WELSTech Podcast

WELSTech (welstech.wels.net) now offers a weekly show on the Streams Network. The podcast, hosted by Martin Spriggs (WELS Chief Technology Officer) and Sallie Draper (WELS Technology Trainer), is about how technology can be used to aid the work of the church.

There are great tips, useful download ideas, and interesting interviews with people like Rob Benson (WELS Network Security Administrator) and Dr. James Grunwald (MLC professor and WELS Director of Distance Learning).

To make it easy to hear each week's episode, we link to it on our main page (WLTCC.net). You can also hear or download each show at the WELSTech webpage.

2007-2008 Meetings

Wisconsin Lutheran Technology Coordinators' Conference
2007-2008 Programs

October 3, 2007

• Topic:
  Your Website and Mine
• Details:
  See three school websites demonstrated, with a discussion of the pros and cons of each
• Audience:
  Anyone who works with a school website
• Presenters:
  Skip Bremer, Tim Paschke, and Jim Braun
• Location:
  WISCO Stewards' Lab
• Devotion Leader:
  Skip Bremer
• Time:
  1:30-3:30 p.m.

January 16, 2008

• Topic:
  Hands-On PowerSchool
• Details:
  Test drive the PowerSchool school information system on a lab computer
• Audience:
  Principals, teachers, and school office personnel
• Presenter:
  Dave Schroeder
• Location:
  Trinity Lutheran School, Waukesha (directions)
• Devotion Leader:
  Tim Paschke
• Time:
  1:30-3:30 p.m.

April 9, 2008

• Topic:
  The SmartBoard in Action
• Details:
  Almost all classrooms at St. Paul's, Muskego, have SmartBoards. See how the teachers and students are using this tool
  (read and contribute to our interactive whiteboard review blog)
• Audience:
  Principals and teachers
• Presenter:
  Dan Thiel, Skip Bremer, and the St. Paul's Faculty
• Location:
  St. Paul's Lutheran School, Muskego (directions)
• Devotion Leader:
  Ken White
• Time:
  1:30-3:30 p.m.

Every WLTCC meeting will include time for a round-table discussion on topics of the group's choosing. Come with your questions.

Notes from First Meeting

The Wisconsin Lutheran Technology Coordinators' Conference met on October 3 for its first program of the 2007-2008 school year.

After Tim Paschke's words of welcome, Skip Bremer opened with a devotion. We then spent the majority of our time on the topic Your Website and Mine.

Tim Paschke showed us his school webpage, http://lovingshepherdschool.com/. Tim uses FrontPage 2003 to create his site. One of the unique parts of his webpage is the "members" section, which is accessible only with a password provided to the parents. It includes photos, videos, school newsletters, teacher pages, and other items that require some privacy. Tim mentioned that he includes student photos on his regular pages, too, but only if a parent has signed a consent form.

Skip Bremer demonstrated his page, http://stpmuskego.org/, which is created with a FinalWeb template purchased through WELS.net Technology. Skip likes the ease-of-use, especially for his teachers. They can each update their own areas of the page with assignment lists, notes, etc.

Jim Braun then showed us his page, http://zionsouthmilwaukee.com/. Jim uses FrontPage 2003 to create his page, but he also uses the HTML editor to make adjustments when necessary. He makes use of blogs, RSS feeds, and a service from http://feed2js.org/ that allows him to add his blog headlines, devotions, and other items to his page.

After this, Jim showed the newest version of WLTCC.net. He also uses blogs on this page (you're reading a blog entry right now). One popular feature is the Free Stuff list which has been updated with several new programs. If you have good free stuff you'd like to recommend, or if you'd like to submit a hardware or software review, just send an e-mail using the link at the bottom of the main WLTCC page.

Our New Look

WLTCC.net has a new look! We've cut out most of the unnecessary clutter to make a page that we hope will be more useful to the members of our conference. Constructive criticism is welcome!