[Ldsoss] Scout Tracking

[Richard Pyne]

On 14 Jun 2006 at 8:04, Steven H. McCown wrote:

> Justin Findlay asked "Why should any of this be bigger than troop
> level?"

Because some areas run their scouting program on a wider scale. 
Our stake averages only about three youth per age group per 
ward. While each ward registers its own units, most of the 
program planning, camps, campouts, meetings, advancement, etc. 
happen on a stake wide basis. Functionally, each ward has a 
patrol and the stake has a troop. This means that there are at 
least two sets of leadrs that need to access, update, and track 
the information.

> Most that I see using the computer write things down on paper 
> and then transfer them to the computer.  It's still a second
> step that most don't get around to taking.  Any current or
> former Ward Clerks out there will know what I mean.  


I am now a stake clerk after twelve years of being a ward clerk 
(two wards four bishops), I for one, prefer to do everything on 
the computer FIRST. I do virtually everything on my laptop which 
has WiFi access to the internet from the stake offices (and 
previously the ward offices) thanks to generous neighbors. It 
makes life so much easier that it is hard to imagine unless you 
have experienced it first hand. I no longer find myself telling 
priesthood leaders "I'll have to look that up" since I can look 
up most things they need immediately using the ward and stake 
websites, the online church directory, and the online missionary 
recommendation system.

If we go with nothing more than a central repository that 
leaders can check out the database, there is no reason to do 
more than use TroopMaster since it already has this feature.

General good security practices will suffice for web based 
access since if done right, there will be very more information 
available than is available on the ward and stake web sites and 
access to that information can be readily restricted to hose 
that need access.

--Richard