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

This week on WELSTech we share ideas for structuring the menu of your church web site, incorporating the web site content we’ve shared throughout our summer eBook series. There’s also discussion of the rapidly approaching WELSTech Camp plus Sallie is broadcasting from a new location.

Church Site Menus – Martin and Sallie are nearing the end of the summer eBook, Church & School Website Content, so the discussion focus shifts to tying together the individual content pieces we’ve explored previously into a neat and tidy web site structure. Listen for ideas for starting a brand new web site as well as ideas to take a basic site to the next level.

(26:02) WELSTech Camp is coming up on September 14 at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. Register and attend the free event to be in the drawings for a Mimio Teach Bar ($800 value) and 16GB iPad ($500 value)!!

(36:50) Episode 305 – Tune in next week for ideas on structuring the menu system of your school and classroom web sites in chapter 11 of our summer Church and School Website Content eBook series. (Release date – 09/03/13)

(37:58) We close with the music of Stephen Bautista (www.stephenbautistamusic.com or stephenbautista on Twitter) – You Never Did

Tune in to WELSTech this week for a discussion of the many types of documents you should consider housing on your church or school web site. And we know you’ve been waiting on the edge of your seat to to find out how Martin fared in the Hong Kong typhoon.

Documents – Martin and Sallie take a look at the many important documents that can be shared on a church or school web site in this week’s chapter of our summer eBook, Church & School Website Content. The discussion covers considerations for document formats and organization as well.

(23:10) WELSTech Camp is coming up on September 14 at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. Besides the great discussions, we’re planning a fun SCVNGR hunt and a Chapel of the Christ tour. Register and attend the free event to be in the drawings for a Mimio Teach Bar ($800 value) and 16GB iPad ($500 value)!!

(35:08) Episode 304 – Next week we shift gears with chapter 10 of our summer Church and School Website Content eBook series as we take a broader look at all of the components to include in a basic church web site. (Release date – 08/27/13)

(27:55) This week we close with the music of Revelation, a music ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran College (www.revelationwlc.com) – You Are the God

On WELSTech this week we continue our summer eBook series with a discussion of adding great content from other sites to your church and school web site. Martin is on the other side of the world, broadcasting from Hong Kong yet again, but the magic of technology makes him seem right next door.

Really Simple Syndication – This week’s eBook chapter of Church & School Website Content spotlights the wealth of great content that can be easily and dynamically displayed on church and school sites using RSS technology. Spanning the globe and the calendar, Martin – from Hong Kong where he is anticipating a typhoon – and Sallie share links to lots of great sites with RSS feeds.

(18:50) WELSTech Camp is coming up on September 14 at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. Register and attend the free event to be in the drawings for a Mimio Teach Bar ($800 value) and 16GB iPad ($500 value)!!

(27:15) Episode 303 – Newsletters and bulletins and supply list, oh my! Next week on WELSTech we look at the documents that should be available on your church and school website as we continue the summer Church and School Website Content eBook series. (Release date – 08/20/13)

(27:55) This week we close WELSTech with the music of Cross To Glory (www.facebook.com/crosstoglory) – Rescued

This week on WELSTech we discuss ideas for gathering data with forms on your church or school web site, and our listeners come through with a wealth of feedback on everything from iPad protection to Chromebook deployment in schools. Plus Martin has a new gadget to unbox!

2-way conversation – Gather information from your web site visitors using the innovative ideas in this week’s installment of our WELSTech summer series,  Church & School Website Content. Martin and Sallie share ideas for forms and a strategy for designing and implementing them.

(20:55) WELSTech Camp is coming up on September 14 at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. Register and attend the free event to be in the drawings for a Mimio Teach Bar ($800 value) and 16GB iPad ($500 value)!!

(33:40) Episode 302 – Coming soon to a summer series eBook near you, Martin and Sallie share ideas for enhancing your church or school web site with great content from across the web via RSS technology. (Release date – 08/13/13)

(34:40) This week we close WELSTech with the music of Kevin Loersch – Blest Be The Tie That Binds