WELSTech Audio

This week’s WELSTech features a discussion of sharing events and announcements on your web site plus photography picks, news on upcoming events (and an iPad giveaway) and some great listener contributions.

Share the news – Martin and Sallie continue the WELSTech 2013 Summer series, Church & School Website Content, with some helpful tips on sharing news on you web site. More and more members and school parents are consuming small bits of news in a more immediate time frame than in the past. Listen for ideas on breaking up your print newsletter into smaller stories throughout the month and establishing a Communication Committee to coordinate and facilitate news reporting.

(34:04) Episode 298 – Live streaming video is the topic of next week’s chapter in the continuing summer WELSTech eBook. (Release date – 07/16/13)

(34:50) We close with the music of WELS musician and staff minister Benhur Khamrang (Reverbnation) – Our Creed

Today on the WELSTech Podcast Martin and Sallie talk about making your guests feel welcome when they visit your church and school websites. There’s a fun look at a multitasking breakthrough, news from ISTE and lots of community feedback as well.

(3:28) Chrome multitasking – You won’t want to miss the latest and greatest from Google – google.com/chrome/multitask

(5:44) About Us & Visitor’s Guide – After two episodes of Google Summit coverage, we’re back with the WELSTech 2013 Summer series – Church & School Website Content. This week Martin and Sallie tackle the important content that makes a site visitor feel welcome and want to learn more about your church or school.

(15:47) Microsoft Giving Away 10,000 Surface Tablets at ISTE

(42:59) Episode 297 – Martin and Sallie forge ahead with chapter four of our summer eBook – Events & Announcements. (Release date – 07/09/13)

(43:40) We close the podcast with the music of Dawn Michelle Williams (www.dawnmichellewilliams.com | Twitter | Facebook) – Where I Belong

On this week’s WELSTech Podcast we wrap up our coverage of the recent Google Education Summit, sharing more discussion with conference attendees as well as some tips from the “rock star” presenters who graced the stage.

More Gooogling Out – Part 2 of Martin and Sallie’s coverage of Google Education Summit, recorded at Discovery World in Milwaukee, includes interviews with attendees and shout outs from conference presenters with some of their favorite tips. Also check out photos from the Summit posted in the WELSTech Flickr group pool.

(24:48) Episode 296 – We are back in the “Church and School Website Content” summer series swing next week. Join Martin and Sallie for a discussion of the next chapter in our developing eBook on the About & What to Expect sections of your site. (Release date – 07/02/13)

Today on the WELSTech Podcast Martin and Sallie share ideas for incorporating the greatest content of all, God’s Word, into your website in chapter 2 of their summer eBook series. Martin talks “travel time” on his keyboard, of all places, and Pinterest is the grand finale.

God’s Word – The WELSTech 2013 Summer series – Church & School Website Content – continues as Martin and Sallie explore many great ways to incorporate God’s Word into your web site. If “Content is King” on websites, then God’s Word is truly the “King of Content” which can be featured there. This chapter of the eBook features a multitude of ideas to do just that – incorporating ready-to-use content from a variety of sources as well as re-purposing and creating your own Bible study materials.

(35:03) Episode 294 – WELSTech is twice as nice this week as Martin and Sallie bring you an extra podcast. Tune in Thursday for “Live from Google Summit”. (Release date – 06/20/13)

(36:13) We share the music of Michael Armstrong (pinemountainmusic.com) – The Days Of Old

Today on WELSTech Martin and Sallie begin their lite summer schedule focusing on website content. Even though the show is abbreviated, they’ll still share picks of the week and some helpful community feedback.

Home Sweet Home – Summer has officially arrived on the WELSTech Podcast as we kick off our 2013 Summer series – Church & School Website Content. Knowing that “Content is King” when it comes to websites, Martin and Sallie are dedicating the summer to sharing ideas for content to put on your site. Today we start at the very beginning with a look at your Home Page. We invite listener additions to the content we’ve come up with as critical for inclusion on your home page.

(28:55) Episode 293 – Next week we tackle installment 2 of our summer series, Church and School Website Content: God’s Word. (Release date – 06/18/13)

(29:37) We close the podcast with the music of pianist Kirk Meyer (www.kirkmeyer.com) – The King Of Love My Shepherd Is

Today on WELSTech we tackle a potentially scary topic – your brain on the Internet! David Tess joins us to calm our fears and talk about the new wiring that is going on in today’s brains. We also have a listener book review, some vacation tech ideas, a WELS.net feature and feedback from the awesome WELSTech community!

(3:21) How You Think – Professor David Tess from Wisconsin Lutheran College talks with Martin and Sallie about his upcoming presentation for the Wisconsin Lutheran Teachers’ Conference on the effect of the Internet on brain development. Different connections are made in the brain today because of the massive amounts of information that is being processed. And with all of the information coming into the brain, it is extremely hard to have deep thought processes on most of it.

(41:20) Find a church or school using the WELS Locator online or in the WELS Mobile app. It’s a good idea to verify your own church or school listing and e-mail updates or photos to [email protected].

(51:27) Episode 292 – Summer is officially ON for WELSTech next week as we kick off our summer “Church and School Website Content” series. Listen all summer as Martin and Sallie collaborate on an e-book on the topic. First up … The Home Page. (Release date – 06/11/13)

(53:12) We close the podcast with the music of Cross To Glory (www.facebook.com/crosstoglory) – One Name

This week’s WELSTech Podcast has an education focus as Jason Schmidt joins Martin and Sallie to talk about a bucket full of summer tech learning opportunities, both online and face to face. Combine that with our picks of the week, event announcements and community feedback for a show you don’t want to miss!

Kick the bucket – Jason Schmidt from Bennington ISD near Omaha, NE guests hosts with Martin and Sallie this week, and the three of us reveal our bucket list of learning goals for the summer and beyond.

(28:28) WELSTech turns 300 in just 10 short episodes. Make plans to celebrate with us as we broadcast live from Synod Convention on July 30 at 8 p.m.!

(38:46) Episode 291 – Prof. David Tess from Wisconsin Lutheran College joins Martin and Sallie to talk about what the Internet is doing to our brains. (Release date – 06/04/13)

(39:30) We close the podcast with the instrumental music of In His Service (www.adagioconcepts.com) – O Lord, Send Forth Your Spirit

Today on WELSTech we look at online, collaborative solutions for managing member and prospective member information. Sallie kicks off her very own picks of the week series geared at summer vacation, and we debut a brand new promo video for the upcoming WELSTech Camp event. All that, and the answer to your burning questions about Martin’s jet lag as well!

Software to manage your church – Keeping up with information about members and prospective members can be a huge job for church pastors, secretaries and volunteers. Now many software solutions are moving to the cloud for online sharing or data updates and inquiries. Martin and Sallie discuss a variety of considerations including, most importantly, security of your data.

(10:29) Church in the cloud – Peter Frank, Manager of Concordia Technology Solutions, talks with Martin and Sallie about one of their newest products, Church360: Members, a full-featured online church membership database. Watch for a look inside a demo installation.

(30:39) Google+ gets a feature-packaged redesign – Tips for navigating the new Google+ stream

(43:51) We hope you enjoy our promo video for the first ever WELSTech Camp unconference.  Join us September 14th at Martin Luther College. For details and tickets for this free day, visit our event wiki.

(49:11) Episode 290 – What’s on your learning bucket list? Tune in next week as Martin, Sallie and guest host Jason Schmidt share ideas for kicking that particular bucket (list). (Release date – 05/28/13)

(50:01) We close the podcast with the music of Corban Creek – Psalm 46

This week’s WELSTech Podcast spans the globe as Martin joins us from the future, 13 hours ahead in Hong Kong! We feature a wrap up of the Presentation Zen book discussion and a new “Listener Review” segment. Martin also shares his thoughts on his Windows Surface Pro tablet, which he deemed worthy of making the trip to Hong Kong.

How engaging! – Martin and Sallie reach the conclusion of our latest book discussion, Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds (garrreynolds.com | @presentationzen), with a look at techniques for engaging your audience including getting rid of barriers, having the right equipment and keeping it real.

(19:40) This week we introduce a new feature on WELSTech … Listener Reviews.

(45:30) Episode 289 – Martin and Sallie talk with Peter Frank from Concordia Technology Solutions about the online member database Church 360. (Release date – 05/21/13)

(46:46) We close the podcast with the music of Michael Schroeder (www.michaelschroeder.com and on Facebook) – Holy Holy Holy

Since it’s confirmation season, today’s WELSTech focus is keeping teens connected to the Word, and we look at ways technology may be able to assist. We also talk with Brandon Steenbock, who is serving “in the trenches” when it comes to youth ministry. There’s Google news, missionary videos and much more packed into this episode.

Relationships and Connections – Today’s youth are more plugged in than any previous generation, but before you connect in a digital fashion with them, it’s important to establish a face-to-face relationship. Martin and Sallie share ideas for making digital connections and keeping your communication safe.

(8:36) Not Just an Event Organizer – Brandon Steenbock, Youth and Family Minister at St. Paul’s in New Ulm, MN, shares his experience with Martin and Sallie. From polling youth about their preferred communication channel (Facebook, Text or E-mail) to sharing video clips as discussion starters to engaging youth in summer mission trips, Brandon has had a variety of success in connecting with youth in his congregation.

(26:30) Bible Challenge from Back to the Bible

(37:03) Check out the schedule of upcoming live streamed events including Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and Martin Luther College graduation activities

(49:27) Episode 288 – This year’s book discussion of Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds wraps up next week as we look at chapters 10 and 11 of the book. (Release date – 05/14/13)

(50:03) We close the podcast with the music of  Mike Westendorf (www.mikewestendorf.com and mikewestendorf on Twitter) – Four To Go