Jason Schmidt returns to WELSTech for another season of educational technology guest host appearances, and this week the topic is interactive whiteboard options. Martin and Sallie chime in with their usual tips, picks and community feedback round up. Plus this week you’ll want to grab the free Reformation instrumental download from Timothy Moke.

Interactive Whiteboards – SMART Boards may be the industry standard for interactive whiteboards (IWB), but they aren’t the only player on the field. Guest host Jason Schmidt joins Martin and Sallie for our edtech discussion of IWB alternatives.

(16:30) Mimio Teach Bar – Tim Franke, a territory manager for Mimio, chats with Martin and Sallie about the versatile Mimio Teach Bar which transforms an existing whiteboard into a cost-effective solution for interactive whiteboard technology.

(49:55) Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary will celebrate their 150th anniversary with festival worship on November 17 at 3 and 7 p.m. Tune in for live streaming of the 3 p.m. service.

(56:14) Episode 315 – Martin and Sallie continue the discussion of our current WELSTech book discussion, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr. Read along with us as we discuss chapter 5. (Release date – 11/12/13)

(56:51) This week only, download a free music single from WELS musician Timothy Moke (www.jeanninedennis.com/moke/) – A Mighty Fortress

We’re talking tech-in-ministry as usual on WELSTech this week, but the conversation is extra special since Martin and Sallie are in the same location for today’s recording. Tune in for a multitude of tips and tricks as well as techie travel recommendations, a special flyover video, and a free music download from a new WELS artist.

Live from the CMM – It’s rare that the WELSTech Podcast team is together for recording in the same location, so today’s show is a real treat. Watch as Martin and Sallie dig through their travel bags to share their must-have techie gadgets for going on the road.

(46:52) Episode 314 – It’s edtech week on WELSTech as Martin and Sallie are joined by our semi-regular guest host, Jason Schmidt, and we talk about alternatives to SMART Boards. (Release date – 11/05/13)

(47:35) This week only, download a free music single from WELS artists Chris Driesbach (chrisdriesbach.com) and Stephen Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com) – Just A Nobody

Martin and Sallie welcome guest host Aaron Spike to this week’s WELSTech as we discuss accessibility to the web for all people in all context. Listen also for info on a new mobile version of the Small Catechism and a source for free graphics for your web site, plus much more.

Accessible for Everyone  – Aaron Spike from New Ulm, MN guest hosts on today’s show and joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the important, yet often overlooked, topic of web site accessibility. The topic encompasses many aspects of web design and can seem overwhelming at times, but simple webmaster habits such as always adding meaningful “alt” tags for images can have a huge impact on the usability of your site for all audiences.

(54:24) Episode 313 – Next week Martin and Sallie are face-to-face for a WELSTech recording from the Center for Mission and Ministry in Waukesha, WI, and we’ll open our bags to share the techie items we pack for traveling. (Release date – 10/29/13)

(55:38) This week only, download a free music single from WELS artist Michael Armstrong (pinemountainmusic.com) – Made In The Image

Join us for “giveaway Tuesday” on WELSTech as we discuss the free WELS Mobile app plus another great WELSTech prize you can win. The show is packed with resources, and we even share our first-ever free MP3 download of a WELS artist’s song.

Surf WELS on your mobile device – We are excited to welcome to the show today the developer of the WELS Mobile app, Martin Spriggs. Martin takes us on an app tour using the Ripple mobile device emulator.

3 Ways to Get the App:

(28:08) Sallie reviews the iPhone 5s

(53:45) Live stream of the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Anniversary Festival Service – November 17 at 3 p.m. CST

(1:04:17) Episode 312 – In a show every webmaster should tune in for, Martin, Sallie and guest host Aaron Spike explore the topic of web accessibility. (Release date – 10/22/13)

(1:05:22) This week only, download a free music single from WELS artist Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com and mikewestendorf on Twitter) – Come

Tune in to today’s WELSTech for the next chapters of our regular book discussion (we’ll settle the blockhead debate once and for all) as well as a shiny tech giveaway announcement, a free digital magazine and much more.

Historic brain change – Today Martin and Sallie revisit this season’s book discussion selection, The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. In chapters 2-4 the author takes a historic look at the introduction of clocks to society as well as the shift from oral to written communication. The changes in human behavior that occurred because of these historic events support the fairly recent understanding of the malleable or plastic characteristics of God’s amazing creation, our brain, which allows it to change in response to new influences.

(24:19) Church Juice – Ways to Improve Your Church Bulletin

(26:55) Share your review of software, hardware or web sites which assist with your personal or professional ministry efforts, and you will ll be entered to win a Nexus 7 tablet. Deadline for entry is May 31, 2014.

(46:15) Forward in Christ magazine has gone digital! Try it out for free through the end of the year.

(54:13) Episode 311 – Next week join Martin and Sallie as we tour the many features of the WELS Mobile App. (Release date – 10/15/13)

(58:04) Beginning next week we’ll share a free song from a WELS artist for download each week.

This week’s WELSTech has a special events focus as we discuss ways to plan for events and interview Pastor Jon Hein about promotional resources for this Christmas season available through WELS’ C13 program. Sallie shares her Pinterest-inspired PVC laptop stand and Martin reviews a new Android phone.

Special Events – Martin and Sallie discuss the important stages of planning for special events at church and school including the role of a communication committee, tips for tracking the planning process and special promotional ideas.

(15:57) C13 – Pastor Jon Hein from Beautiful Savior in Summerville, SC and newly-minted Director of the synod’s Congregational Counseling Committee (CCC) joins Martin and Sallie to discuss the work of his committee over the next two years as well as the specific resources available to assist congregations as they plan for Christmas 2013 (C13) worship and outreach.

(30:47) Multi-media church resource sites:

(32:52) Martin reviews the Moto X smartphone

(53:40) MLC Ladies Auxiliary – October 5, 2013

(1:01:44) Episode 310 – Hit the books next week with WELSTech. We’ll discuss chapter 2 of The Shallows by Nicholas Carr and find out if Martin’s head is made of concrete. (Release date – 10/08/13)

(1:02:15) We close today’s WELSTech with the instrumental music of In His Service (www.adagioconcepts.com) – Jesus Lover of My Soul

This week’s WELSTech features our monthly education-focused discussion as we hear from guest host Gail Potratz about the joys and some challenges of administering and implementing Chromebooks. Gail has unique insight as she has entered her second year of administering Chromebooks on her campus.

A veteran with Chromebooks – Martin and Sallie welcome back our semi-regular classroom technology correspondent, Gail Potratz, from Emanuel in New London, WI, and she shares her experience with Google Chromebooks year-2 implementation. Listen for tricks that help teachers share documents with students and comment in-line on student’s work. Consistency is key!

(25:22) Heritage and Hope: Celebrating 150 Years at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

(45:45) Software Engineer/Programmer position at the Center for Mission and Ministry (CMM)

(59:25) Episode 309 – Next week join Martin and Sallie as we tour the many features of the WELS Mobile App. (Release date – 10/01/13)

(1:00:05) We close today’s WELSTech with the music of Joey Schumann and the Lutheran Ceili Orchestra (JoeySchumann.com | Joey on Facebook) – A Mighty Fortress

WELSTech Camp 2013 is just a memory at this point, and this episode of WELSTech is dedicated to recapping the big moments from the event. Martin and Sallie, along with 101 WELSTech-ers of all flavors, gathered on Saturday to talk about the many facets of tech in ministry (and to have coffee). Today’s show features a recap of the highlights as well as interviews with attendees.

Afterglow – Martin and Sallie discuss the first-ever WELS unconference event, including the challenges around organizing the suggested topics into a working schedule for the day, the most popular topics (would you be surprised if we told you Google was in the title of several sessions) and the joy one MLC student experienced when we handed her a brand new iPad!

(13:02) “What did you learn today?” – Videos of attendees are incorporated in the episode.

(18:43) Thanks Brent Nemmers for pointing us to this Microsoft announcement that Office 365 is now available for FREE for non-profits!

(41:10) Episode 308 – Gail Potratz from Emanuel in New London, WI is back, filling the seat of WELSTech’s semi-regular classroom technology correspondent. Tune in for a discussion of Gail’s “Year 2” experience with Chromebooks. (Release date – 09/24/13)

(41:54) We  close the podcast with the music of Corban Creek – Psalm 13

Things are changing on today’s WELSTech as we kick off our newest book discussion selection. During the school year we’ll be talking about a chapter a month of Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Also new this fall is a weekly tech tip from Martin and Sallie plus a renewed focus on ministry resources.

Book discussion kick off – It’s back to the regular WELSTech schedule this week as Martin and Sallie begin the discussion of this season’s book discussion selection, The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. Today’s discussion kicked off with a video overview of the book (6:15), and continued with a look at the prologue and chapter 1.

The author describes the change to “staccato”, internet-speed thinking, and the move away from deep comprehension. It seems that actually reading the book will be a worthy challenge to our digitized brains.

(21:02) We’re rebooting our Ministry Resources segment and looking for WELSTech listener assistance to share many tech-in-ministry ideas. Martin promises a prize drawing next spring for those who submit comments. Let the sharing begin!

(42:05) Even if you can’t attend this weekend’s WELSTech Camp in person, you can follow the live streaming and group collaborative notes. Find links posted on the WELSTech Camp wiki.

(48:45) Episode 307 – Tune in for special coverage of the first ever WELSTech live event. We’ll bring you the best of the discussions and activities from WELSTech Camp 2013. (Release date – 09/17/13)

(49:05) We close this week’s WELSTech with the music of Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com and on Facebook) – A Friend of Mine

School and classroom web sites are the topic of today’s WELSTech. We cover the basics of what belongs on a school site from the start and share ideas of things to add to the site to take it to the next level. For the classroom, we discuss the use of student blogs and social classroom management sites as well.

School and Classroom Sites – We made it to the last full chapter of our summer eBook, Church & School Website Content. This week Martin and Sallie tie things up for school and classroom pages with recommendations for basic and advanced school related content as well as supplemental sites that may serve as all or part of a classroom site.

(28:39) WELSTech Camp is coming up on September 14 at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. Registration has been extended until September 6 so there is still time to attend and possibly win a Mimio Teach Bar ($800 value) or 16GB iPad ($500 value)!!

(41:56) Episode 306 – As the summer Church and School Website Content eBook series draws to a conclusion our new book discussion series kicks off and you’re invited to read along with Martin and Sallie. This year’s book will be The Shallows by Nicholas Carr.  (Release date – 09/10/13)

(44:40) We close with the music of  Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com and mikewestendorf on Twitter) – Blessed Is The One