Virtual Enrollment Party

As you all have been going to the web form and indicating your preference for switching to 4HOnline, there have been a couple of things that caught me by surprise... first, that at the present time, 100% of you want to change this fall. That's extremely gratifying, but scary. In the beginning, I had planned to switch about a dozen folks this fall (the Guinea Pig Group), but then decided to open the decision up to some other Brave Souls. Turns out we're just FULL of bravery here in Iowa!!! The second surprise is that 2/3 of those who have responded want to start with empty datasets. Again, I was HOPING for a few of the Guinea Pig Group to try it, giving the rest of us a view of the advantages/disadvantages.

Before anyone can use the new program, there are some things I have to do: set up user accounts, convert our projects/literature/activities, set up some standard screens, and LEARN more about the program both from an administrative and user standpoint. However, the "fall-empty" group should, in theory, be able to begin using the program very shortly. So the dilemma is more about training than anything else. If I hold off on deployment until I can head to Texas and get myself all trained, that's going to delay this whole thing maybe more than it should be. So, should we forge ahead and muddle through this together? Hmmmm... Maybe.

My TENTATIVE and subject-to-change-again "plan" MIGHT be to start the fall-empty folks as soon as we can make that happen, and book 3-4 days of a come-and-go 4HOnline Party here on campus. We'd be learning together, and I'd provide laptops for you all to get started entering data and learning the program. You would have a double benefit of actual uninterrupted data entry time, and the learning aspect.

In the meantime, I'd continue working on the conversion process--it's going to take a lot of pretty manual data manipulation on my part to export BR data, then get it into the file format that 4HOnline needs. When that's done, then the fall-converted folks would be ready to roll. Again, we'd need some workdays, hopefully with some of the first group attending.

I will definitely be reprising the Snowstorm Tour this year, and expanding it to more sites, so lay in plenty of provisions. During that time, if anyone chooses the "winter" option, they'll get training. But more important, everyone will get more than the "triage" training that the fall will consist of! I'm considering 10-12 sites, so there are people who would have an option of which one to attend, I think.

So what's the elephant in the room? Tonya addressed it in her previous comment... with fewer folks in the county offices, leaving for training becomes more difficult. Can we use Connect? You all know that I'm not exactly "excellent" at the whole Connect thing, particularly in terms of doing training that way. I tend to lose my place, lose my mouse, lose my memory, and lose my train of thought. HOWEVER, I'll be willing to give it a shot, particularly in terms of "lunch and learn" 30-minute sessions on specific tasks/topics. Depending on how quick the fall crowd gets comfortable, it could either start after the first of the year, or towards the end of the Snowstorm Tour. That might be a valuable way to continue training and share discoveries. We'll also develop a library of support docs, similar to the HelpSheets we have for Blue Ribbon.

The short version is that I can't completely eliminate training and the scheduling challenges that it presents. I'll do my best to make it as easy as possible, and I also want to utilize my EXCELLENT Guinea Pig Group (which is growing by leaps & bounds) as mentors for others. In no way do I want them to feel burdened by support expectations, as that is (and hopefully will "always" be) my job, but in a situation like this, with all of us learning together, combined knowledge is always going to be better than any one individual.

We have all seen instances where the deployment of new technology created more problems than it solved, and that is honestly my worst nightmare. There will be frustration in learning and using something new and unfamiliar. The only "control" I have over the outcome of this switch is support and training. If I support you well enough, and train you well enough, maybe the frustrations won't be overwhelming. I also hope that by giving you choices in when & how you convert, you can make it work best for your own circumstances.

Posted by Becky at 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

The decision is done. We're switching to 4HOnline during the 2009-2010 program year. There are lots of details to be decided and communicated throughout the first year, but the important thing now is that we are switching. It's web-based, which means no software to install, and access from anywhere. It does some things better than we're used to, and some things just differently. We may find things we liked better about Blue Ribbon, but hopefully not many!

This is where I want you to chime in. Questions, suggestions, ideas... whatever. Get the discussion going!

Posted by Becky at 02:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, it's finally down to the wire... we're really going to get a new web-based enrollment system. Really.

Last week, I asked 12 "volunteers" to take the system I've chosen for a test-drive. The system is called 4HOnline, and it's from a company in Texas. They have a test server, where my volunteers are "playing" right now. Let me give you some short details as I know them now, and then I'm going to turn the forum over to the Guinea Pig Group to talk about what they're finding, ask/answer questions, lalala.

4HOnline is compatible with ShoWorks, a fair management package. Just as Fair Management is now a separate county purchase, ShoWorks would also be a county decision/purchase. I've seen it, and I like it. But it's a county decision--I won't be the one using it, so won't make that decision for you.

My plan AT THE PRESENT TIME is to convert data for the Guinea Pig Group this fall, and they will do the bulk of the re-enrollment process in the new program. We'll learn from them about what works, what's different, etc. The rest of the counties would have data sometime around January, when the bulk of the re-enrollments would be done--then just use the program for the rest of the year.

We will use the program as "county-based" for at least the 2009-10 year... what that means is that county staff would still enter all data. Beginning in the fall of 2010, each county will have the option to allow their RETURNING families to re-enroll on-line, ALL families to enroll on-line, or to continue with county-based entry. There's lots more to know about that, but trust me for now.

4HOnline has an available Events Registration component. At some point in the not-so-distant future, we may set that up. But we all need to get comfortable with the enrollment portion first.

I had a group of folks in last week, and they were split about whether they'd like to start with empty datasets (entering all members in the new program) or starting with existing data. There are advantages to both. Once we see how well the Guinea Pig Group's data converts (is there still lots of clean-up going on?) we'll have more info to make that decision. I'm TOYING with the idea of giving you opt in/out choices for the data conversion. It's a flat fee--all or none, so I guess in the end it doesn't matter if some want one thing and some want another.

One teensy caveat--this is the system that I believe (TODAY) that we will be purchasing. There are still contracts to be signed and deals to be made. There is another system out there that is making a hard pitch to the state directors, so there is a teensy-weensy chance that I'm going to end up having to change my mind. Just truth in advertising.

Posted by Becky at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Mike is about to send out an email to the 15 or so CYC who had a temporary loss of sensibility and signed up that they might be interested in helping us at the State Fair. We have a plan, and it involves including lots more of our EXCELLENT county staff (I prefer "rowdy friends" but that's just me) in our little 2-week adventure. Just to pique your interest, here's an article that Lynette Cline wrote after helping me last year. (In my own defense, I do have a somewhat more deliberate training plan this year--last year's was the Famous Extension Training known as "Here Ya Go".)

From Lynette (THANK YOU!!)
Nothing was more aptly put than this year’s State Fair Theme, “You Gotta Love It!” When my co-workers asked me how I liked working at State Fair (and seemed a bit shocked that I volunteered), this theme was the obvious reply.

It’s for the love of Iowa, 4-H, and agriculture (all of which I am a veteran) that we are willing to endure some rather uncomfortable and yes, smelly days among the livestock barns. The chairs were hard, breaks were erratic, the rain wet, and pigs created an obstacle course wherever you walked.

The learning curve was, well, pretty doggone tight. Matt Wenger was the poor soul who had to indoctrinate me. “Here, click this, this, and enter that. Now go.” I was sure that on the nightly news there’d be a story of a big mushroom cloud over Des Moines because I pushed the wrong button. On my third day Becky said, “I’m going to put the two of you in the sheep barn tomorrow. No, I think I’ll split you up, you two know what you’re doing.” What? No…wait, I’m an idiot! Are you sure you want to do that?

But because I was with awesome, patient, and dedicated livestock workers (thanks, Matt), we did not have core meltdown. The benefits are great! (Wear your ISUE nametag). You will get a gate pass, free parking and meals which help defray your costs. But the biggest benefit is to facilitate the opportunity for each 4-H livestock exhibitor to experience the Iowa State Fair. I wouldn’t trade watching those beaming faces for anything! Thanks, Becky, for the opportunity. You’re a gem.

Posted by Becky at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Andrea Traeger posted a comment, dreaming about what a web-based system could do... expanding the horizons of just data entry. It's pretty interesting, and I decided it deserved a public response, because some of you may be thinking some of the same things. My response is going to sound like I'm raining on a parade, but that's not true. In part because of the reorganization, we're taking a closer look at our processes, looking for places to streamline and automate. We're certainly looking at how technology can help us with our work. However, although much of the technology exists for accomplishing many of these tasks, it's not cheap. And presently, there's nothing that would accomplish ALL of our data management needs, although some come pretty close. So, here are some of my thoughts from when I did the research on web-based enrolllment. Bear in mind that most of the things in Andrea's email will happen someday, and we'll probably not even remember when it wasn't that way!!

Most everything in the list can happen at some point in the future -- FOR A COST. There's no free lunch with these web-based products--for example, moving to an on-line entry system costs a sizable upfront investment, then an on-going fee of $2 per registration (for fairs, for conferences, for anything). We either have to add that to a participant fee (we're going to charge kids to apply for scholarships & awards???) or find a way to cough it up ourselves. For state conference, that's $2000. For State Fair, it's going to be over $10,000, which is not chump change!!

The fee payment thing is tough, because some counties pay 4-H fees, some counties have kids pay it, some have donors or clubs, some charge more than $20, and some split fees. And those are just the ones I know about! Add into that the fact that ISU doesn't let us all collect money over the internet--the 4-H Foundation can because they're not really ISU. Even if we overcome that hurdle, credit cards are also not free. The recipient of the money pays a fee for the "convenience" of using credit cards--usually in the range of 1-2% of the sale. Somebody has to come up with that money as well...

Another concern for us is preserving the link between counties and youth/parents/volunteers. Even when young people can enroll on-line, it's going to require a county person to go in and "approve" that enrollment before it becomes active. As far as volunteer background checks, the DCIA requires us to have a "real" signature on forms that give us permission to perform those, not a digital signature. Our feeling is that with new volunteers, we'd certainly like them to have been to the county office to visit about opportunities, and then fill out those forms, etc.

FSQA will continue to plague us, not because we're so in love with the database, but because of some of our commodity group partners. The "age" thing will always be an issue!! I'd like to find a way to integrate that into the enrollment process, however. It won't be right away, but it'll be a goal.

For the short term, the enrollment system would do everything that Blue Ribbon does, which is considerable, truthfully. It will do some things better, a few maybe not so quite well, some differently, and will do some new things as well. The one I'm looking at is more "customizable"--meaning that I can set it up to record those vol. trainings in a more logical way, and counties can also customize what they want to record (beyond the four checkboxes in BR). Features will be integrated as they become available and affordable.

I guess my main deal is going to be getting a replacement system on the ground and running... then we'll play with new stuff!! Job security is a valuable commodity in these economic times...

Posted by Becky at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Good thing I mentioned that there is lots more that I think, or think I know, than what I really KNOW. But, thanks to you, now I KNOW something new.

I did not know that Cougar Mountain was totally web-based. When I got the tidbit about the internet changing, I was reassured that since Cougar Mountain has to continue to exist, so that's the same as Blue Ribbon. Not necessarily.

HOWEVER, with a dandy little program named VPN, available thru ISU, you CAN access any of the ISUE servers from any computer. That's how I do it at home. I can see/access the S drive, the X drive, and the web server. Speed is dependent on your internet provider speed. That will be one option for continuing Blue Ribbon on the X drive, unless there's something else in the works that I'm not privy to.

Sue reminded me that the counties were also offered the option of having a "local server", meaning a shared drive located in your office, presumably not connected to ISU. That would be another option for relocating your own Blue Ribbon data, but it still means you have to send backups. Should speed up the access time, will allow multiple users, but doesn't give me access like I have now.

The big deal will be switching to a new program, which will be totally web-based, meaning that you can use it from anywhere. That access is even more important now than it was in the beginning of the search.

Jill was the first one to volunteer to try whatever new system we get, which I think is admirable, but cause for concern about her mental stability... nonetheless, it's in ink, Jill. No backing out now. I still just have to find the money!!

Keep responding. Some comments I'll post, and others, like this one, I'll just answer as a batch with a new posting.

Posted by Becky at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I have a bunch of things I've been MEANING to blog about, and haven't necessarily got "a round tuit" but now's a good time. This entry is going to combine info about what happened to the servers last week, and what MIGHT be happening in the reorganization that will affect Blue Ribbon. Hot topics, eh?

First, the easier one--last week. Apparently a router in Durham that controls off-campus access to Extension servers (like the X drive) went down, and it was probably brief, because Darin hadn't gotten any notice about it when I sent him a message saying that I had three--no, four--no, wait, seven--counties with the same issue, which seemed to indicate that it wasn't a coincidence. Anyway, the short version is that anyone who was working in Blue Ribbon when that happened had problems. If Blue Ribbon was not running, no problems. So, if you're having issues with Blue Ribbon that include "search table not active", just back out of the program, send me an email and I'll fix it for you. Takes less than 5 minutes, and is easier/faster to do than to send instructions to you!!

Well, time to talk about the Elephant in the Room. What's going to happen with Blue Ribbon when/if county offices contract for internet service with a local provider instead of using the T-1 we currently have? I'll tell you what I know (not much), what I think (some of it) and what I think I know (subject to change). My understanding right now is that you will still have access to the Cougar Mountain server, which SHOULD mean that you could also still access the X (Blue Ribbon) drive. This all falls under the category of "what I think I know".

What I KNOW is that T-1 service is darn fast, and easy to get used to. There may not be a local provider in your community who can give you service at that same level. Some may be at DSL speed, hopefully not dial-up. Don't ask me to expand a lot on that. I'm stretching my technical limits just typing those words. I have DSL at home, and I can use Blue Ribbon with server data. I'm spoiled because I think we have faster than T-1 speed on campus, so it seems slow for me at home. It's pretty acceptable once the program is up and running, but I do notice a speed difference. I'm not sure how different it will be than your current office speed, but it could be.

So, let's play "What if". What if you contract with a local internet company and it's INCREDIBLY slow--so much that running Blue Ribbon is a burdensome task? We'll fix it. We'll have to move the Data folder back to your C: drive and you'll have to go back to sending me backups, probably on a monthly schedule. What if I'm wrong about the Cougar Mountain & Blue Ribbon servers, and they're not accessible to county offices any more? Same answer, on a larger and faster scale.

The larger question is what are we going to do over the long-term, not patching this up to get by? I need to rustle up some more money and get serious about moving to a web-based platform, faster than I thought I had to. Given the new sense of urgency, I probably only have one option, since it's "done" and more importantly, "I could sell that in Iowa". Whenever I saw one of these potentials, I had to consider if there were deal-breakers, and I did it with the words, "I can't sell that in Iowa... it would have to be fixed." One company listened closely and fixed everything I found, so I'm going to have to visit more seriously with them!!

There are lots of budget issues still working themselves out, but Chuck and I have visited briefly about moving this up the priority list. We have SOME of the money we need (from your Blue Ribbon support fees), but have to find some more. That's why I can't give you a definite date or even more details. There are negotiations waiting to happen. As things start to shake out, however, I'll update you on progress through this blog. I'll be looking for victims, but we won't be the first state to transition, so it might not be as painful as it could be!!

I'm being as open with you as I can be at this point. If you have questions I've not addressed, post them to the blog. I'm hesitant to do too much "guessing" but if I KNOW something, I'll share that. You can also email me if you have concerns that you don't want to share on the blog. Basically, the short version of the story is that we'll make it work. I'm not quite sure HOW yet, but I AM sure we'll come up with something. And I'm also sure that YOU are the most important consideration in that plan. What works best for me is never as important as what works best for you. There's only one of me, and I can make ...whatever... work.

Posted by Becky at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, here's your opportunity to help decide what we should do about Blue Ribbon... should we update to version 2.6 so that it's compatible with Vista, or stay a bit longer on version 2.5 (which isn't)?

There are counties out there that have upgraded their office computers to Vista, and have left a "Blue Ribbon computer" set up somewhere, just so they can use it for that... and there are more and more counties who may be upgrading their machines. Is that a workable solution, or should we bite the bullet and change?

With the current economic challenges, I can't guarantee that we'll be changing to anything next fall, so that means this discussion has to be re-opened. I was pretty comfortable when I thought that in a year everyone would be transitioned to a new platform, one that was compatible with all computers. But now that there's a question about whether we can make that happen in that time frame, we need to revisit the plan.

There are still issues with version 2.6, although some things have been fixed. Keep the following things in mind as you respond to the blog:

• If we DO upgrade to 2.6, it's every county, every computer during the same time frame. There's no opt-outs.


• There is a possibility of corrupted data during the upgrade (we'll have backups of your original data, so should be able to mitigate that, although it'll be annoying and messy)


• The grade & years in 4-H do not increment on the re-enrollment forms


• Older printers don't work very well, and the mailing labels are sometimes unpredictable


• There were serious problems with the export process, though I have not figured out whether those were corrected or not.


• Print Data files (Lit By Project) is not working right at all


• ES237 duplicates may not be calculating correctly, and the ES237 report may be terminally unbalanced whether you have the data correct or not.


• We have terminated our Martech support contract, so will not be receiving further updates and/or support from the company. We're on our own with this.

I don't mean to sound totally negative, but wanted to be brutally honest with you about what we're trading for what. Let's hear some input from counties that have left a Blue Ribbon computer, as well as the rest of you. What do you see as a sustainable solution for the next 18-24 months? At some point, we will change systems--we just have to be careful stewards of our financial resources at this point, and that likely means postponing this purchase.

THANKS for responding to the blog!!

Posted by Becky at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, once again we have new postal regulations in terms of bulk mailings. You're not going to be able to use the standard Blue Ribbon mailing labels if you want to use bulk mail rates.

THANKS to Mary Kay Litzel, Steph Erpelding, and Anjanette Treadway, there's now a new document on the Blue Ribbon Helpsheets webpage that will help you get information OUT of Blue Ribbon, INTO Excel, and then ONTO labels, either using Microsoft Word 2003 or 2007, or Filemaker Pro. The directions for Word are noticeably more complete than Filemaker, but my latest "beginner" Filemaker manual has complete instructions for creating a labels layout within that program if you need more info.

The short version of the story is that when using bulk mail, you now either have to include "Return Service Requested" under your RETURN address (and pay for those returns) or include "Or Current Resident" in the address. It's that second option that won't work with the Blue Ribbon mailing labels setup.

Again, thanks to Mary Kay, Steph, and Anjanette for their help with this project. The resulting document is a whopper for a HelpSheet--6 pages--and much of its content (and helpfulness) comes from those 3 people. I'm definitely not a mail OR mail-merge guru, and I really appreciate them sharing their time and knowledge!!

Posted by Becky at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I know that not all of you use scripts that import data from another file, so if you don’t, this is going to be useless info. But if you DO, keep reading in the spirit of “It’s less painful to learn from someone ELSE’S mistake.”

When you set up an import script, you match up the fields in the order in which they should match up for the import. The annoying part for me has always been that I couldn’t “re-order” the fields on the left side of the import screen—the ones from the “sending” database. They always seemed to be in some sort of random order, not alpha.

Today I learned that the order is not at all random. It’s specifically in the order in which the fields were originally created.

So, what happens when you DELETE a field (most painfully an early-created one) from that source database? Well, sports fans, all your import scripts that depend on that database have their import order changed. The left side of the import screen changes order, shifting up to remove the space taken by the deleted field. The RIGHT side (receiving database) fields DO NOT change, meaning that they no longer match up where they used to. An “imaginary” example would have the HorseTotal going into the Grade field. Badbadbad.

And even worseworseworse, once that original field was deleted, it doesn’t do any good to go back and put it back in. Since it’s now been the LAST created field, it’s just going to plop itself at the bottom of the import list. So the only solution is to go through every script that includes an import step and manually reorder the import order.

The better solution would have been to RENAME the no-longer-necessary field, rather than deleting it. I did not learn this by reading a book or thinking logically through this, but through bitter experience (probably the best way to remember at my age). If I had it to do over, all my unnecessary fields would have been renamed to ZZoldWhateverTheyWere so that they could be easily identified as no longer necessary, but they’d have stayed within the file. I seriously hope I remember that next time!!

Posted by Becky at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)