the study on Wednesday’s now through February 7 at 6 pm and 8 pm (central).
  • Mark your calendars for WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit – June 25-27, 2019 at Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells, WI – Sign up for information

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

MathCounts – Middle-school Math competition, club and video competition

Community feedback:

Daily video devotions from Peace in North Mankato, MN are reaching 2,000+ subscribers. tune in on Facebook (facebook.com/PeaceDevotions) or at peacedevotions.com.

Featured video:

This week’s WELSTech double feature kicks off with a sample instructional video from our Ministry Resource discussion – MathCounts Mini #77 – More Counting Using Cases.

And, new on the WELSTech Vimeo “Likes” List is WELS Year in Review.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 535 – The February WELSTech focus on training volunteers kicks off with a discussion of worship projection and an interview with Kristen Tetteh from Proclaim software. Release date: Thursday, February 8.

Get involved:

503 – Comparing Event Video Notes

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On this week’s episode of WELSTech, Martin shares his thoughts on the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement for ministry. There’s also a post-wedding video discussion and some great tips for WELS ed tech leaders on getting started with a 1:1 initiative in your school.

The discussion:

iPads for Ministry – Continuing the summer focus on ministry resources, Martin shares the thoughts behind his recommendation of the 10.5 inch iPad Pro.

Picks of the week:

  • Pexels – Free stock videos
  • VLC

Community feedback:

Featured video:

Ask the Bullet Journalist is this week’s addition to the WELSTech Instructional playlist on YouTube.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 504 – Martin and Sallie return from the long holiday weekend to talk QR codes for ministry. Release date: Wednesday, July 5.

Get involved:

498 – Classroom Collaboration

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On WELSTech this week, Jason Schmidt wraps up our edtech school year discussion with a look at the many possibilities technology provides for student and classroom collaboration. We also share an NPH survey on “Being Lutheran,” look at an affordable smart lighting option, and explore automated e-mail to church visitors. Oh, and Chuck Norris makes an appearance!

The discussion:

Collaboration in the connected classroom – Wrapping up the 2016-17 school year edtech discussions on WELSTech, Martin and Sallie are once again joined by Jason Schmidt, Technology Director for Bennington Public Schools near Omaha, NE. From the New Media Consortium Horizon Report 2016 K-12 Edition, this week’s discussion spotlight is student collaboration. Whether the project makes use of technology or not, and whether it is is face-to-face or spanning the miles, collaboration initiatives need structure and guidelines for success.

Countdown to episode 500:

Revisit year 8 (2015) of WELSTech, episodes 374 to 425.

News in tech:

Ikea’s cheap smart lighting

WELS now:

Take the Forward In Christ survey on Being Lutheran

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Visitor Follow Up With Mailchimp Email Automation

Featured video:

Learn more about Kingdom Workers Apache efforts in this new addition to the WELSTech “Likes” List on Vimeo.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 499 – Martin and Sallie are together at the CMM to say goodbye to the WELSTech 400s. Release date: Wednesday, May 31.

Get involved:

494 – Rethinking the Roles of Teachers

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This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie are joined by Rachel Feld to discuss an interesting article from the Horizon report entitled “Rethinking the Roles of Teachers.” Has the rapid advancement of educational technology changed the role of our teachers?

The discussion:

A brand new classroom experience – Martin and Sallie are joined by teacher Rachel Feld from Bethany in Kenosha, WI (and soon to be MLC Professor!!) to discuss pages 24 & 25 of the New Media Consortium K-12 Horizon Report 2016 regarding teacher’s transformational role as educational technology becomes more prominent in the classroom.

Countdown to episode 500:

Revisit year 4 (2011) of WELSTech (episodes 165 to 216)!

News in tech:

Flying car debut

WELS now:

Digital display images from WELS

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

WELSTech Google Group

Featured video:

New from Lakeside Lutheran School on the WELS Schools YouTube playlist, Teacher Todd Hackbarth shared The Truth Told By Youth, featuring Lakeside Federation students from grades 1 & 2.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 495 – Tune in for tips on family tech support. Release date: Wednesday, May 3.

Get involved:

490 – Scrambled Eggs with a Side of Equity

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The week’s edtech focused WELSTech episode features ideas for assisting students with broadband Internet access in their homes, the opportunity to host a movie theater screening of the new Luther movie, a new computer science curriculum for middle schoolers, a design tool for the church and school office, and some tasty(?) robotics.

The discussion:

Jason Schmidt, Technology Coordinator for Bennington Public Schools near Omaha, NE and one of WELSTech’s Semi-Regular Classroom Technology Correspondents, is just back from a exciting weekend of First Steamworks competition from First Robotics. Check out The Blue Alliance for live streamed competition videos.

Broadband equity for students – While Martin enjoys a little family time, Jason and Sallie discuss the topic of digital equity. Students inability to access the Internet via a broadband connection in their home environment can be caused by economic factors as well as lack of coverage in rural location. This inequity has been identified as a difficult challenge impeding technology adoption for K-12 students in the New Media Consortium K-12 Horizon Report 2016. We take a look at programs to assist with meeting this challenge.

  • EveryoneOn.org – Low Cost Internet | Digital Literacy
  • The 1 million project from Sprint

WELS now:

Learn how your congregation can host a movie theater screening of the new Martin Luther movie, A Return To Grace.

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Featured video:

Promevo TV featured this Head to Head: Asus C302 vs. Samsung Chromebook Plus. Who wins!? video review, a new addition to the WELSTech Product Demo YouTube playlist.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 491 – Pastor Stephen Daly shares his experience with the Bullet Journal, the analog system for the digital age. Release date: Wednesday, April 5.

Get involved:

486 – Online Ed

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This week on WELSTech Rachel Feld joins the conversation to discuss the latest developments in online and adaptive learning. Educators will want to listen on Rachel’s iPad/iPhone pick called “Duck, Duck, Moose.” Sallie is unplugging … for a day, and Martin shares a great site to get reviews of gadgets for those who are looking to plug more things in.

The discussion:

Individualized learning for littles – Using the New Media Consortium K-12 Horizon Report 2016 as a springboard, the edtech conversation du jour is online learning, but not just for high-schoolers. Teacher Rachel Feld from Bethany in Kenosha, WI shares her 1st and 2nd grade classroom experience with online tools that adapt for individualized student needs.

News in tech:

Amazon AWS S3 outage is breaking things for a lot of websites and apps

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Featured video:

Celebrate Lutheran Schools Week with students from St. Paul’s Lutheran School in New Ulm, MN, We’re Happy! on the WELSTech Schools YouTube playlist.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 487 – Tune in for a primer on positive parenting in the digital age. Release date: Wednesday, March 8.

Get involved:

482 – Wearable Tech

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This week on WELSTech we talk about the future of wearable technology in education. It’s not quite ready but it’s coming! Listen also for news from Google Voice, a new edtech evaluation tool for schools, and WELSTech’s own Alex Trebek.

The discussion:

Sew in a circuit board – Jason Schmidt, Technology Coordinator for Bennington ISD near Omaha, NE and one of WELSTech’s Classroom Technology Correspondents, chimes in on the topic of wearable tech which has been identified as having mainstream K-12 educational adoption in the next 4-5 years in the New Media Consortium K-12 Horizon Report 2016.

News in tech:

The new Google Voice launches bringing a modern look, group chat, photo sharing & more

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Featured video:

Learn more about wearable technology in this TEDxSFU video, How wearable technology will change our lives, on the WELSTech Presentation/Teaching YouTube playlist.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 483 – Amber Rose joins Martin and Sallie to share some about “Chatter That Matters” from the Holy Hen House. Release date: Wednesday, November 2.

Get involved:

468 – Coding Literacy with Jason

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Tune in for a coding in education discussion on this week’s WELSTech. Jason Schmidt guest hosts with Martin and Sallie as we look at the trends detailed in the NMC K-12 Horizon Report 2016, and how the adoption of computational thinking across the curriculum might look in our WELS classrooms.

The discussion:

Coding as a Literacy – Jason Schmidt makes his 2016-17 season debut on WELSTech, bringing his own brand of sunshine to the edtech discussion space. Today we look at the New Media Consortium K-12 Horizon Report 2016 and specifically the short-term trend of coding as a literacy.

News in tech:

WELS now:

There’s still time to participate, but these events are ending this week:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Free Bible Images for Advent and Christmas

Featured video:

We celebrate the 499th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation with this week’s music video, A Mighty Fortress is Our God by Koine, from the WELSTech Music YouTube playlist.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 469 – Staff Minister Dan Schoeffel joins the conversation to share information on Internet addictions. Release date: Wednesday, November 2.

Get involved:

456 – ISTE Afterglow

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This week on WELSTech Rachel Pierson and Perry Lund join the conversation to talk about the ISTE conference and what’s new in educational technology. Teachers, prepare for the new school year with information that might shape how you use technology and how it might help your students learn. Plus, listen for the winners in the year-long WELSTech Photo Challenge!

The discussion:

ISTE 2016Round table – Teachers and STEM enthusiasts Rachel Pierson and Perry Lund share their impressions and take-aways from the premier annual edtech conference, ISTE, which was held during June in Denver.

Photo Challenge winners:

After an exciting year of receiving 939 photos from 40 different photographers in the WELSTech Photo Challenge, Martin and Sallie announce the winners of the fabulous Photo Challenge prizes:

Picks of the week:

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 457 – Join Martin and Sallie for the kick-off of our final summer series which will focus on self-publishing. Release date: Wednesday, August 10

Get involved: