Mobile View

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

Listen now or download Episode 094 (47:16)

The discussion:

One-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.

• Wikipedia defines one-to-one computing
• Education World articles
  • One-to-One Computing Lessons Learned and Pitfalls to Avoid
  • The 411 on One-to-One Computing
• Laptop Learning Community Ning network
• ‘School of One’ Pilot from the New York Times
• I Education Apps Review
• iPod Touch Schoolwide Implementation from the Classroom 2.0 Ning network
• 1 To 1 Learning from The Coalition of Lighthouse Schools

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:

• (25:05) Account-free, simple form creation – SignAppNow.com
• Eco-friendly portable device charger – POWERSTICK from Ecosol
• Martin’s favorite Firefox add-ons in a bundle – Firefox Collection

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:

• Add a comment below
• Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net
• 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     
       

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

Listen now or download Episode 093 (53:30)

The discussion:

Preparing 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.

• For Students
  • Back to School 2009 from cnet
  • 25 Freebies for Students from Education Portal
  • 15 Must Have Web Apps for Students from The 2.0 Life
  • Office at School for Students from Microsoft
• For Parents
  • Office at School for Parents from Microsoft
• For Teachers
  • Back to School Templates from Microsoft Office Online
  • Office at School for Teachers from Microsoft
  • Back to School with Office Clip Art and Media from Microsoft
  • Free Academic Year Calendar Templates for Excel from Vertex42
  • Google Docs Education Templates from Google

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:

• (35:57) Acer K-12 Seed Netbook Program
• Safari Books Online

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:

• Add a comment below
• Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net
• 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     
       

This week on WELSTech Martin, Sallie and Gail discuss Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) and Patti Ullsperger from Lenovo updates us on exciting new classroom technology.

Listen now or download Episode 064 (1:04:14)

The discussion:

• Defining PLNs - Gail Potratz, our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent and Technology Coordinator at Emanuel in New London, joins Martin and Sallie for a look at Personal Learning Networks – what they are and how to start your own.
  • Personal Learning Networks – The Beginning from David Warlick
  • 5 Things You Can Do to Begin Developing Your Personal Learning Network from the Innovative Educator blog

The interview:

• Classroom technology by Lenovo (22:58) - Patti Ullsperger from computer maker and ShopWELS.net vendor Lenovo joins Martin and Sallie to share information on the newest technologies Lenovo offers to enhance classroom learning.
  • Lenovo deals for WELS
    • Schools
    • Churches
    • Individuals

The tidbits:

• Picks of the week (37:19)
  • Desktop app for Twitter – www.twhirl.org
    • Follow us on Twitter – gailpotratz, welstechtrainer & mspriggs
  • Presentation Mind Map by Maria Anderson – There’s more to the Web than Facebook!
    • For starters, check out the Classroom 2.0 links (Quizlet) and Supplementing Your Learning links (Wolfgram Demonstrations)
    • Listen to our interview with Maria
    • Read Maria’s blog – www.teachingcollegemath.com
    • Follow Maria on Twitter – busynessgirl
  • Exercise and nutrition with a social twist – www.gyminee.com
• New technology showcase (46:15)
  • Internet Explorer 8 – www.microsoft.com/ie8
• Community feedback (52:56)
  • The PDF conversation started in our last episode continues:
    • Joshua Schoeneck, Director of Technology at Kettle Moraine LHS, cautioned that some users don’t have the PDF reader, particularly in foreign countries
    • Perry Lund from Grace in Oskaloosa, IA shared a link to PDF Shrink, a Mac PDF tool for optimization
    • Rob Benson, our own WELS Security Administrator, agreed that free PDF solutions can solve many needs.  His comment was on Sallie’s facebook post about the podcast.  Why not share today’s podcast on your favorite social sites using the row of icons at the bottom of today’s show notes?
    • Pastor Dan Witte from Risen Savior in Lakewood Ranch, FL reminded us to consider encryption and password protection of sensitive PDF docs
  • Pastor Tim Wagner of Abiding Peace in Elgin, IL asked how to create an RSS feed of a web page that doesn’t have a feed.  Try www.ponyfish.com. 
• Coming up on WELSTech (1:00:04)
  • Episode 065 - Tune in to our April Fool’s Day broadcast for a new contest announcement and a security discussion with Rob Benson

The featured artist:

• We close with the music of WELS insrumentalist In His Service (www.adagioconcepts.com) - Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow from their fourth CD titled In Our Hearts (1:01:54)

Get involved:

• Add a comment below
• E-mail: welstech@wels.net
• Voice mail: 414-375-2334
• Add to the WELSTech wiki: welstech.wetpaint.com
• 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