Tag Archive for: school

758 – A Season of AI

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The first episode of the 2025-26 season of WELSTech is unlocked! Martin and Sallie kick off with a Lutheran-flavored AI theme for the season and share resources to assist with school AI policies. Sallie has a random pick of the week, and Martin shared Gmail keyboard shortcuts. All this and more. Let’s go!

The discussion

A place of AI – Martin and Sallie kick off a new season of WELSTech under the theme AI: What does this mean? First up is a look at school guidelines and policies around AI. Feel free to make copies of the shared resource documents and edit them to meet the needs of your school.

Ministry Resource

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

Get involved

730 – Summer Tech Talks – Sarah Krause & Eileen Rosenow

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It’s almost time for back-to-school, and this episode of WELSTech will introduce listeners to helpful Lutheran Schools personnel who many will recognize. They shed light on school statistics and products as well as give us a sneak peek at next summer’s WELS Education Conference, currently in the planning stages. Sallie is “certified” and can’t wait to show you how to differentiate your lesson resources. Martin has a pick so good he needs to share it a second time. Plus, we talk church worship live streaming, and there’s an infographic involved!

The discussion & interview

The brains – Sarah Krause and Eileen Rosenow from WELS Lutheran Schools join Martin and Sallie to share a behind-the-scenes look at the important work happening in preparation for a new school year. These ladies just can’t wait for you to get those school stats and product subscriptions taken care of!

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

Considerations for live streaming worship

Click image to view the full Infographic10 Live Streaming Consideration for Church services

Next time

Our Summer Tech Talks series finale features a conversation with Northern Wisconsin District President, Pastor Joel Zank.

Get involved

651 – Let’s Grow

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This week on WELSTech we take a deep dive into the topic of school marketing with a great interview and discussion on the topic. Guest hosts Rachel and Jason have the perfect tools for designing your next social media post. Crisis planning resources and a call for presenters round out the episode.

The interview and discussion

Dana Kirchoff joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the roots of school marketing – knowing your community and their needs so schools can strategically design programs and communication to meet the needs.

WELSTech’s edtech gurus, Prof. Rachel Feld from Martin Luther College and Jason Schmidt from the Oconto Falls School District, also share their perspective on school and church marketing and social media.

Picks of the week

  • Typorama
  • Canva for Education
  • Ripl
  • How to Set Departure and Arrival Times in Google Maps

Ministry resource

One By One Bible Study

Community feedback

WELS now

WELS National Education Conference

  • Happening June 20-22, 2022 at the Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, WI
  • Call for Presenters – deadline May 31, 2021

Get involved

636 – HR & A Pandemic

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On this episode of WELSTech we wrap up our summer look at ministry across the synod during the pandemic by talking with WELS Human Resources Director Dennis Maurer. We also discuss NPH’s new “at-home Sunday School” program. Google extensions and add-ons shine in the “Picks of the week” segment, and WELSTech listeners have lots to say about social media for schools, and more!

The interview and discussion:

Pandemic protocols at the CMM – WELS Director of Human Resources Dennis Maurer talks with Martin and Sallie about the policies and procedures which are in place at the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry (CMM).

Sunday School at home – New from Northwestern Publishing House (NPH) are resources for doing Sunday School from home using Christ-Light materials and free, age-appropriate video lessons by experienced WELS teachers.

  • Learn more from NPH
  • Get lesson worksheets from your church or order directly from NPH
  • NPH on YouTube

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Featured videos/online course:

How to use Choice Eliminator add-on for Google Forms

Next time:

WELSTech goes back to the books with a kickoff discussion of Atomic Habits by James Clear.

Get involved:

635 – PR & A Pandemic

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This week on WELSTech we hear from the Martin Luther College Director of Public Relations about the challenges and changes to communication during the pandemic. In addition, there’s a wide variety of tech tools and tips that may benefit your ministry including safely back to school webinars, Gmail organization, Bitmoji classroom images, and farewell to classic Google Sites. Tune in and turn it up!

The interview and discussion:

Communicating to a college community – Bill Pekrul, Director of Public Relations at Martin Luther College (MLC), talks with Martin and Sallie about the levels and multiple channels of communication they utilize. Bill also shares tips that congregations and schools can use as they devise communication plans.

Additional examples to consider from MLC communication:

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Featured videos/online course:

MLC Update

Next time:

Summer interviews on pandemic ministry continue, next time with Dennis Maurer, WELS Director of Human Resources.

Get involved:

634 – Technology vs Pandemic

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Tune in to this week’s WELSTech to learn about a new tech tool to check temperatures before admitting people to your buildings for church and school. We also share googly picks, tips for content filtering and worship projection, and COVID-19 resources from WELS.

The interview and discussion:

Thermal Scanner – Art Flater, WELS member and owner of Central Office Systems, shares a timely tech innovation, the Pyrexia Kiosk, which uses thermal scanning technology to check body temperature before allowing admittance to a building.

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Featured videos/online course:

Members of St Mark, Green Bay, pray for police

Next time:

Summer interviews on pandemic ministry continue

Get involved:

Idea

600 – Fixin’ To Launch A School Intranet?

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Welcome to WELSTech 600! In this milestone episode we wrap up our series on church and school intranets, discover some interesting new podcasts and video channels, and gear up for graduation and call day.

The discussion:

Idea

School Intranets with Trello – This Spring we’ve focused on building church and school intranets, or private web sites. Today we share a sample school Intranet design using Trello (reference the how-to video on Episode 592 for Trello tips) and recap intranet best practices.

News in tech:

Google Pixel 3a

WELS now:

Graduation & Call Day festivities

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Christ for Disciplers Podcast by Pastor Paul Steinberg

Community feedback:

Featured video:

What’s new in ChromeOS Version 74? from the Chromebook Classroom (Josh Sowash) YouTube channel

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 601 – The WELSTech hat trick is happening as we welcome guest host Jason Schmidt, wrap up our edtech book discussion of Faithfully Connected, and chat with the book authors!  Release date: Wednesday, May 22.

Get involved:

596 – School Intranets … Google Style

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It’s Holy Week on WELSTech, and the discussion centers around the why, what, and how of building school intranets. But the tech-in-ministry goodness doesn’t stop there. We have Easter images, WELS on your desktop, a projection worship discussion, a musical devotion Facebook Watch Party, and embedded audio on Google Slides to share as well. Enjoy!

The discussion:

Build a School Intranet with Google – The Let’s Build an Intranet series turns to privatizing, organizing, and collaborating on school information, and Martin and Sallie share ideas for building in the Google space. Reference the how-to video on Episode 588 for additional tips and demonstration of building these solutions.

News in tech:

Logos 8 is now available

WELS now:

  • WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit attendees may win one of 40+ amazing giveaways!
    • Newline 65″ Interactive Flat Panel and Stand – valued at over $3,000
    • Register by May 1 to take advantage of the Early Bird discount and save $50
  • WELS Women’s Ministry Conference – July 18-20 at Luther Prep School

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Community feedback:

Featured video:

We have double the Easter joy in video format this week with President Schroeder’s Easter Message

and Koiné’s Lily Mini Movie.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 597 – Kristen Knickelbein shares a preview of her #EdTechLead19 sectional titled Hack Outreach: Summer STEM+ Camp.  Release date: Wednesday, March 24.

Get involved:

538 – Training Techies: School Websites

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The last WELSTech episode in February finishes off a month-long focus on training. Today we are joined by MLC Professor Rachel Feld to discuss school websites and how to approach training faculty members who are already stretched too thin. An interesting challenge, but there are tools and techniques to help. Rachel talks about a $99 pencil, Sallie brings some plugin goodness, and Martin finds his “waze.”

The discussion:

Websites for classrooms – Martin Luther College Professor Rachel Feld joins the conversation with tips for training teachers to manage classroom web sites. It’s not always about tech savvy teachers switching to the latest shiny technology. Instead, adopting tools school wide and committing to long-term usage, ongoing training, and support may be the wiser strategy.

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

InsertLearning.com

Community feedback:

Joe Dexter from Emanuel in New London, WI shared information on the pending demise of 600 MHz wireless microphones.

Featured video:

Appropriate for the season, check out Koine’s Lenten Hymns and Music playlist including this week’s featured video, O Dearest Jesus.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 539 – Tune in as WELSTech goes back to the basics, exploring the nuances of the tech tools we rely on daily to get our jobs done. Release date: Wednesday, March 7.

Get involved:

533 – Skills Sharpening Survey

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Skills Sharpening January continues on WELSTech! We were excited to see great participation in a survey of faculty and staffs from around the country sharing what they are doing for professional development. Tune in to see how you or your organization compares.

The discussion:

The survey says – We asked WELSTech-ers to share their church and school professional development experience and learned a lot in the process!

WELS now:

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

5 Google Tools You Should bE Using on Your Church Website

Community feedback:

Allan Bundt from Good Shepherd Church and School in Wisconsin Rapids is looking for advice on Chromebook management because their school is not accredited and, therefore, doesn’t qualify for Gsuite for Education.

Featured video:

Get creative with Kahoot by using this technique – What is a Blind Kahoot!? – a new addition on the WELSTech Instructional playlist.

 Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 534 – Jason Schmidt shares his perspective on formal skill sharpening – certificates, advanced degrees, etc. Release date: Wednesday, January 24.

Get involved: