Missionary iPads and digital area book

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buggystick
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Missionary iPads and digital area book

#1

Post by buggystick »

The missionaries serving in my area were just given iPad minis. They are apparently one of the pilot missions for them. I got to see one the other day and think it is a wonderful idea. One area of particular interest is the area book application that comes with it. It's essentially a digital version of their area book that stays with the area and gets synced to the cloud. As a ward mission leader, I would love to have access to this information on my tablet or via a browser. The ward missionaries and auxiliary presidencies go on regular visits to less-active members and having the ability to see and update this area book could really help coordinate these visits.

Does anybody have any information they can share about this application? Searches have proved fruitless. Is there a beta program we can get involved in (I'm a software engineer by trade, so I can help volunteer if needed)? Will it be available to members of the ward council?
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sbradshaw
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#2

Post by sbradshaw »

The broadcast video of the big Hastening the Work of Salvation meeting in June of last year has a very brief clip at the beginning of a missionary using the area book app. I took a few screenshots:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 40b9c222a5
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... f53d02db73
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... d51dd3258f

I too am curious about the app(s) missionaries have to help them with the work...
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pete.arnett
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#3

Post by pete.arnett »

When your mission gets iPad minis, be sure and remind them to not try to do setup and Gospel Library downloads for more than five (5) users at a time

The following are some of the apps on missionary's iPad mini
AirWatch (Mobile device management (MDM) )
Area Book App (Area Book/Planner, with Ward List)
Other Apps to Hasten the Work
...Safari
...Facebook
...Facetime
...Skype
...Maps
...Gospel Library
...Clock
...LDS Hymns
...Myldsmail Email
...Mormon.org Email
russellhltn
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#4

Post by russellhltn »

pete.arnett wrote:be sure and remind them to not try to do setup and Gospel Library downloads for more than five (5) users at a time
When you say "users" I assume you mean syncing the annotations and markings. What happens if they try to sync too many?


Do you know if these are wifi only or do they have a data package?
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buggystick
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#5

Post by buggystick »

I do know they are WiFi only
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pete.arnett
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#6

Post by pete.arnett »

russellhltn wrote:
pete.arnett wrote:be sure and remind them to not try to do setup and Gospel Library downloads for more than five (5) users at a time
When you say "users" I assume you mean syncing the annotations and markings. What happens if they try to sync too many?


Do you know if these are wifi only or do they have a data package?
The iPad minis are WiFi only, as state in another posting

It appears that once the basic setup and complete Gospel Library download had been completed, that having several (at least 6) missionaries iPad minis in use did not have any major impact on the meetinghouse network

The downloading of the complete Gospel Library and including videos will cause an overload on the meetinghouse network if you do 5 or more at the same time

It was reported that it took a very long period of time for about 15 missionaries to do the complete iPad mini setup and Gospel Library download using a 10 Mbps down link in the chapel of a meetinghouse with four bars (e.g., one wireless access point)

One (1) mission was able to setup at least 75 missionaries, with only doing a basic setup of Gospel Library (complete download to be performed later), using the meetinghouse network and three additional external wireless hotspots (not connected to the meetinghouse network)
kew33
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#7

Post by kew33 »

I wanted to echo the plea of the OP--as a Ward Mission Leader I can really see the benefit of having access to this Digital Area Book. The project page here http://tech.lds.org/wiki/Digital_Area_Book_Project claims that access will be given to ward leadership. When will this occur? Right now it seems like we have a ripe opportunity to improve coordination efforts--we have three sets of missionaries in our ward and this could really help. I am not a Mac guy, so access through a browser would be ideal. Any idea on when this is coming?

A second but related point--is there a system for getting missionaries access to specific sites or links? For example, we have an online meal calendar set up for our missionaries (http://tiny.cc/Westchester1), but they can't access it. Also, we have thought about setting up a central Google Doc Spreadsheet to coordinate less-active finding, but the missionaries would not be able to view/edit it without some access granted.
Thanks,
Kent
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sbradshaw
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#8

Post by sbradshaw »

All of these digital area book tools are relatively new. Any access that ward mission leaders receive in the future will most likely be through a web browser. iPad apps can't run in a web browser, though, so the work that needs to be done (and I'll bet they're working on it already) is to build a web page from scratch that matches the app. This will probably come soon, but it takes time. The iPad app (what the missionaries themselves use) was the first priority...

(As an aside, that meal calendar system you have a link to above looks interesting. I know not all wards would be able to get members online to sign up, but it looks like your ward is doing a good job!)
FMeese
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#9

Post by FMeese »

I have a Ward Mission Leader that can not see the current discussion that has been given and other new information added by the missionaries. How can I help him?
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aebrown
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#10

Post by aebrown »

FMeese wrote:I have a Ward Mission Leader that can not see the current discussion that has been given and other new information added by the missionaries. How can I help him?
Is it possible that he was experiencing the problem reported in Can't access Missionary Progress Report? If so, it was recently fixed (in the last 24 hours, I believe).
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