2018 begins with another celebration – 10 years of WELSTech! We look back at episode one and ahead to a new year of exciting new tech and ministry ideas. Sallie has a “magic” cube that you have to see to believe, and Martin has his sights set on better mobile applications for our WELS audience.

New in 2018 – Martin and Sallie celebrate 10 years of WELSTech podcasting and talk about the year ahead. From bullet journals to grand kids to full-time RVing, the year promises to be an exciting one on the personal level.

And of course, there’s lots of exciting new technology to look forward to this year as well. Sallie shares her experience with the Merge Cube, while Martin explains PWAs (installable web sites). And the biggest news is a brand new tech skills clearing house called WELSTech Skills (skills.welstech.net). Add a listing to showcase your tech skill set and search the listings to find skilled workers.

The Verge 2017 tech report cards

Interactive Faith online Bible Study – Isaiah: God confronts and comforts his people – Missionary Daniel Habben from St. John, Antigua leads the study on Wednesday’s beginning January 10 through February 7 at 6 pm and 8 pm CST.

All-Hashtag

Learn about the latest mission developments in Latin America in the December 2017 Update, a new addition on the WELSTech Vimeo Like’s list.

Episode 531 – Tune in for the start of our January WELSTech focus – Sharpen Your Skills. Release date: Wednesday, January 10.

WELSTech closes out 2017 with a look back at some of the best of this year of 500s! From ministry resources to synod convention to paper and online planning, with two very special celebration 500 celebrations, it’s been a great year for ministry and technology.

The best – Relive the highlights of 2017 as Martin and Sallie look back at the things we’ve learned this year!

Favorite 500 events

Favorite ministry resources

Favorite interviews

Picks of the year

We close out the year with Google – Year In Search 2017.

Episode 530 – Join us for a celebration of WELSTech’s 10th anniversary. Release date: Wednesday, January 3.

Christmas week on WELSTech brings talk of new ministry efforts, planning resources and a shareable Christmas Toolkit. There’s also Christmas greetings from WELS President Mark Schroeder and a beautiful Christmas hymn from the MLC College Choir. All that goodness is wrapped in warm wishes for a blessed Christmas celebration to the WELSTech community!

Christmas interview – Pastor Donn Dobberstein talks with Martin and Sallie about his new role as Director of WELS Discipleship.

This Christmas week we gift you with not one but two special videos, new on the WELSTech Vimeo Like’s List – WELS Christmas Message 2017 from President Mark Schroeder

and Martin Luther College – College Choir singing All Praise To Thee, Eternal God.

Episode 529 – Wrap up 2017 with a look back at WELSTech’s best of 2017. Release date: Wednesday, December 27.

Friends of WELSTech should be no stranger to Trello by now. It is one of our favorite project management tools. Today Martin and Sallie walk through a likely scenario of how this powerful web application could change the way you plan and execute projects. Even if you don’t use Trello, there is plenty of great conversation about arranging meetings, versatile mice, tablets, and an impressive response from Google to a very important question!

Working the plan – Martin and Sallie pick up with part 2 of the discussion of sample ministry event planning Trello board by demonstrating the many features which can help you track your ministry tasks on Trello. They cover due dates, checklists, images, labels, attachments, filters and more!

Docs.com is going away on December 15

Doodle

Enjoy a Christmas addition to the WELSTech Music playlist on YouTube, Koine’s Mary Did You Know.

Episode 528 – WELSTech brings you a special episode for Christmas week featuring an interview with newly installed WELS Director of Discipleship, Rev. Donn Dobberstein. Release date: Wednesday, December 20.

It’s time to plan again on WELSTech! Does your organization have a good handle on all it’s events for the year? What tool would be best? In December, Martin and Sallie talk through, and give examples, of excellent tools and approaches that will have you feeling better prepared than ever to take on the events of 2018!

Proactive planning – As the new year approaches, it seems like a good time to take a broad look at the full year of activities ahead in your church or school. Martin and Sallie share a sample ministry event planning Trello board which you may copy and modify to meet your planning needs.

Christmas concert at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

The State of Chromebooks in the Office

Relive the Martin Luther College Christmas Concert.

Episode 527 – The big-picture planning discussion continues as Martin and Sallie demo the planning process using their master event Trello board. Release date: Wednesday, December 13.

Rachel Feld guest hosts this week’s WELSTech as we take a deep dive into student privacy and FERPA. There are concerts and Apple/Microsoft news and rolling robots along with a good dose of common sense in this week’s episode as well. Plus we learn about “Mobiles in Ministry” from the One Latin America mission field.

Protecting Students – As our month-long focus on digital security wraps up, Martin Luther College Professor and WELSTech semi-regular classroom technology correspondent Rachel Feld shares information on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and its impact on schools.

Common Sense Education

Learn about Student Privacy 101: FERPA for Parents and Students on the WELSTech Presentation/Teaching Videos playlist.

Episode 526 – Tune in as Martin and Sallie talk about planning for the new year using awesome tech tools. Release date: Wednesday, December 6.

This week on WELSTech we are joined by Martin Luther College Network Services members Jim Rathje and Ken Jones to understand how they help faculty, staff and students stay safe from the growing threat of phishing attacks. There is also a lot of “browser” talk. Which do you use and why?

Security superheroes – Martin Luther College Network Services Director Jim Rathje and PC guru Ken Jones share their best security advice with Martin and Sallie – “Don’t click that link!!!” Listen for how they’ve reduced phishing risk among faculty and staff with a very unique training method.

Sophos Phish Threat offer from ShopWELS

Twitter 280 Characters!

How to Pick a Browser

James Veitch’s More adventures in replying to SPAM TED talk is an entertaining look at SPAMers, with a free toaster thrown in for good measure.

This three-minute Google for Education video, Stay Safe from Phishing and Scams, is a great first step to avoiding phishing traps. You’ll find both videos on the WELSTech Presentation/Teaching Videos playlist.

Episode 525 – Security month wraps up with a discussion featuring Prof. Rachel Feld on student security and privacy. Release date: Wednesday, November 29.

This week on WELSTech, we bring in the network security experts from our own WELS Technology team for an overview of the why, what, and how of network security, cloud security, firewalls, and VPNs. There’s also an exciting conference announcement, royalty-free Christmas images and videos, and a mobile app that’s really great at social media marketing.

Networks – Networks are everywhere. Chances are you have one at home and work. How safe is it? How about your information that lives in it? We are joined by two synod employees whose job it is to keep bad guys out and help users practice safe computing. Dan Rebers and Rob Benson help us all think smartly about fortifying our networks.

iPhone X is here

Ripl – A Marketing Team in Your Pocket

Reach out to local media with tech in ministry topics – Shepherd of the Lakes, Fairmont, MN

Check out new daily video devotions from Your Time of Grace. The current series is title “Joy in Hard Places.” Watch Joy in Humility.

Episode 524 – Security month continues as we discuss phishing and virus defense with Martin Luther College Network Services personnel. Release date: Wednesday, November 22.

Wartburg image attribution: By Ingersoll – Self-photographed, Public Domain, Link

A new month of WELSTech brings a new topic…this one both timely and critical…security! How safe is your data? Who knows your password? How about your social security number? What can you do to protect yourself and your organization? We’ll talk passwords, encryption, private networks, and everything else security to help you figure out how best to protect all your stuff and yourself!

Let me in – Martin and Sallie discuss all things password – from managing passwords to two-factor-authentication to strong passwords and phrases. It’s the most important topic we all dread!

The current Interactive Faith online Bible Study, Luther’s Lasting Impact, led by Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Prof. Joel Otto, will wrap up on November 8 at 6 pm and 8 pm (central).

Writing a Password Policy

Read PC Magazine’s recently updated Best Password Managers of 2017 article and watch the embedded “How Your Password Was Stolen” video, fully of geeky goodness, Lego-style.

Following up on last week’s video selection, visit the CELC’s page on 95 Theses for the 21st Century for text versions of the statements.

Episode 523 – The security discussion turns to networks, virtual private networks (VPNs), and tunnels with WELS Technology team members Dan Rebers and Rob Benson. Release date: Wednesday, November 15.

Video month concludes on WELSTech in style with guest host Jason Schmidt and a celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, including great ministry resources for the occasion. Jason does a deep dive on his school district’s use of WeVideo, something any Chromebook enabled school might be interested in.

Student video production – Jason Schmidt, a long-time WELSTech friend, shares the hosting responsibilities on this edtech focused show as we discuss video creation in the classroom – content, software, pricing, and more.

Reformation Resources Roundup

500 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a door. 500 years later, Lutheran leaders from the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference developed a new set of 95 theses for the 21st century.

Also, tune in for the archived Reformation 500 service at Martin Luther College (service folder).

Episode 522 – The November WELSTech security focus kicks off with a discussion on password safety. Release date: Wednesday, November 8.