This week we put the finishing touches on the WELSTech self-publishing summer series with a discussion of the technical requirements to turn a book into an audio book suitable for Audible and other distribution channels. Martin finally settles on a personal, cloud-based storage solution that is easy on the pocketbook, and the WELSTech Google Group is a happening place!

Spoken book – Martin and Sallie explore audio book creation in this last installment of the summer Self-Publishing series. The Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) provides several paths for turning your book into an audio book including hiring voice talent to read your book or recording the audio yourself.

Episode 461 – Join Martin, Sallie and WELSTech Photo Challenge star Naomi Green as we kick off a new podcasting season with a discussion of photography. Release date: Wednesday, September 7

The WELSTech self-publishing efforts continue this week as Martin and Sallie successfully publish paperback and Kindle versions of the WELSTech project management book, With All Your Heart. Microsoft Word proves to be a star performer in the process, and Martin has a tip to help listeners master the finer nuances of Word. Sallie shares lots of links to help teachers add coding to their curriculum in the school year ahead.

On the road to Amazon – It’s been a busy week for Martin and Sallie as they finalized With All Your Heart, the WELSTech project management book for print and eBook publication on Amazon. Follow along as they share the challenges and lessons learned along the way.

Episode 460 – The Summer 2016 series fun concludes next week with the last installment of the WELSTech self-publishing discussion. Martin and Sallie explore creation of an audio book. Release date: Wednesday, August 31

This week on WELSTech the summer self-publishing series continues with a look at the steps to format and configure the WELSTech project management book, With All Your Heart, for print publishing. Microsoft delivers some Edge anniversary goodness, and there are three new years of Christian Worship lectionary available in the Google Calendar!

Formatting for print – Martin takes WELSTech-ers behind the scenes at CreateSpace, an Amazon company where writers can turn their digital book, in .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf format, into a printed book. From there, is should be an easy next step to post for sale in print-on-demand format on Amazon.

Episode 459 – Tune in for the last installment of the summer self-publishing series and a discussion of distribution channels. Release date: Wednesday, August 24

On WELSTech this week we kickoff the last of our Summer 2016 series. The series topic is self-publishing, and we’re using With All Your Heart, WELSTech’s book on project management, to explore the steps involved in digital, print and audio publishing. Plus, we look at the recent Pokémon GO fad and why churches and schools may want to find out more about it.

I’m swayed! – In the first of a three-part summer series on self-publishing, Marin and Sallie share the pros and cons of working with Microsoft Sway to create mobile-friendly digital eBooks.

Episode 458 – Part two of the WELSTech series on self-publishing will have Martin and Sallie exploring Create Space for on-demand print publication via Amazon. Release date: Wednesday, August 17

This week on WELSTech Rachel Pierson and Perry Lund join the conversation to talk about the ISTE conference and what’s new in educational technology. Teachers, prepare for the new school year with information that might shape how you use technology and how it might help your students learn. Plus, listen for the winners in the year-long WELSTech Photo Challenge!

Round table – Teachers and STEM enthusiasts Rachel Pierson and Perry Lund share their impressions and take-aways from the premier annual edtech conference, ISTE, which was held during June in Denver.

After an exciting year of receiving 939 photos from 40 different photographers in the WELSTech Photo Challenge, Martin and Sallie announce the winners of the fabulous Photo Challenge prizes:

Episode 457 – Join Martin and Sallie for the kick-off of our final summer series which will focus on self-publishing. Release date: Wednesday, August 10

This week on WELSTech we complete our month-long look at security with a discussion of security policies – not the most exciting topic…until you wish you had them! We take a quick look at some of the ones most churches and schools should have. Sallie shows off a cool new forms tool, while Martin gives a thumbs up to the Apple Watch.

Security Policies – Clearly communicating and enforcing technology behavior expectations to those who work, volunteer and attend your church and school is the topic du jour.

Episode 456 – Two things you won’t want to miss on next week’s show – an ISTE round table recap from several who attended this summers’ conference and the announcement of three WELSTech Photo Challenge prize winners. Release date: Wednesday, August 3

This week on WELSTech we explore computer viruses and hoaxes as well as behavioral and software protection steps you can take to avoid falling prey to them. Martin shares a new challenge he’s part of, and we hear from listeners on everything from secure web sites to online manuals.

Virus Protection – Martin and Sallie discuss today’s phishing and social engineering hoaxes and the defense systems needed to avoid falling prey to them on your computer.

Episode 455 – Next week we close out the WELSTech security series with a discussion of all types of security policies. Release date: Wednesday, July 27

WELSTech is back with week 2 of our summer series all about security. This week we share a lengthy list of tools to assist with the important backup function. And we share a fun photo shout out from our edtech (a.k.a., teacher) friends at ISTE2016 in Denver.

Backups – Imagine trying to recover from the loss of your personal or work computer or mobile device. And then imagine how happy you will be if you have backups of your important data. Martin and Sallie share resources to help you set up a backup security blanket for your important data.

Episode 454 – The security series continues with a discussion of online threats and virus protection. Release date: Thursday, July 21

WELSTech kicks off the second of our summer series this week. During the month of July, the discussions will be all about security. For starters, we share tips and tools for securely managing your growing list of passwords including the use of password managers, taking the extra step of authentication and how to provide access to your accounts when you are gone.

Passwords – There aren’t many who don’t have a love/hate relationship with their passwords, and most lean heavily to the side of hate. Let Martin and Sallie motivate you to use good password hygiene and supply you with tools to make managing your passwords easy and secure.

This month’s WELSTech Photo Challenge is summer, outreach and Isaiah 52:7. Visit the challenge album!

Episode 453 – There’s no better time than now to setup a backup system for your important files. Tune in as Martin and Sallie tell you how. Release date: Wednesday, July 13

The month-long WELSTech series on “mobile ministry” concludes this week with some considerations for your growing digital audience of mobile device users. Are you serving up a great web experience for those smartphone and tablet users? We discuss a number of tools and templates that will help you to do just that.

Responsive design – Martin and Sallie finish up the June focus on mobile ministry with a discussion of web design that looks good on every screen size.

Read about Naomi Green’s contributions to the WELSTech Photo Challenge in the July issue of Forward in Christ magazine, page 22 (sneak peek).

Episode 452 – In July we’ll be talking about all aspects of online security, and we plan to start the conversation next week with a discussion on a topic we all know and love, passwords. Release date: Wednesday, July 6