Here’s two audio Bible tools for you. Interestingly, they are both called “Pod Bibles.” The first is a Podcast, but you can listen to the Scriptures from their site. Play these during teaching times to add a new dimension to the Scriptures.
The second is a readable Bible for your iPod. It uses the “Notes” portion of the iPod firmware. Read it on the train, in a plane, in the car (while not driving), in the bathroom (don’t drop it in), use with an impromptu devotion at camp…whatever!
Have you heard of Prezi yet? If not, you need to go check it out and see if it could be beneficial to any presentations you give. Unlike cues or slides, Prezi utilizes a “canvas” concept where you zoom in on various aspects of your presentation. It’s quite unique.
The free account from Prezi is a little limited, but still offers you a great deal of flexibility as well as allows you to add pizazz to your presentations. While the free account allows only online presentation development, you still get offline presentation capabilities. This means you can download your custom presentation and present it without a web connection.
Use Prezi for:
I recommend a good deal of open source software on this site. Open source programs offer a viable alternative to expensive programs. What you miss are some user-friendly features and support, however most problems are easily solved by glancing through extensive forums.
One I came across recently is Open LP. If you can’t afford Media Shout, Song Show Plus, or Pro Presenter, then you may want to consider this. You can download it here.
A ministry called Faith Inkubators has a unique game site called FaithInk Games. They are pretty cool and a great resource to have on ministry computers or to share with parents.
Cullen Wood has an extensive website full of videos geared toward preschool teachers. She has a lot of videos that teach activities to do with preschoolers along with the accompanying craft templates. She also has a good selection of Christian focused videos teaching preschoolers songs like the one below.
Want to start using some online scrapbooking to maintain your ministry memories? You might want to check out Smilebox. Like many online service start-ups, the basic service is free, but they want you to pay for more premium features. You may use this for archiving camp or retreat photos or giving families a slideshow to check out after an event.
Another one like this that my wife uses is One True Media. You can check out one of her creations here (and see my two sweet, adorable girls!).
Check out Image Chef to get photo frames, moving bumpers (like above), and word mosaics. You can email them or embed them in your site.
This blog post is going to be a little different. I have found a website with various “game show controls” for games like Deal or No Deal, Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck, Family Feud, and others. These are downloadable applications which you can customize to fit your needs. You could use them for review games in a kids class, for fun games at a retreat or camp, or with your volunteers at an appreciation event.
I’m not giving the link yet, though. In order to get the link posted, I have to see 10 comments about the picture above. Just jot a quick comment about what you sarcastically like the best about that pic. I’ll get the ball rolling:
“I like the energy, however, I’m wondering if I am pushing the limits by showing adult “midriff” on a Children’s Ministry site!”
Give me 10 comments, I’ll give you the link!
Congrats, you did it, here’s the link:
Hey, here are some free looping backgrounds just in time for your after Christmas weekend service…or for next year! These are courtesy of the folks at Soul Refinery.
No this is not a personal ad. I’m completely happy with my wife Michaella! I’m letting you know about a great tool that our technological families may want to have. It’s called Cozi and is an online family organization system. Here’s a quote from the website:
Use Cozi to manage your busy family life with a shared online calendar, shopping lists, to do lists and more. Plus, capture favorite holiday memories—all in one spot. Cozi is accessible from any computer with an Internet connection, and any mobile phone.
I’ve been wanting to try it out, especially since I could sync my family calender with Outlook, but we haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ll probably need to wait until we replace our 9 year old computer! Have you dealt with the application? Let me know by commenting below!
