080 – WELS.net Goes Web 2.0

This week on the WELSTech podcast we look at the strategic use of Web 2.0 tools on both WELS.net and the Camp Phillip web site.

Listen now or download Episode 080 (1:10:44)

The discussion:

Leveraging the read/write web - As WELS.net migrates from a custom Content Management System (CMS) to the more mainstream, open-source CMS, Drupal, several WELS.net resources are also migrating to Web 2.0 sites.  Martin and Sallie discuss the logic behind going public with WELS resources versus hosting them locally in a “walled garden” and how congregations and schools might take advantage of a similar strategy.

The interview:

Aaron Wakeman and family(19:26) Sending the stories home - Camp Phillip Development Director, Aaron Wakeman, joins Martin and Sallie to share some creative ways they use technology to share the stories of camp near and far.

New Technology Showcase:

(36:00) Acrobat.com - Adobe’s slick answer to Google Docs

Picks of the week:

Of interest:

(49:50) Follow the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) – Even if you aren’t in attendance, you can take advantage of all of the great online resources which are available

Community feedback:

  • (53:36) Following up on our BWTG: Google Calendar episode, we heard from Pastor Brian Hackmann from Peace in Eagle River, AK with several questions related to the calendar embed options, and also Jason Petoskey, a member of Holy Trinity in Wyoming, MI, tweeted his success of embedding a Google Calendar into his FinalWeb church web site
  • Jason Schmidt from Gethsemane in Omaha, NE sent us a link to YouMail.com which can receive and transcribe your voice mail and even has a few interesting twists for customizing voice mail.  Martin shared that he has used Jott.com in the past for voice transcribed reminder messages but is now using Reqall.com as a free alternative.
  • David Schumann, webmaster from Peace in Janesville, WI, raised concerns about posting children’s photos online.  We’ll dedicate a future podcast to this topic.
  • And lastly we heard from Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI with follow up comments about her picks (ShareThis and GroupTweet) on last week’s show. We’d also love to hear from you!! Leave us a voice mail @ 414-375-2334.

Coming up on WELSTech:

(1:04:01) Tune in for a double scoop of WELSTech summer audio next week:

  • Episode 081 - We’ll share a little “Bonus WELSTech Goodness” (BWTG) on how-to create a Facebook fan page for your organization (Release date 07/06/09)
  • Episode 082 - The “normal” WELSTech episode will look at tech tools for the small world in which we live, a discussion based on Chapter 9 of Clay Shirky’s book, Here Comes Everybody.  Also included will be an interview with someone from ProCare Software, an information management system for daycares. (Release date 07/08/09)

The featured artist:

(1:05:36) The music of WELS artist Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com) closes this week’s podcast – We hear John 3:16 from his CD titled ”A Witness”

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057 – Are You a Media Outlet

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie discuss the effects on gospel outreach of the shift from traditional mass media to individual self-publication via the web.

Listen now or download Episode 057 (42:11)

The discussion:

The tidbits:

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com) – Press On from his CD titled Climb The Mountain (38:50)

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Episode 050 – Dec 17 2008

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie look at the ease of group formation in a Web 2.0 world as they continue their discussion of Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody.  They also clean out the WELSTech mail bag.

Listen now or download Episode 050 (1:01:20)

The discussion:

The tidbits:

  • Community feedback – Cleaning out the WELSTech mail bag!(31:00)
    • Call for a web developer posted on the WELSTech facebook group by Carol Restovic
    • Following up on the Content Management System discussion in Episode 047, John Simonson from Good Shepherd in West Bend, WI shared links to tools to enhance blogging with WordPress and TypePad
    • Following up on Episode 045, George Efsen asked how to find the interview segment about Search Engine Optimization.  Time markers for all WELSTech episodes are included in the show notes.
    • David Savatski recommended box.net for online storage and group collaboration
    • John Shoosmith of Redeemer in Yakima, WA shared several comments
    • Alyssa Dunning shared a link to digsby.com – useful for aggregating your web presence including instant messaging, e-mail and social networks
    • Closing the loop on a question we received in Episode 033 from Pastor John Maasch of Peace in Bradenton, FL – WELS Worship has published the current lectionary series in “ical” format for importing into your calendaring software – in the “Lectionary Planning” folder
    • Our occasional guest host, Gail Potratz, from Emanuel in New London, WI shared a link to David Warlick’s School Acceptable Use Policy wiki
    • Richard Travis from Divine Peace in Garland, TX is using FlashPoint to convert PowerPoint files to Flash format for their church web site
  • Coming up on WELSTech (56:01)
    • Episode 051 - A special treat for Christmas Eve – We’ll talk with WELS President Mark Schroeder
  • WELS.net feature (57:15)

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS artist, Michael Schroeder (michaelschroeder.com) - What Child Is This from his CD titled The Reason For the Season (57:48)

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Episode 049 – Dec 10 2008

This week on WELSTech Martin and Sallie take a look at chapter one of Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody.  Ray Brown joins the conversation to share how he uses video e-mail for outreach and congregational communication.

Listen now or download Episode 049 (1:01:18)

The discussion:

  • Harnessing the power of groups - Martin and Sallie kick off a discussion of the book Here Comes Everybody – The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky with a look at the concepts presented in the first chapter. The author uses a true story of a ”one-person media outlet” to illustrate how easily groups can form on the Internet and the power these groups can yield.  Based on these concepts, the discussion shifts to how the church will be affected by these types of groups and also how it can make use of the ease of group formation to effectively carry out ministry.

The interview:

  • Ray BrownVideo e-mail (22:33) -  Ray Brown, Congregational Assistant from Summerlin Lutheran in Las Vegas, NV, joins Martin and Sallie to share information on their use of video e-mail as a communication tool to members and prospects.

The tidbits:

  • Picks of the week (43:27)
    • Create a flash scrapbook for your church or school web site – ScrapBlog.com
    • Windows Live SkyDrive – 25 Gb of “in the cloud” online storage
  • WELS.net feature (50:05)
  • Community feedback (51:42)
  • Coming up on WELSTech (52:47)
    • Episode 050 - We’ll discuss Chapter 2 of Here Comes Everybody and open our mail bag to share loads of community feedback

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of WELS pianist, Dawn Gehlhar - Carol of the Bells from her CD titled Christmas Dreams (54:35)

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Episode 048 – Dec 3 2008

This week on WELSTech we are joined by Gail Potratz, our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, and we take a look at the skills our students need to succeed in the Web 2.0 world.

Listen now or download Episode 048 (42:52)

The discussion:

The tidbits:

The featured artist:

  • We close with music of Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Revelation music ministry (www.revelationwlc.com) - I’m Free from their Led by Light CD (40:42)

Get involved:

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