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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.

Listen now or download Episode 054 (49:53)

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.
  • Winterim Class Presentations:
    • Mind Like Water
    • Stewardship Principles
    • Inbox Zero
  • Facebook GTD (Getting Things Done) group

The interview:

• Technology 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)
  • CNN picks from the International Consumer Electronics Show
  • Google image search – images.google.com
    • Search Google like an expert from HubSpot
• 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:

• Add a comment below
• E-mail: welstech@wels.net
• Voice mail: 414-375-2334
• del.icio.us tag: welstech
• Join:
  • WELSTech listserve
  • WELSTech on facebook

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie talk about ways to “Go Green” with church and school electronics.  They also interview Pastor Mark Cares about the success of his new blog which targets outreach to Mormons.

Listen now or download Episode 039 (1:03:07)

The discussion:

• WELSTech Goes GREEN - Martin and Sallie share ideas for churches, schools and individuals to reduce, reuse and recycle their electronics for both environmental and, at times, monetary gain.  In these ways we can be wise stewards of the gifts entrusted to us. 
  • Is a ‘Phantom’ Stealing Your Electricity? 
  • Zero Client computing for Windows from Pano Tech
  • Recycling electronics
    • Gazelle.com
    • VenJuvo.com
    • MyBoneYard.com
    • TechForward.com
    • EPA Recycling Locations
    • myGreenElectronics.org
  • Virtualization
    • VMWare Server
    • Xen.org

The interview:

• Using Blogs for Outreach (22:50) - Pastor Mark Cares, author of Speaking the Truth in Love to Mormons, joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the exciting attention his new blog, Markcare’s Weblog, is receiving and how the blog fits into Truth in Love Ministries overall plans for outreach to Mormons.
  • markcares.wordpress.com

The tidbits:

• Picks of the week (39:09)
  • Select parts of web page(s) for printing – PrintWhatYouLike.com
  • Install a new print driver for selectable printing from your desktop – PrintGreener.com
• WELS.net feature (44:03)
  • Spanish language resources
    • Cristo Palabra de Vida – www.cristopalabra.net
    • Blog – cristopalabra.wels.net
    • Virtual Church – www.iglesiavirtual.wels.net
    • Upcoming chat on Reformation – October 28 @ 8 p.m.
• Of interest (47:40)
  • WELSTech Contest – Phone in your comments (414-375-2334) to this question: What digital devices do you use in your classroom or Bible class? 
    • All comments received by October 7, 2008 will be entered in a drawing for a $15 gift certificate to the WELSTech Podcast store - www.cafepress.com/welstech
  • WELSTech Wiki – Share your church media experience
• Community feedback (55:13)
  • Pastor Kevin Draper from St. John’s in Sleepy Eye, MN shared information on potential wireless microphone problems.  Listeners are invited to update the WELSTech Wiki – microphones page with additional resources on this topic.
  • Listener Ralph Miller pointed us to the multi-media Bible resource, iLumina Gold Premium Edition 
  • Pastor Steve Bauer from Faith Lutheran Church, in West Newton, PA shared links to free open source software for churches
    • Church Management
    • Worship Planning

The featured artist:

• We close with music of WELS artist, Michael Schroeder (wctc.net/~mas) - In My Life from his CD titled A Witness (59:54)

Get involved:

• Add a comment below
• E-mail: welstech@wels.net
• Voice mail: 414-375-2334
• del.icio.us tag: welstech
• Join:
  • WELSTech listserve
  • WELSTech on facebook

Our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, Gail Potratz, is back with Martin and Sallie to continue the discussion of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.  This week we focus on wiki and blog tools for education enhancement.

Listen now or download Episode 030 (50:15)

The discussion:

• Wikis and Blogs in the Classroom - Gail Potratz, Technology Coordinator at Emanual in New London, WI, joins Martin and Sallie to share her experience and ideas for bringing Web 2.0 tools into the classroom.  As we continue our discussion of this topic with Gail (previous installments during Episode 021 and Episode 025), we zero in on uses for wiki and blog tools, both for teachers and for students.
  • Wikis 
    • Gail’s sample Wikispaces.com page
    • Sample 8th grade History wiki
    • Create your own wiki
      • Wikispaces.com
      • PBwiki.com
  • Blogs
    • Video of a 1st grade teacher’s blog usage in the classroom
    • Video of a paperless high school classroom
    • Create your own blog
      • Edublog.org
      • WordPress.com

The tidbits:

• Picks of the week (25:40)
  • Create an avatar – www.voki.com
    • Sample Voki avatars used for a Spanish assignment – Link 1 | Link 2
  • Wacky Wonderful Web sites (WWWs) – www.stjohnsse.com/wwws
  • Manage multiple computers with one keyboard and mouse using Synergy
• WELS.net feature (37:29)
  • Monthly prayer calendar - www.wels.net/jump/prayer-calendar
    • August 2008 prayer calendar (PDF)
• Of interest (39:30)
  • Planning is under way for WELS International Youth Rally 2009
    • www.welsyouthrally.net  
    • Iowa State University - Ames, IA - July 8-11, 2009
    • Rally Commercial Contest
    • WELS Got Talent Contest
    • Subscribe to rally updates
• Community feedback (42:11)
  • David Scharrer of Hemlock, MI shared an idea for involving youth in loading MP3 players for shuts-ins to listen to Streams devotional podcasts
  • Cindy Krueger, member of Shepherd of the Hills in Lansing, MI, shared links to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) online training from  EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information) easi.cc and an ADA training listserve
  • Julie Duran, WELS.net webmaster, shared a link to a Lynx browser add-on that will allow users to view text versions of their links and check for accessibility 

The featured artist:

• We close with music of WELS musician, Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com) - Look Out from his CD titled Climb the Mountain (46:20)

Get involved:

• Add a comment below
• E-mail: welstech@wels.net
• Voice mail: 414-375-2334
• del.icio.us tag: welstech
• Join:
  • WELSTech listserve
  • WELSTech on facebook

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie share information on two Web 2.0 publishing tools – blogs and the Facebook social network.  Learn how you can use these tools to further your ministry efforts.

Listen now or download Episode 023 (50:24)

The discussion:

• Blogs in the Ministry - The use of blogs or personal journal web software has bridged the publishing gap for millions of people, allowing them a voice on the web.  Martin and Sallie explore blogs, pointing out free tools, sample blogs and great blog uses for ministry.
  • Free blogging tools
    • Blogger.com
    • LiveJournal.com
    • MoveableType.org
    • TypePad.com
    • WordPress.com
  • Sample blogs
    • FinalWeb - St. John’s, Sleepy Eye, Pre-K & K class updates
    • Music Technology at Winnebago Lutheran Academy
    • Sample school blogs from SupportBlogging.com
  • Read about using blogs in the classroom
    • Classroom Blogging by David Warlick
    • Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson

The interview:

• Reaching Youth on Facebook (17:55) – Pastor Peter Schmidt from Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Menomonee Falls/Germantown, WI joins Martin and Sallie to discuss his use of the social networking site Facebook to connect with the youth of his congregation.
  • www.facebook.com
  • Micro Social Networks from Time

The tidbits:

• This week’s picks (34:48)
  • Open Source Alternatives- www.osalt.com
  • Delicious Library 2 for Mac- www.delicious-monster.com
• WELS.net feature (41:12)
  • WELS Calendar - www.wels.net/jump/calendar
• Of interest (42:17)
  • Camp Phillip, Wautoma, WI – www.campphillip.com
• Community feedback (44:14)
  • Pastor James Douglas from Redeemer in Pierre, SD asked about using an older camera for streaming video and how to convert the output from analog to digital

The featured artist:

• This week we close with the music of Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com) – Paradise from his CD titled A Witness (47:20)

Get involved:

• Add a comment below
• E-mail: welstech@wels.net
• Voice mail: 414-375-2334
• del.icio.us tag: welstech
• Join:
  • WELSTech listserve
  • WELSTech on facebook