Tag Archive for: education

133 – Great Classroom Websites

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This week on the WELSTech podcast Martin and Gail discuss classroom websites and trips to the moon.

The discussion:

Focusing on classroom sites – Martin is joined by the WELSTech semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, Gail Potratz, from Emanuel in New London, WI and they discuss three uses for classroom sites including posting resources for kids and parents as well as making connections to a global audience.  Listen for tips to satisfy all those needs and project a great view of your classroom for the online school shoppers.

  • FinalWeb Training in Milwaukee, WI and New Ulm, MN
  • We Remember – Vietnam War tribute web site by Gail’s 8th graders

The interview:

Cris Ladwig(16:20) Learn from a Pro – Fourth grade teacher Cris Ladwig from Emanuel in New London, WI talks with Gail about the success of her classroom web site.  Ease of communication is the goal!

News in tech:

Picks of the week:

  • (39:50) Diigo Groups for classrooms
  • DoubleTwist – a unifying media platform that connects consumers with all their media and all their devices

Community feedback:

(47:05) Visit the WELSTech Listserve to learn more about library software and add your comments

Coming up on WELSTech:

(49:43) Episode 134 – Steven Stelter of Stelter Design joins the conversation to share his knowledge on logo design and development of a “brand”. (Release date 06/02/10)

The featured artist:

(50:40) We close the podcast with the music of The Branches Band (www.branchesband.com) – Holy Spirit from their CD titled “Sing, My Tongue”

Get involved:

129 – Road Trips, Dipity and Flip Flops

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This week’s WELSTech Podcast focus is summer learning opportunities and teacher Gail Potratz joins the conversation.

The discussion:

EducationMake your summer plans – Summer is the perfect season to schedule a conference or class.  Teacher Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI joins Martin and Sallie as they discuss many interesting enrichment opportunities that are available in the summer of 2010.

News in tech:

(19:52) Ning is no longer free

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(34:12) WELSTech is going on a virtual summer Road Trip, and we want to visit your church or school to learn about the tech-in-ministry solutions you are using to further your gospel ministry! Contact Us to schedule your stop on our travel itinerary.

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(48:30) Episode 130 – Chapters 6 and 7 of Shane Hipps book, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture, will be up for discussion. (Release date 05/05/10)

The featured artist:

(49:27) We close the podcast with the instrumental music of In His Service (www.adagioconcepts.com) – O Lord, Send Forth Your Spirit from their CD titled “In His Time”

Get involved:

125 – Going To School On The Internet

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This is classroom technology week on the WELSTech Podcast and Martin welcomes special guests Gail Potratz and Jim Grunwald.

The discussion:

Gail Potratz and Jim GrunwaldInternet Delivery of Education Content – Martin is joined by Dr. Jim Grunwald, Director of Academic Computing at Martin Luther College, and Gail Potratz, Technology Director from Emanuel in New London, WI.  They discuss the many pros as well as the implementation challenges of using a web-based delivery platform for classroom assignments.  Jim also shares information on MLC’s new course offerings targeted to prepare teachers to use and support a variety technology in the school setting.

Ministry resources:

(32:26) Adding Google Analytics to Facebook Fan Pages

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(45:48) WELS will be streaming the Martin Luther College Chapel of the Christ dedication service on Saturday, April 10 at 7 p.m.  Check out the agenda for the dedication weekend.

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(55:33) Episode 126 – Martin and Sallie preview the resources available at InternetEvangelismDay.com and talk with the man behind the site, Tony Whittaker. (Release date 04/07/10)

The featured artist:

(56:53) We close the podcast with the music of Stephen Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com or @stephenbautista on Twitter) – The Most Beautiful Thing from his CD “Abandon”

Get involved:

120 – YouTube in the Classroom

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This week on the WELSTech podcast we talk with the Scholar Ladies of HOPE School and discuss issues around YouTube in the classroom.

The discussion:

Classroom Video Quandary – Joining WELSTech for our monthly installment of classroom technology goodness is Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI.  This month the ed-tech talk centers on the many uses of YouTube in the classroom, and we share some useful resources and examples to get you started.

The interview:

HOPEs(14:13) Get an A on it – Wendy Greenfield, VP of Development and Communications at HOPE Schools in Milwaukee (WELS), joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the HOPE Idol winning video production and viral YouTube hit, Scholar Ladies.  With nearly one-half million views, we hear the behind-the-scenes story of the use of technology at HOPE to engage the students and share their mission with the world.

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(49:34) Episode 121 – Tune in for Lenten and Easter online resources and an interview with Pastor Guy Marquardt on his Interactive Passion History. (Release date 03/03/10)

The featured artist:

(50:18) We close the podcast with the music of Revelation from Wisconsin Lutheran College (www.revelationwlc.com) – Via Dolorosa from their CD “Once For All”

Get involved:

119 – Sallie and Tony Meet

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This week is book discussion week on the WELSTech podcast.  We also catch up with Tony Vincent and clear the air on the worst picks controversy.

The discussion:

The Effects of Changing Media – Telegraph, radio and photos are the three media changes which Shane Hipps focuses on in Chapter 4 of his book The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel and Church.  Martin and Sallie discuss the postmodern shift away from the “meta-narrative” and towards image-based communication.

The interview:

Tony Vincent(17:05) The Best Worst Pick Ever! – Tony Vincent, Education Consultant and the person behind LearningInHand.com, joins Martin and Sallie to share his experience and success stories with handheld computing devices in the classroom.  Listen as Tony shares excellent resources and his predictions for the future of PODs (Personally Owned Devices) in the classroom.  What was Sallie thinking when she chose Tony’s site as a worst pick??

Ministry resources:

(42:55) SermonDrop.com

News in tech:

(44:45) Google Buzz launches – Watch the overview video

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(55:00) Registration continues for upcoming FinalWeb for Dummies web site training classes. Martin and Sallie are presenting three days of face to face training focusing on developing, designing and maintaining your website with excellence.

  • Milwaukee, WI and New Ulm, MN – March 9-11, 2010 – Registration deadline is February 28, 2010
  • Saginaw, MI – April 6-8, 2010
  • Attend any combination of days – one, two or three day registrations welcome
  • $49 per day or $129 for all three days
  • Details and registration at bit.ly/fw4dummies

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:00:05) Episode 120 – YouTube in the classroom is the discussion theme as Gail Potratz joins us and we hear about HOPE School’s “Scholar Ladies” viral video sucess. (Release date 02/24/10)

The featured artist:

(1:06:34) We close the podcast with the music of a new WELS group, Cross to Glory, led by Pastor Chris Christenson (www.crosstoglory.com) – You Know I Know from their debut CD “Life’s Song”

Get involved:

116 – Photography In The Classroom

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This week on WELSTech the “focus” is photography, and we are happy to welcome back Gail Potratz, our semi-regular class room technology correspondent.

Christmas 2010 Scavenger Hunt:

Clue #4

Clue 4

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

The interview:

Pete and Cari Schlossers(3:50) Say “Cheese” – Pete and Cari Schlosser, father and daughter members of St. Paul’s in Menomonie, WI, talk with us about photography in the classroom and share ideas from their upcoming book on the subject.

Ministry resources:

(35:10) Greek, Latin and Hebrew Bible audio recordings – shared by Pastor Guy Marquardt from Christ in Lodi, CA

News in tech:

(36:50) Add any page to Google Reader

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(51:05) Registration continues for upcoming FinalWeb for Dummies web site training classes. Martin and Sallie are presenting three days of face to face training focusing on developing, designing and maintaining your website with excellence.

  • Milwaukee, WI and New Ulm, MN – March 9-11, 2010
  • Saginaw, MI – April 6-8, 2010
  • Attend any combination of days – one, two or three day registrations welcome
  • $49 per day or $129 for all three days
  • Details and registration at bit.ly/fw4dummies

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:12:13) Episode 117 – We visit with Pastor Don Patterson and Bill Eslinger about their radio and podcast ministry, A Reason for Hope. (Release date 02/03/10)

The featured artist:

(1:12:39) We close the podcast with the music of Michael Schroeder, www.michaelschroeder.com – The Answer from his CD titled “The Way”

Get involved:

108 – Tech-Enabled Religion Class

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This week on the WELSTech podcast we share ministry resource examples of technology in religious education.

The discussion:

Wordle Luke 2 Ministry Resources galore – Rather than one short segment on Ministry Resources, today’s WELSTech episode discussion is dedicated to practical examples of technology for religion classes.  Martin and Sallie share links to video and image projects, Bible games, online quizzes and more.  Special thanks go out to Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI, who couldn’t participate in the recording but shared many links and much research for this episode!

News in tech:

(27:53) Google Chrome Operating System

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(42:15) Tune in to WELS Streams on December 6th @ 3 p.m. for the live audio stream of the Martin Luther College Christmas Concert

Community feedback:

  • (43:07) Steve Mathwig reported problems with WELSTech updates on the iPod Touch and Martin explains the cause
  • David Schumann from Peace in Janesville, WI suggested Audacity users try the “Normalize” function to even out sound levels in audio recordings
  • This week Jason Schmidt of Gethsemane in Omaha, NE tweeted #WELSTech to share links to 5 Elements of a Successful Facebook Fan Page and IKnowThat.com

Coming up on WELSTech:

(51:25) Episode 109 – Tune in to WELSTech next week for a discussion of technology for tech-challenged areas and people plus an interview with Missionary Paul Nitz from Malawi, Africa.   (Release date 12/09/09)

The featured artist:

(52:50) This week we close with the Advent music of Revelation, a music ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran College (www.revelationwlc.com) – A Voice Cries Out from their CD titled ”Led by the Light”

Get involved:

104 – Glowing About The Bible

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This week on the WELSTech Podcast Martin and Sallie discuss online and personal Bible study with a digital flavor.

The discussion:

onlinebiblestudysDigital Bible Study – Martin shares a recap of his recent presentation at the WI State Teacher’s Conference. We learn about the many types of digital Bible study and about many free and affordable tools for online study.

News in tech:

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(56:10) We celebrate National Distance Learning Week by highlighting all of the online learning opportunities offered by WELS. (Release date 11/11/09)

The featured artist:

(57:05) This week we close with the music of WELS artist Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com – Follow mikewestendorf on Twitter) – Come from his CD titled ”Color Through The Gray”

Get involved:

103 – Games With A Purpose

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This week the WELSTech Podcast focus is educational gaming and Gail Potratz joins the conversation.

The discussion:

Gaming in EducationSafe sites that teach – Gail Potratz, Technology Coordinator for Emanuel in New London, WI and WELSTech’s semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, joins Martin and Sallie for a discussion on gaming in education.  There’s no denying student interest is peaked by video games, and there are many excellent gaming options which also teach.  As schools develop lists of these recommended edu-gaming sites, they are also creating a safe environment for students to surf the web from home.

Safe site suggestions by age group

Pre-K to 2nd grade (non readers):

3rd to 5th grade:

6th to 8th grade:

Ministry resources:

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(37:17) We’ve created a new compilation page for our Ministry Resources

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(41:39) Martin is presenting a workshop on Digital Bible Study at the Wisconsin Teacher’s Conference, so we’ll tap into his session notes and hear from the attendees. (Release date 11/04/09)

The featured artist:

(43:03) This week we close with the music of WELS artist Stephen Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com – Follow stephenbautista on Twitter) – Abandon from his CD of the same title ”Abandon”

Get involved:

094 – Old People Talking New Tech

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This week on the WELSTech Podcast Gail Potratz joins the discussion on one-to-one computing.

The discussion:

One-to-one in educationOne-to-One Computing – A “trending topic” in education circles today is the concept of equipping students as early as elementary school with their own portable computing device, thus giving them the ability to do normal computing tasks with all-the-time, anywhere access. Gail Potratz, Technology Coordinator at Emanuel in New London, WI joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the challenges and benefits of one-to-one computing as well as the tumbling prices on hardware and software.  Even if your school isn’t ready to implement this strategy today, it’s great to consider it in future planning.

News in Tech:

(21:33) Microsoft releases a beta cloud-based version of the SQL relational database on the Azure platform

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (35:45) Pastor Aaron Frey from Emanuel in Tawas City, MI tweeted his approval of DropBox for syncing Logos files
  • Teacher Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE shared info on a free account at abcteach.com for undergraduate education majors
  • Adam Miller for our own Technology team suggested we dedicate a future WELSTech episode to technology and the college student, focusing on campus ministry efforts and home congregation connections with the college crowd

Coming up on WELSTech:

(41:42) Tune in for a surprise episode featuring a panel discussion or a look at chapter 10, Failure for Free, from Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody. (Release date 09/02/09)

The featured artist:

(42:31) This week we close with the music of WELS artist, Steven Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com) – Trying to Catch the Wind from his CD titled ”Abandon”

Get involved: