Tech for the Local Church
Collaborate
Church History on Church Websites
Oct 11th
On church websites I often find somewhere that explains the history of the church. But it’s SO BORING!
Imagine going to a church website and instead of being bored by the History of the Church you are genuinely interested and engaged.Imagine you’re a long time church member and on this portion of the website you can add important events, dates and information in the life of the church.
Imagine that during this collaborative effort all the church staff has to do is approve and edit stories that are being submitted. Then embed a few lines of codes to your churches website and an interactive time line will show up. [Shown below - the history of Church2.0 - the blog]
Imagine that after a year you think, “I wish I could make a Book or a DVD that I could give out to my congregation or those who don’t have internet.” And you find out you can!
OurStory.com makes it all possible. OurStory is actually made for families to collaboratively record there story and genealogy. But isn’t that what a church is essentially.
Start your own timeline at OurStory.com
Ark ALMIGHTY
Sep 24th
Yes, Ark ALMIGHTY is site to promote the movie Evan Almighty, but don’t dismiss it so quickly it does have ministry value.
Encourages the Church to meet needs…
- Inside the Church – they provide a website to post needs and meet them. [ex- helping widows, balancing someones checkbook, changing someones oil, lawns-care, transportation, finding an exercise partner, etc.]
- Outside the Church – they provide ways to provide “Random Acts of Kindness” [ex- stop and help someone change a tire,
They also provide materials, such as a 4-day curriculum with videos.
If you still are a little foggy on what Ark ALMIGHTY is all about watch this video.
Google Docs Adds Presentations
Sep 19th
Google Docs Presentations, you had me at Common Craft.
Never mind that Google Docs’ new presentation feature gives you access to a free, web based presentation software tool that incorporates the great collaboration pieces you’d expect from Google Docs and even the ability to share a present to a group online….
No, these features weren’t enough. Google had to go and recruit the talents of the “In Plain English” folks at Common Craft to put together the introductory video – you may recall some of our previous references to their videos on RSS and Social Networking. Okay, so you may not find this quite as novel, but check out the clip below anyhow.
Based on what I’ve read so far, the consensus on the Docs presentation tool seems to be:
- overall, it’s a solid product
- the collaboration potential is great
- it doesn’t sound like desktop presentation software is out of the picture…yet
- the price is perfect
For a small sampling of others’ comments on the web, check out some of these blogs:
“Our Feature Presentation” on the Official Google Blog
“The new presentations feature of Google Docs helps you to easily organize, share, present, and collaborate on presentations, using only a web browser.”
“Launch: Google Docs Adds Presentations” at Lifehacker
“While I wouldn’t use a browser-based slideshow to give a real-time, in-person presentation, for collaborating on a set of slides remotely, this looks ace.”
“Who Needs Office Now Google Docs Does Presentations?” at Codswallop
“Well now my days rely on internet connectivity anyway, and these applications have matured to a point where you are not missing many features. I’m not going to be using them full time but I do now think Google is on to a winner.”
“5 outside the box uses for Google Presentations out of the box” at Heal Your Church Website
- Work on slide show presentations – across multiple computer barriers
- Share slide show presentations – across operating system barriers
- Collaborate on Sunday school lessons – across classroom barriers
- Collaborate on Bible Studies – across church/congregational barriers
- Use the slideshow with web conference tools like ReadyTalk – across geographic barriers”
Social Bookmarking
Aug 8th
Common Craft has tackled yet another [InsertNoun]2.0 topic in “Plain English.” This time it’s social bookmarking.
Chances are pretty good you already use some kind of bookmarking system, whether crude or sophisticated. Bookmarks are just handy things.
I switched from saving bookmarks in my browser (Internet Explorer calls them “Favorites”) to online bookmarking tools a couple years ago – except for a couple key links I use everyday. This is primarily because of the portability of online bookmarks and that they are easily shared.
Social bookmarks take the advantages of online bookmarks and build in the collective interests of others like yourself to help you discover that which you might have missed otherwise. I could explain further, but the video does a pretty good job.
How you could use these is pretty endless. You could share your collection with colleagues and your congregation or just enjoy the benefits of gathering good sites through the recommendations of others with similar interests and needs as yourself. It all gets back to better ministry with less effort and expense.
Brainstorming & Mind Mapping
Jul 20th
Those of you who have established a Discipline for Sermon Prep, the next logical step is organizing your information.
For those of you who still use mind maps or webs to organize your thoughts check out Bubbl.us. Below is a teaching series I was kicking around doing on Christian Sacraments. Bubbl.us is an awesome online tool because it’s free, easy to use and you can share/collaborate (via website, email, print, etc.) with other users.
Social Networking In Plain English
Jun 28th
Commoncraft, the folks who brought us “RSS In Plain English,” have now produced “Social Networking in Plain English.” It stops of little short of explaining what all the hype of social networking is about, but gives a solid overview of the processes behind the tools.
Relationships drive social networking. Given the importance of relationships in ministry, you can’t afford to completely overlook the possibilities.
Zoho (Alternative to Google)
Jun 4th
A while back we had Google Week. It featured some of the best Google applications offered, but what if you’re anti-Google? Check out Zoho. What does Zoho provide? Many things as well as Google and even some going above and beyond.
[I'll compare each app to the Google's equivalent by giving it a +, | , or - scale. Key: + is better, | is the same , - is lacking]
Zoho Mail [-] – email (free, under 1GB of space)
Zoho Writer [|] – online word processor (free)
Zoho Sheet [|] – online spreadsheets (free)
Zoho Notebook [+] – online notebook to collect information, links, files, audio, video and more in one place. (free)
Zoho Show – you guessed it online PowerPoint! Nice. (free)
Zoho Planner – To do list, appointments, etc.
Zoho Meetings – Share your desktop screen to present a PowerPoint, program, training, etc. online. (free, presenter has to be using Windows)
Zoho Projects – set up team project (1 free, ulimited for $5/mo)
Zoho Creator – need to gather information, but don’t know how to code. Creator is coding simplifed. Create online form in minutes. You’ll be analyzing and gathering data before you know it.
Zoho Wiki – create your own wiki.
Zoho Polls – create a poll to embed them where-ever you want.
Zoho Challenge – create online tests, and track the scores online.
I’ll highlight a few of these in the future with Ministry specific use.
Jott
May 29th
I’ve been using Jott for a month now and it’s sweet. Jott is very similar to Pinger except it also allows you to transcribe your voice to text, and it’s easy to leave a message for yourself which is sent to your email address.
Check out this video of a small business owner who uses Jott.
Doesn’t he sound like a pastor? Always on the go, meets in coffee shops, scribbles everything on little papers, can’t stay organized. I find Jott is a great way to remind me of things I might otherwise forget.
Future Post: Pinger vs. Jott
Online Storage
Mar 28th
Why store your files on your computer/server when you can store them online? There are many websites that offer storage. Why would you do this…
- Mobility – no flash-drive needed. Get to it wherever you have Internet access.
- Free Backups – they backup the files, so you don’t. No more crashed hard drives.
- Share Files 24/7 - let people have access to your files (allows large files, unlike email)
- Send Files - set up RSS feeds to push files to users when they are placed online
- Collaborate – share documents and give permission to certain users to edit them.
- Embed Audio/Video – makes it easy to share a songs, audio sermons, or videos.
My personal favorite is Box.net, but eSnips, MaxMedia & OmniDrive are good for different reasons. Here is a great article by Extreme Tech that compares and rates them. Below is a side by side comparison of all 6 online storage sites they rated.
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Free storage/ Band- |
1GB/ |
1GB/ |
5GB/ |
25GB/ |
1GB/ |
1GB/ |
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Drag |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
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Sub- |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
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Tags |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
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Extra features |
Web page widget; RSS. |
Nada. |
Tons of community features; toolbar for easy access; selling option. |
Image viewer; media players with streaming; sharing tools; albums. |
Windows Explorer; Zoho online editor; email sharing. |
Search; RSS. |
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