Training Matrix

Use this forum to discuss issues that are not found in any of the other clerk and stake technology specialist forums.
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aebrown
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#11

Post by aebrown »

RussellHltn wrote:
Alan_Brown wrote:They should all be available on the ward computer, so I don't see any reason to make this distinction.
There are some differences, isn't there? Or was it just last update date?

There have been no new lessons added since the last download was created. More than half the lessons have been updated, but that doesn't change the matrix. In my experience very few people (well under 10%) ever take the courses at the administrative computer.
RussellHltn wrote:
Alan_Brown wrote:I didn't include the STS because there's not really any training related to that calling at this point (except I suppose the general Introduction to MLS, but that applies to every assistant clerk).

I think I'd assign him to read the policies for Administrative and FHC computers. (Two separate documents.)





I purposely restricted the scope of the matrix to the lessons available at lds.org under Serving in the Church. I did this for two reasons:
  1. The financial and membership audits only refer to these lessons, and nothing else, and my purpose was to assist wards to complete the training required by audits, and to help the auditors in assessing this completion.
  2. As soon as you broaden the scope to include anything else, it quickly becomes unwieldy. The matrix could include reading Handbook pages, materials on clerk.lds.org, other places on lds.org, documents specific to the ward or stake, the LDSClerks wiki, etc., etc., etc.
While these resources might be useful, and some of them might be incorporated by specific wards and stakes into their customized matrix, I couldn't see any reasonable boundary other than the one I chose.
techgy
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#12

Post by techgy »

Personally, I think that Alan has come up with a great idea.
Thanks Alan. I'm going to discuss this with the Stake Clerk - who's new:rolleyes:
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aebrown
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Updated matrix

#13

Post by aebrown »

I have updated the training matrix with the following changes:
  1. I updated the "Last Updated" dates. Sometime in December since I last looked at the training page on lds.org, several more training lessons have been revised. Now every single lesson was last updated in 2008, except for the tiny welcome message from Bishop Burton.
  2. There are now three worksheets -- a master matrix, a ward training log, and a stake training log. The master matrix is a permanent list (in case one of the logs gets messed up during editing). The actual training log only applies to a specific unit, so it makes no sense to have ward and stake together for the log.
  3. I incorporated opee's excellent suggestion for color coding the logs when a lesson has been completed.
  4. In the training logs, I made the columns wider so that there is room for a month/year to be entered. Not only does give a better record of completion, it lets me use a different color code for a lesson that has been updated since it was completed.
  5. I added instructions.
  6. Note that I made a couple of changes that are specific to my stake -- the first counselor in the stake presidency is Audit Committee Chairman, so he has required Audit Committee training, but does not require the Processing Weekly Donations lesson, since he is prohibited from handling donations.
Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions. Clearly this will require some customization for specific wards and stakes, but hopefully it will be a good start.
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SmithGW
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Training Matrix

#14

Post by SmithGW »

In his discussion on using a training matrix to track the clerks and bishopric on who has watched the training lessons, Alan_Brown said,
(It's on lds.org under Serving in the Church > Melchizedek Priesthood, or it is accessible on administrative computers through MLS.)
This is true. However, the English lessons have all been recently updated on lds.org under Serving in the Church > Melchizedek Priesthood. They have not been updated on the local ward computer as yet. If you speak English, I would recommend using the lessons on lds.org until further notice.
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aebrown
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#15

Post by aebrown »

Alan_Brown wrote:There have been no new lessons added since the last download was created. More than half the lessons have been updated, but that doesn't change the matrix. In my experience very few people (well under 10%) ever take the courses at the administrative computer.
Actually, since I first wrote this, the rest of the lessons have been updated as well. So on lds.org, all the lessons (except for Bishop Burton's introductory message) have been updated sometime in 2008. As smithgw pointed out, the download is now more out of date than ever, so everyone should stick with the lds.org versions for now.

I have sent a couple of messages requesting an update of the download, which was originally supposed to be done in the summer of 2008, but I guess there are higher priorities....
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Mikerowaved
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#16

Post by Mikerowaved »

Does anyone know of significant differences between any of the old and new lessons? I understand that from time to time we should review the lessons pertaining to our own stewardship (per Alan's matrix), but the urgency of taking the time to go through them again might be better determined if we knew there was more than just a sprucing up of some of the slides.
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aebrown
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#17

Post by aebrown »

Mikerowaved wrote:Does anyone know of significant differences between any of the old and new lessons? I understand that from time to time we should review the lessons pertaining to our own stewardship (per Alan's matrix), but the urgency of taking the time to go through them again might be better determined if we knew there was more than just a sprucing up of some of the slides.
I don't know of all the specifics. I do know that one major topic in the old versions of several of the financial lessons was emphasizing that changes to check categories, voided checks, canceled or adjusted donations, etc. had to be communicated to the Administration Office. That is no longer needed since MLS now (as of MLS 2.7, I believe) will transmit such adjustments automatically to the administration office.

As I have reviewed several of the lessons this month, I don't notice any significant chunks of new content; rather, it seems to be cleanup such as the issue I mentioned above. Most of the lessons now give a date and those that are related to MLS say something like "Revised 2008. References MLS version 2.8". It's helpful that they now mention what MLS version they correspond to. The lessons all seem to reference MLS 2.8, and have not been updated for MLS 2.9, but most of the changes in MLS 2.9 have no effect on current training lessons anyway.

So I don't know that you're missing anything if you don't retake the lessons. The big advantage of the update is that new clerks taking the training won't be confused by obsolete instructions. But in any case, it is good to repeat the lessons. As Bishop Burton counseled,
It is our desire that all clerks, auditors, stake audit committee members, bishoprics, and stake presidencies in the Church have access to this training and that they take each lesson that applies to their calling. Clerks and auditors should take the training when they are newly called and then again after they have been serving for a period of time.
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