Tech4Him – Technology with Integrity

Hey there all you IT folks Do you feel like God is calling you to use your talents and gifts in a different way? If so, I want to tell you about a conference that is coming up.

May 15-16 in Dallas or October 23-24 in Orlando.

The Check IT Out conference is only a few weeks away in Dallas, Texas. This conference is put on by Wycliffe and a number of partner organizations with representation from Wycliffe Bible Translators USA, The Seed Company, SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics), JAARS, etc… This year, it will be hosted by The Seed Company at their Arlington, Texas offices.

Did you know that the world of Bible Translation needs you? This isn’t your grandpa’s Bible Translation organization. Satellite communications, SANs, SQL Server, software development, web development, Drupal, DotNetNuke, .Net, PHP, Linux, open-source and on and on. There are many opportunities to serve short and long term. Some organizations have supported missionaries who are IT folks and other organizations hire IT staff.

The conference topics include

1. Introduction to the World of Wycliffe
   • Magnitude of the existing need for Bible translation
   • Understanding the Wycliffe Family of Organizations
   • Wycliffe servants -what do they do?
2. Technology Overview
   • How technology is used
   • Tools available
3. Technology Demo
   • Speech Analyzer (real-time phonetic analysis)
   • Adapt-It (automated translation)
   • Other software as time permits
4. ITS Live: Live Tour of Computer Services
   (if conference is held at a center)
5. Business Application Software
   • Administrative, business, insurance, finance software
   • Complexity of systems critical to operations
6. Telecommunication Challenges
   • Challenges on the field
   • Tools we use
7. International Training
   • The realities of training non-Western working partners
   • Methods and types of training resources
8. A Day in the Life
   • Live interview with a Wycliffe IT worker
   • Focus on the IT life of a Wycliffe “field” environment
   • Opportunity for live Q&A
9. Challenging Language Scripts
   • The Non-Roman Script Initiative (NRSI)
   • Wycliffe, Bible translation and Unicode
   • The digital realities of writing-system creation, rendering and use
   • Screen, keyboard, printing and data-handling in the “non-Roman” world
10. Language and Translation Software
    • Range of software
    • FieldWorks
    • Tools
11. From Inquirer to IT Missionary
    • Step-by-step process
    • Training required
    • Partnership development
    • Assignment
12. Dynamics of IT Volunteering
    • Various types of involvement
    • Examples of volunteering
13. The Great IT Commission
    • The modern world’s changing missions environment
    • The centrality of IT in missions
    • The seven ways you can use your IT skills to facilitate translation
14. First Person: A Translator’s Story
    • The benefits of Bible translation to a Bible-less society
    • The many issues and problems that must be overcome
    • The role of IT in translation from the translator’s perspective
    • A very personal story of how God worked through a particular translator
15. Question and Answer Panel: Burning questions you have always wanted to ask
16. Your Next Step: What will you do with everything you have learned?

You can find out more at the CheckITOut.org website.

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