Tag Archive for: software

175 – Office 2010

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This week on the WELSTech Podcast Microsoft Office and Staff Minister Dan Schoeffel share center stage.

The discussion:

Is your office a Microsoft Office? – Martin and Sallie discuss the “mature” Microsoft Office suite and share links to a robust list of support resources.

The interview:

Dan Schoeffel(16:08) Tech Solutions – Staff Minister Dan Schoeffel from St. Paul’s in Onalaska, WI talks with Martin and Sallie about the various hardware and software solutions that have been implemented in his congregation and school.  From scrolling announcements in the church narthex to innovative time keeping to wise stewardship of hardware, St. Paul’s has their tech bases covered.

Ministry resources:

(32:22) Free introductory online course from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

News in tech:

(34:10) iPad 2 Reviews from Cnet

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(40:35) FinalWeb Training in New Ulm, MN and Milwaukee, WI

  • FinalWeb for Teachers in New Ulm on June 27 and Milwaukee on August 1 – bit.ly/fw4teachers
  • FinalWeb for Dummies in New Ulm June 28-30 and Milwaukee August 2-4 – bit.ly/fw4dummies

Community feedback:

  • (43:28) Judy Trunkel from St. John’s in Neilsville, WI asked for feedback on non-profit discount tech shopping site TechSoup.org.  Check out ShopWELS.net for discount tech pricing for WELS congregations, schools and individuals.
  • Adam Valleskey from Christ in Juneau, AK shared links to their online giving page powered by Vanco.  Adam also shared ideas for church sites on Facebook.
  • Via Twitter Jason Schmidt (Gethsemane in Omaha, NE) shared a link to his new classroom wiki page where 3rd and 4th grade students will be mapping Paul’s Missionary Journeys.
  • Over on the WELSTech Diigo Group Martin and Sallie shared links to …

Coming up on WELSTech:

(50:38) Episode 176 – Alan Nolte from Fox Valley Lutheran High School shares news of their upcoming STEM Academy, and we review techie aids for memorization. (Release date – 03/23/11)

The featured artist:

(51:21) We close the podcast with the instrumental music of In His Service (www.adagioconcepts.com) – I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say from their CD titled “In His Time”

Get involved:

146 – WELSTech Road Trip: MI, PA and FL

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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:

132 – Spriggs Squared

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This week the WELSTech podcast welcomes two Mac-friendly guests as we explore the use of Macs in ministry.

The discussion:

Inside Apple – The Spriggs boys are taking over!  Listen as Martin’s son, Aaron Spriggs, our WELSTech resident Apple store guy, shares his insight into the popularity of Mac products.

The interview:

Pastor Steve Bauer(14:25) Macs in Ministry – Pastor Steve Bauer from Faith in West Newton, PA joins Martin and Sallie to discuss his use of Mac-based Bible software, Accordance, as well as some other Mac favorites of his.

News in tech:

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

  • (54:25) Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Graduation and Call Day – If you can’t be there in person, plan to tune in to the special services via live video stream – wels.net/streams/live.
    • Graduate Assignments – Thursday, May 20 at 10:00 a.m.
    • Graduation Concert – Thursday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m.
    • Graduation – Friday, May 21 at 10:00 a.m.
  • FinalWeb Training in Milwaukee, WI and New Ulm, MN

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:04:52) Episode 133 – What belongs on a great classroom web site?  Gail Potratz joins us for this education-focused discussion. (Release date 05/26/10)

The featured artist:

(1:06:16) We close the podcast with the music of Dawn Gehlhar – Amazing Grace 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:

105 – Learning – Long Distance Style

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This week on the WELSTech podcast we celebrate National Distance Learning Week and talk with teacher Karl Henselin about free computer management software.

The discussion:

Online learning – It’s time again for our annual celebration of National Distance Learning Week.  Martin and Sallie define distance learning in terms of student experience and needed skills, and they explore the possibilities for distance learning in a ministry setting.  Visit our distance learning web page where we showcase all of the WELS distance learning resources.

The interview:

henselin1s(17:15) Managing your school computers – Teacher Karl Henselin from St. Mark in Green Bay, WI was a presenter at the recent Wisconsin State Teacher’s Conference and spent a few minutes with Martin to discuss free software tools for maintaining computers.

Ministry resources:

(28:55) Logos for iPhone/iTouch

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Coming up on WELSTech:

(51:35) Episode 106 – We’re kicking off a new book discussion, Chapter 1 of Shane Hipps’ The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture. (Release date 11/18/09)

The featured artist:

(54:54) This week we close with the music of Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com) – The Beatitudes from his CD titled “A Witness”

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:
    • WELSTech listserve
    • WELSTech on facebook

093 – Back to School with Technology

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This week on the WELSTech podcast we explore student and teacher prep for the new tech-driven school year.

The discussion:

Back to School with TechnologyPreparing to learn in a Web 2.0 world – This isn’t your grandmother’s back to school season, and with the advent of technology, parents, students and teachers need to prepare for the new school year in all new ways.  Listen as Martin and Sallie share ideas to help you get ready for technology in the new school year.

The interview:

(12:43) Joining Martin and Sallie this week is Joe Du Fore who teaches at Fox Valley Lutheran High School and also serves as Educational Technology Director.  Joe shares his thoughts on the use of technology at the high school level and tech tips for students and parents as they prepare to go back to school.

News In Technology:

(32:30) Goggle Chrome has bookmark syncing

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

  • (41:12) Allan Bunt from Good Shepherd in Wisconsin Rapids, WI shared a link to Jodix for creating MP3 audio from video files
  • #WELSTech tweets this week include…
    • Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE shared links to Geocaching for Educators and MailChimp webinars
    • Ryan Rosenthal from Faith in Fond du Lac thought the Learn 360 webinars were very useful
  • Phillip Wels from St. Paul’s in New Ulm, MN asked about considerations for offering facebook training in his congregation

Coming up on WELSTech:

(49:16) Episode 094 – Gail Potratz joins us for a discussion of one-to-one computing in the classroom. (Release date 08/26/09)

The featured artist:

(50:20) This week we close with the music of WELS instrumentalist In His Time (www.adagioconcepts.com) – O God, Your Hand The Heavens Made from their CD titled ”In His Time”

Get involved:

082 – It’s A Small WELS After All

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This week the WELSTech podcast includes more discussion of the book Here Comes Everybody as well as an interview with a software consultant from ProCare Software.

The discussion:

Bonding and Bridging – Martin and Sallie revisit Clay Shirky’s book, Here Comes Everybody, and discuss chapter 9, “Fitting Our Tools to a Small World”.  Lessons from the chapter illustrate the potential pitfall of congregations focusing solely on closed group, insider fellowship while excluding groups, cultures and ideas outside the “network”.

The interview:

Shelley Spliethof, ProCare Software(16:00) Technology heads to daycare – Martin and Sallie talk with Shelley Spliethof, Executive Software Consultant with ProCare Software, about the information challenges daycare and preschool organizations face and how ProCare Software addresses those needs.

New Technology Showcase:

(29:40) Firefox 3.5 – The latest version of the Mozilla browser

Picks of the week:

  • (33:50) SparkleBox – A teacher’s treasure chest of free printables
  • Diigo – Social bookmarking meets the writable web

Community feedback:

  • (40:35) Eric Mueller from St. John in St. Paul, MN is a Drupal fan and is excited to see the WELS.net beta site built on Drupal.  He used Drupal to build both his congregation site as well as the web site for the Science Museum of MN, where he serves as webmaster.
  • Jason Schmidt was busy tweeting loads of interesting links including
    • Noteflight for online music notation (Video Overview)
    • Shareaholic Firefox plugin
    • vozMe text to speech tool
    • 6 Examples of Twitter in the Classroom from Emerging Internet Technologies for Education – Sallie shared an alternative view, Twitter with students? from Tipline – Gates’ Computer Tips
    • Diigo Tutorials
  • LATTE Missionary Larry Schlomer is having difficulties adding the Through My Bible in 3 Years RSS feed to Google Reader.  Martin suggested subscribing to the audio feed instead.
  • Following up on this week’s BWTG episode which focused on creating Facebook Pages …

Coming up on WELSTech:

(52:22) WELSTech2 continues:

  • Episode 083 – Join us for a summer “Picnik” of image editing tips on the latest installment of “Bonus WELSTech Goodness” (BWTG). (Release date 07/13/09)
  • Episode 084 – Joel and Jeremy from the Youth Discipleship office share a recap of the International Youth Rally as we take a look at ways we can use technology to reach out to teens. (Release date 07/15/09)

The featured artist:

(53:49) The music of WELS group Corban Creek closes this week’s podcast – We hear Psalm 13 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 414-375-2334
  • 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
  • Join the WELSTech community:
    • WELSTech listserve
    • WELSTech on facebook

059 – Tough Times…No Problem

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This week on WELSTech the conversation focuses on tech tips for effective ministry in a challenging economy and Martin and Sallie talk with Pastor Daron Lindemann about the new Message from the Master web site.

The discussion:

  • Technology in Tough Economic Times – Martin and Sallie share a host of ideas for wise use of technology in the church and school setting to save money. From reducing paper printing and distribution costs to prolonging the life of hardware, there are many ways to carry out effective ministry in times of economic challenge.

The interview:

  • Pastor Daron LindemannMessage from the Master (20:14) – Martin and Sallie talk with Pastor Daron Lindemann from Grace in Milwaukee, WI about his work on the Message from the Master project and their brand new web site.
    • www.MessageFromTheMaster.com

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (39:40)
  • WELS.net feature (44:55)
    • Parents Crosslink Podcast
      • Listen on Streams – streams.wels.net/podcasts?series=parents-crosslink-podcast
      • Read more on the Parents Crosslink web site
  • Community feedback (46:50)
    • Pastor Chris Koschnitzke from Christus in Delavan, WI recently added video sermons to his congregation web site
    • The WELSTech listserve has been buzzing with discussion on electronic banking options and ideas for outreach in a digital world
    • Join the #WELSTech Twitter conversation and follow Martin (@mspriggs) and Sallie (@welstechtrainer)
    • Dan Smith from Holy Trinity in Des Moines, WA asked about our experience running a CafePress.com store. Anyone need a WELSTech coffee cup? :-)  www.cafepress.com/welstech
    • Pastor John Borgwardt from Risen Savior in Pooler, GA is looking for solutions for mass e-mail.  Listen to WELSTech Episode 026 for ideas.
  • Coming up on WELSTech (55:52)
    • Episode 060 – Gail Potratz, our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, joins us and we discuss setting up a School Technology Plan

The featured artist:

  • Revelation, a music ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran College, performs You are the God from their CD Led By The Light – www.revelationwlc.com (57:06)

Get involved:

052 – The Best and Worst of 2008

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This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie countdown their best and worst picks of 2008.

The discussion:

The tidbits:

  • Coming up on WELSTech (44:45)
    • Episode 053 – We celebrate the one year anniversary of the WELSTech podcast with a look back at our first show and a look ahead at our expectations for 2009

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Michael Schroeder (michaelschroeder.com) – The Reason For the Season from his CD with the same title, The Reason For the Season (45:50)

Get involved:

Episode 047 – Nov 26 2008

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This week the focus of the WELSTech podcast is Content Management Systems.  Martin and Sallie are joined by WELS.net webmaster, Julie Duran, and we take a look at WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.

The discussion:

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (24:45)
  • WELS.net feature (33.15)
    • Church Year Worship Resources
  • Community feedback (33:55)
    • John Simonson from Good Shepherd in West Bend, WI shared additional search engine optimization tools from Google
  • Coming up on WELSTech (35:33)
    • Episode 048 – Gail Potratz joins us for a discussion on teaching our children research skills in a Web 2.0 world

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Michael Schroeder (michaelschroeder.com) – O Come, O Come Emmanuel from his CD titled The Reason For the Season (37:35)

Get involved:

Episode 018 – May 7 2008

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This week Martin and Sallie reveal the results of the inaugural WELSTech listener contest. Our listeners shared some great free software tools, and we give a mini-tour of several of the titles submitted. Listen to hear if you are the winner of a 1 GB thumb drive.

The discussion:

  • WELSTech ContestTop Free Software Tools Listener Contest – Martin and Sallie explore ten of the user software submissions (6:40) and pick a winner in the listener contest (43:45). Listen to see if you are the winner and contact us at [email protected] to claim your prize!

The tidbits:

  • This week’s picks (43:45)
  • WELS.net feature (50:45)
    • Fifth Pew from the Front – Video Bible study series
      • www.fifthpew.com
      • Watch on Streams
  • Community feedback (53:23)
    • Pastor Stephen Daley from St. John’s in Riga, MI shared information on his many uses of Linux and Open Source software
    • Pastor Tim Wagner from Abiding Peace in Elgin, IL suggested we dedicate a podcast to the technology of MIDI music
    • Dr. Jim Grunwald of Martin Luther College suggested we enhance our show notes with time markers to make the audio content easier to index. Check out the new time stamps in today’s show notes, and let us know what you think.
  • Of interest (57:25)
    • Upcoming streamed services from MLC and WLS

The featured artist:

  • This week we close with the music of contemporary WELS band Koine (www.koinemusic.com) – Now Rest Beneath Night’s Shadow from their Koine II CD (58:53)

Get involved: