Approved online tracking programs

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kennethjorgensen
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#31

Post by kennethjorgensen »

riverton wrote:Ask and you shall receive -- quickly.

Today's conference announcement about the new Duty to God program removes my Scout vs D2G tracking concerns.

The LDS website states:

"The new program does notoverlap or compete with Scouting."


Nice! :cool:

Yes I agree. Like you I have also created my own Excel Spreadsheet and the part I like best is where I calculate how often a goal has to be completed in order to do them all on time. I know some goals require more effort than others but it gives a great measurement of where any Young Man stand with his progress.
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mfmohlma
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#32

Post by mfmohlma »

geek wrote:You'd be surprised at how many parents have already done this work on their own to track their own children's progress (D2G and Eagle for boys, YWPP for girls). Ask around in your ward and see who has done it and isn't admitting it publicly. There are a *lot* of parents who aren't waiting for the Scout, YW, or YM leaders to track the progress.

As far as the original concerns about tracking my children on an online site, I'll agreement with the sentiment that a leader had better get my approval first (even though she's already got email and web domains and an online presence, I want to be able to know who in the ward is storing her information).
The new Personal Progress website will include tracking capability. Presumably they will do the same on the new Duty to God website.
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aebrown
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#33

Post by aebrown »

oregonmatt wrote: Presumably they will do the same on the new Duty to God website.
It's not just "presumably"; the Questions and Answers page says:
The following resources will be available at DutytoGod.lds.org:
  • An online version of the Duty to God book. In selected languages, this will be an interactive version where young men can record what they are learning, make their plans, see examples, and share their experiences.
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
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mfmohlma
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#34

Post by mfmohlma »

Alan_Brown wrote:It's not just "presumably";
Gah. I read that on Sunday and promptly committed it to my Randomly Accessible Memory. :o

It's interesting to note that "share their experiences" is called out as a function of the website. It would appear that a function of social networking will be in play to allow youth to connect. Should be exciting!
mprusse
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#35

Post by mprusse »

Can anyone recommend a good online tool for recording scout advancements? Our ward has been using TroopMaster but we want to move to an online tool where parents and all leaders can access the necessary information. Additionally, not too many of our members have Windows computers anymore and would prefer a non-proprietary tool. Thank you.
ksroberts
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Scout Tracking

#36

Post by ksroberts »

I don't think there is yet a good on-line tracking service for both parents and leaders. Even those oriented towards leaders only have their cons and pros (mostly cons). Our stake tried ScoutSoft, but is was very difficult for non-nerds to figure out. I know another stake that loves to use etrailtoeagle -- the site advertises thousands of registered troops.

I would like to investigate the use of SharePoint (SP 2010 is now available). This allows simple custom lists and views to be created to track progress. Permissions can be varied for leaders and parents (example: let leaders see everything and parents see thier own scout's stuff). However, this is Windows-based only. Still, I think this would be an easy setup -- so I will make this a goal of mine for 2011.

As far as a simple on-line system that is intended for both parents and leaders, I haven't seen one yet that worked smoothly. Our ward is using an ipod application called Troop Badges. I try to organize the info in Excel, filter the information, and then email the leaders with a simple email that shows exactly where everyone is and what is needed.

Each ward should have a good advancement coordinator that can track progress and email to the YM leaders and scoutmaster in a friendly format. Scoutmasters shouldn't have to worry about tracking everything -- they should be able to submit cards to the advancement coordinator, and the coordinator can organize the info nicely for the Scoutmaster and parents.
russellhltn
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#37

Post by russellhltn »

ksroberts wrote:I would like to investigate the use of SharePoint (SP 2010 is now available).

You might want to check the licensing costs. IIRC, versions that are public-facing get rather expensive.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
ksroberts
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SharePoint

#38

Post by ksroberts »

RussellHltn wrote:You might want to check the licensing costs. IIRC, versions that are public-facing get rather expensive.

I realize I can't afford expensive licensing or software costs. However, I've been experimenting a bit with Network Solutions, which offers SP 2003 online for about $10/month. I'm accustomed to managing SharePoint within a business network environment, so trying this from home is a different ball game, since permissions are done differently and it's not as robust.

Anyhow, just another idea to explore.
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#39

Post by russellhltn »

ksroberts wrote:SP 2003

2003? That's kinda old. 2 versions back. And support expires in 3 years.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

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nutterb
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#40

Post by nutterb »

mprusse wrote:Can anyone recommend a good online tool for recording scout advancements? Our ward has been using TroopMaster but we want to move to an online tool where parents and all leaders can access the necessary information. Additionally, not too many of our members have Windows computers anymore and would prefer a non-proprietary tool. Thank you.

My troop uses TroopMasterWeb. All of the leaders are able to access the database from their home computers and updates are made to the main database. Plus, the database is backed up by TroopMaster. We've been very happy with it.

EDIT: I apologize, we actually use Troopmaster.NET. So our database is actually kept on the TroopMaster servers and we can access it as needed from any computer that has Troopmaster installed.
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