WELS

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Channel • 6 Shows

Christianity

Christianity

Updated weekly
Christianity

Christianity

Updated weekly
Christianity

Christianity

Updated daily
Christianity

Christianity

Every two weeks
Christianity

Christianity

Updated daily
Christianity

Christianity

Updated twice weekly

19/09/2025

759 – Academic Integrity

WELSTech is back with an unexpected AI buzz word discussion that’s a hot topic in schools right now – Academic Integrity. Jason and Rachel return bringing videos, gems, and flow to the podcast. Plus, there’s a new tech-enabled look at WELS 10-year strategic plan. Your earbuds are waiting! The discussion AI using AI – Martin and Sallie are joined by Dr. Rachel Renno, Director of Academic Computing for Martin Luther College, and Jason Schmidt, Director of Technology for Oshkosh (WI) Area School District to discuss the other “AI,” academic integrity in an artificial intelligence world. Teachers got mad about a cheat button in Chrome. Now Google’s pausing it. Pangram Grammarly’s Authorship Sample Student AI usage policy for WELS Lutheran schools MLC AI Usage Guidelines Faculty Student Ministry resource Bible Lessons Media Resources Picks of the week Notebook LM Video Overview – Example Google Gemini Storybook Gem – Example – featuring anime Jason & Rachel What’s new in K-2 Recent newsletter issue Canva Teacher Planner Templates by Teach Cheat Subscribe Wispr Flow Community feedback ChristThroughUs.net – Learn more about WELS 10-year strategic plan Get involved Add comments Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net Join the WELSTech community: WELSTech Google Group WELSTech on Facebook WELSTech on Pinterest WELSTech on Instagram Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation Follow us on Twitter – welstech, mspriggs and salliedraper Share with the Diigo group welstech

19/09/2025

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53 min
07/08/2025

756 – 10 SMART Goals

The WELSTech summer tips and tricks keep coming with this week’s rundown of church marketing ideas courtesy of Grace Ungemach. Set a goal and see what changes may take place in your outreach efforts. Sallie’s got new hardware, Martin has a new Inbox, and WELS Intersections is talking about church communication guidelines. You don’t want to miss this jam-packed episode! The discussion Get SMART – Martin and Sallie’s discussion springboards off of a recent newsletter article titled 10 SMART goals for church marketing by Grace Ungemach at lutheran.marketing. From avatars to Instagram, email opens to runways, you are sure to find at least one goal to adopt, personalize for your church or school, and learn from. Picks of the week Square payment processing and Square Reader Trello Inbox Community feedback & events Sample Church Communication Guide (WOW!) ELS video series Do You Have a Pastor? Next time Out tips & tricks summer series wrap-up Get involved Add comments Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net Join the WELSTech community: WELSTech Google Group WELSTech on Facebook WELSTech on Pinterest WELSTech on Instagram Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net Contribute to the #WELSTech X conversation Follow us on X – welstech, mspriggs and salliedraper Share with the Diigo group welstech

07/08/2025

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39 min
22/08/2025

757 – Cybersecurity Tips

How vulnerable is your church or school to hacking? On this episode of WELSTech learn why vigilant training on threat avoidance is important in ministry settings and find links to available (and many times free) resources to assist with those efforts. Sallie shares a family friendly YouTube channel and Martin has some hardware to detect those pesky leaks. The discussion “The single most hackable piece of any computer system is, unfortunately, the people.” – Cybersecurity Basics for Churches from Concordia Technology Solutions The weakest link – Martin and Sallie share ideas regarding church and school digital security and ongoing training. WELSTech Google Group discussion KnowBe4 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Center for Development of Security Excellence (CDSE) SANS Institute National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – free content Infosec CyberNut Identity Theft Sermon Introduction Picks of the week Ryan Trahan’s 50 States in 50 Days family-friendly YouTube series Third Reality Water Leak Sensor Next time A new season of WELSTech begins Get involved Add comments Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net Join the WELSTech community: WELSTech Google Group WELSTech on Facebook WELSTech on Pinterest WELSTech on Instagram Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net Contribute to the #WELSTech X conversation Follow us on X – welstech, mspriggs and salliedraper Share with the Diigo group welstech

22/08/2025

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40 min
24/07/2025

755 – Social Media Graphics That Matter

Tune in to WELSTech 755 for a discussion on church social media graphics, including examples and templates to follow. Martin shares his latest gadget pick, plus we talk about a Facebook guide on branding your digital community. The discussion Why Social Media Graphics Matter – Martin and Sallie discuss the ins and outs of social media graphics, including keeping it simple, being consistent, using branding, and templating the designs. Designing Church Social Media Graphics 101 from Concordia Technology Solutions Example Instagram account from Illume Church (WELS), Seattle, WA How to create your own set of social media templates from Grace Ungemach’s lutheran.marketing weekly newsletter Example Canva template Picks of the week Canva Templates for Churches Anker USB C Adapters Community feedback & events WELS Intersections on Facebook Branding Your Community from Facebook Next time See you in August for more tips & tricks! Get involved Add comments Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net Join the WELSTech community: WELSTech Google Group WELSTech on Facebook WELSTech on Pinterest WELSTech on Instagram Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net Contribute to the #WELSTech X conversation Follow us on X – welstech, mspriggs and salliedraper Share with the Diigo group welstech

24/07/2025

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29 min
29/08/2025

758 – A Season of AI

The first episode of the 2025-26 season of WELSTech is unlocked! Martin and Sallie kick off with a Lutheran-flavored AI theme for the season and share resources to assist with school AI policies. Sallie has a random pick of the week, and Martin shared Gmail keyboard shortcuts. All this and more. Let’s go! The discussion A place of AI – Martin and Sallie kick off a new season of WELSTech under the theme AI: What does this mean? First up is a look at school guidelines and policies around AI. Feel free to make copies of the shared resource documents and edit them to meet the needs of your school. New AI resource page New shared Google Drive WELSTech Google Group AI label Ministry Resource Save the shortcut link to our WELSTech AI series – welstech.wels.net/ai Picks of the week RandomQuestionMaker.com Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts Community feedback & events Solutions for managing multiple announcement screens – from the WELSTech Google Group Get involved Add comments Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net Join the WELSTech community: WELSTech Google Group WELSTech on Facebook WELSTech on Pinterest WELSTech on Instagram Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net Contribute to the #WELSTech X conversation Follow us on X – welstech, mspriggs and salliedraper Share with the Diigo group welstech

29/08/2025

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31 min
17/05/2025

750 – A Season of SAMR

The WELSTech co-hosts for all things edtech are driving this episode as we wrap up our SAMR focus with how it assists education leaders. We also introduce the AI Assessment Scale, a tool for clearly stating acceptable levels of AI use. Rachel has new headphones for “weird” ears that don’t like earbuds, and Jason shares a tool that uses AI to create individual student feedback. Bonus: It’s also a time-saver for teachers. The discussion SAMR and Leadership – We close out our season-long look at the SAMR framework for education technology integration with our favorite edtech gurus, Dr. Rachel Renno, Director of Academic Computing for Martin Luther College, and Jason Schmidt, Director of Technology for Oshkosh (WI) Area School District. School leaders may find policy creation and maintenance challenging, but policies are definitely worth the effort as they provide needed structure to make decision making easier. And while a dedicated AI policy may not be needed, incorporating AI guidelines into standard policies – Acceptable Use, Academic Integrity, Data Privacy, etc. – is wise. Advancing AI Education for American Youth Executive Orders – April 23, 2025 Jason’s Google Deep research results on AI in WELS Schools AI Assessment Scale – Build transparency around the use of AI Ministry resource Free AI Assessment Scale eBook by Leon Fruze – Over 50 assessment ideas Picks of the week Shokz – Bone conduction open-ear headphones Snorkl – AI student feedback Next time Pastor Nate Seiltz from WELS Multi-Language Productions shares stories of AI music creation. Get involved Add comments Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net Join the WELSTech community: WELSTech Google Group WELSTech on Facebook WELSTech on Pinterest WELSTech on Instagram Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation Follow us on Twitter – welstech, mspriggs and salliedraper Share with the Diigo group welstech

17/05/2025

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37 min
11/12/2025

765 – Christmas Coloring

‘Tis the WELSTech Christmas season! Join us for a giveaway announcement that involves the good news of Christmas, coloring books, and AI. You could win a fun WELS item while you exercise your AI skills. Christmas concerts, anniversary offerings, travel apps, managing your smart home, and free EDU GPT round out this episode. Let’s goooo! The discussion Celebrating in color – Martin and Sallie are collocated, Christmas-color coordinated, and collaborating on a coloring project. Everyone is invited to participate in an AI experiment, creating Christmas-related coloring pages which we’ll compile into a sharable book. Send your entries to welstech@wels.net, and we’ll choose a random contributor to receive some sweet WELS swag! Try this prompt: A black and white coloring page for kids of [YOUR TOPIC], thick lines, white background, no shading, no grey scale, simple vector style. Microsoft Designer Adobe Express Coloring Page Generator ColorBliss.art Crayola Color Camera Ministry resource WELS Christmas Concert details – wels.net/events WELS 175th Anniversary – Special Offering Picks of the week iExit Hubitat Community feedback Chat GPT is free for teachers until June 2027 Learn more from Tom’s Guide Next time Melanie Giddings, Curriculum Coordinator from the Lutheran Schools office, shares details on this important work. Get involved Add comments Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net Join the WELSTech community: WELSTech Google Group WELSTech on Facebook WELSTech on Pinterest WELSTech on Instagram Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation Follow us on Twitter – welstech, mspriggs and salliedraper Share with the Diigo group welstech

11/12/2025

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25 min
09/05/2024

724 – Getting Started with AI

On this episode of WELSTech we finish our book discussion of The AI Classroom with a focus on school leadership’s role in shaping AI policy, curriculum, and usage. Along with edtech gurus Rachel and Jason, we share oodles of AI tools, events, and news, plus some non-AI tech topics including cybersecurity, end of school-year activities, and iPads. The discussion Leading School AI – We wrap up this season’s WELSTech book discussion of The AI Classroom: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education, looking at Part 4 of the book – The AI Horizon. Rachel Feld and Jason Schmidt join the conversation and agree on way more than normal! Ministry resource AI Guidance For Schools Toolkit from TeachAI.org Should K-12 Leaders Make AI Education Mandatory in Schools? Bringing AI To School: Tips for School Leaders from ISTE Picks of the week SchoolAI.com Assistants CyberSecurityRubric.org Monday, May 13 is DayOfAI.org End of the Year THRIVE-al (Not Survival) Guide – from Ditch That Textbook Apple iPad Press and hold YouTube for 2x speed Community feedback & events Recent AI in Education headlines Is It Fair and Accurate for AI to Grade Standardized Tests? – from EdSurge Newark Public School awards $12M contract for new AI camera system aimed at keeping schools safe – from Chalkbeat Los Angeles School District Launched a Splashy AI Chatbot. What Exactly Does It Do? – from EdSurge Why AI celebrities are teaching kids math and physics – from Freethink Next time We’ll celebrate Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Assignment Day with Senior Seminarian Silas Dose discussing his thesis topic – Here Be Dragons: Fantasy, Escapism, and a Christian Response. Get involved Add comments Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net Join the WELSTech community: WELSTech Google Group WELSTech on Facebook WELSTech on Pinterest WELSTech on Instagram Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation Follow us on Twitter – welstech, mspriggs and salliedraper Share with the Diigo group welstech

09/05/2024

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55 min
25/04/2024

723 – Time Blocking

We’re back with another episode of WELSTech starring your handy, dandy calendar. Learn all about time blocking and how it can boost your productivity. We discuss an interactive book creation tool that looks like fun for the classroom and a simple but effective task manager which might be in your pocket right now. We also celebrate a new grandson for one of your “Awesome” WELSTech hosts! The discussion Work Your Calendar – Martin and Sallie discuss a key tool for productivity, your calendar. Specifically, the topic is using your calendar to set up blocks of time to focus on specific tasks you need to accomplish. Mix in a bit of self-discipline, and this method could be a ticket to more productive days! The Complete Guide to Time Blocking – todoist 3 time blocking methods to boost productivity – Zapier Simple Time Management – Bullet Journal Eat That Frog WELSTech series Ministry resources Calendar Management Wakelet Picks of the week Book Creator Monthly Activity Journals Apple Reminders – Overview | Help Community feedback & events The topic which never goes out of style: I need advice on my church and/or school website. WELSTech 665 – Web Design Principles WELSTech Google Group Finalweb Next time Just like that we’ve reached the end of another school year and another year of edtech discussions with Rachel and Jason. Tune in for the wrap up of The AI Classroom. Get involved Add comments Send us an e-mail welstech@wels.net Join the WELSTech community: WELSTech Google Group WELSTech on Facebook WELSTech on Pinterest WELSTech on Instagram Add to the WELSTech wiki welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net Contribute to the #WELSTech Twitter conversation Follow us on Twitter – welstech, mspriggs and salliedraper Share with the Diigo group welstech

25/04/2024

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34 min
08/08/2025

Military Devotion – My Hero – August 8, 2025

The Bible has a hall of heroes.

08/08/2025

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10 min

All official podcasts sponsored by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).

Website

WELS

Top Shows

759 – Academic Integrity

756 – 10 SMART Goals

757 – Cybersecurity Tips

755 – Social Media Graphics That Matter

758 – A Season of AI

750 – A Season of SAMR

765 – Christmas Coloring

724 – Getting Started with AI

723 – Time Blocking

Military Devotion – My Hero – August 8, 2025

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