Virtual Enrollment Party

GREAT discussion on the last question! That question dealt with input (how the data gets into the system), and now I'd like to focus on output for a little bit.

Those of you who have attended my Filemaker workshops have heard me say that all data management systems are built on the basis of input (what data do you have) and output (what do you want to do with it). When you talk about output, you're talking about not only the data (information) itself, but also the format--list, labels, summaries, whatever. Sometimes all I need is the information, and sometimes I need it in a specific way.

Thinking about Blue Ribbon, there are many pre-formatted reports available. On the parameters screen, you can select some filtering options and some format options. That allows you to choose both the set of records you want printed, and to some extent what fields are going to be included, what order, etc.

In some systems, there are unlimited filtering options--you can choose exactly which records are to be included, but fewer pre-formatted reports. After you chose the records you wanted, you would then choose what fields you want (from ALL available fields) and their order, but the data would go out to Word or Excel, and you would do any further formatting yourself. More flexible, less "canned". Advantages and disadvantages both ways.

With all that explanation, the question for discussion today is... if you had to choose your top FIVE report formats to keep as "canned" report formats, what would they be? Disregard anything about mailing labels--those are non-negotiable. I'm thinking in terms of list formats, that kind of thing. Think about ones that would be more difficult to fix up in Excel or Word. You probably have more than five you'd like to keep, but narrow it down to the TOP five. No, we won't be limited to that, but I want to see where we get some consensus, and where there are differences.

Posted by Becky at 01:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

As you may have heard, some of us have been doing a bit of research on possibly finding an enrollment system that would allow for web-based data entry, eliminating the need for software installation. We're still looking, still thinking, and no firm decision has been made. However, in doing this, several questions are coming up, and I need to have some input from the folks who are actually going to be spending the most time USING it--that would be you guys! So, I'm going to post some "discussion questions" and I'd like to get some conversation going by using the comments feature of this blog.

The first question is about WHO does the web entry. Let's assume for now that we had two choices, all technical and privacy issues had been adequately addressed, and the functionality (reports, etc.) of the two was the same.

One of them was designed for information to be entered by county staff, with a staff-login site, adding information much the way we do now, just over the web instead of in a software package.

The other one allowed families to enter their own basic information over the web, with counties doing group enrollments and other editing to records as necessary. There would be controls in place that would not allow families to change project enrollment or whatever after county-specified dates, as well as fields that families would not see, but county staff would--like the checkboxes for health forms, for example.

What do you see as the benefits/drawbacks of each of these systems? Remember that we're not worrying right now about functionality or privacy or other things--the two options would be exactly the same except for whether families would enter their own data. What do you think? Let us know... share your thoughts... be polite, though... we're all friends here, even if we have different opinions. I figure we can all learn from each other!

Posted by Becky at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (0)

I had a question from MaryAnn in Webster County, and it caused me to re-think what I THOUGHT was true. Turns out I was wrong--how amazing is that?

The question dealt with the disability field on the member record. I've encouraged you to use that to record info that would be useful info for leaders & others to know, not just limiting it to identified disabilities. I thought that info did not print on any reports unless you asked for a disability report format.

However, what we found is that the info DOES print on the "complete report" format as well. And it prints whether or not the Disability checkbox is marked. The info in the text box prints next to a header of "special needs". I guess it makes sense that the info would be included on the "complete report", but in some cases, you may not want that viewed.

If it's sensitive info that you do not want in print, but do want on the youth's record, we only have one option at the present time: When you print the report, you will need to locate the page with that young person's information, white-out the section, and run it through your copy machine. No, that is not ideal, or techno-savvy, or anything else. It's just all we've got right now. Someday, there may be another solution, but not now.

Posted by Becky at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This post is a continuation of the Blue Ribbon and Vista posting earlier today.

By now, there are two important pieces of information from Extension IT that you need to be aware of. The first one is the April 15 deadline for any computers that you want loaded with WindowsXP. After that date, all computers WILL be loaded with Vista, no exceptions. The other information that's important is that Extension IT is coordinating a "bulk buy" of Filemaker 9 licenses for county use. (For more information, go to Tech News Feb. 26.)

Filemaker 7 and 8 will not run on Vista. Well, technically version 8 will sort of run, if you don't mind that the screen turns black every time you click on something, but let's assume that's not acceptable. Version 8.5 WILL work, IF you have installed a Vista update. Filemaker 9 is fully Vista compatible. The really good news is that it is also fully compatible with Filemaker 7 & 8. What that means is that if you have a Filemaker 7 database, you can open it using Filemaker 9 on one computer, then later open it using Filemaker 7 on another one. The extension at the end of the filename will still be ".fp7" as it was in both Filemaker 7 and 8.

So, why would you need to purchase Filemaker 9 this time? Only if you think you're going to have a Vista computer that will need to run Filemaker, truthfully. But remember, Vista is not going away. Not just this year's computers, but all computers from now on, will have Vista installed on them. So plan ahead. The opportunity that Mike Mauton is coordinating for you is a good one--purchasing Filemaker individually is more expensive.

Other tidbits--the state fair entry system will continue to be "runtime", which means that you don't have to have ANY Filemaker to open it. The judges database, however, will only be available in ".fp7", so if you never upgraded to version 7 or 8, now is a good time to buy a license for version 9 so that you can use that database. I'm kind of assuming the same things are true about the staff directory and the pesticide directory, but it's just a guess.

Interested in learning more about how to use Filemaker? I'm tentatively planning that I'll offer some beginner and intermediate workshops next fall. I want to have time to work with my own version 9, and see whether there are new features that I should add to the workshop. I'll send out more information about those workshops as soon as I have a definite time frame.

If you have questions about Filemaker and Vista, please feel free to post a comment to the blog! If you have specific questions about Vista only, you're going to be better off talking to somebody at Extension IT!!

Posted by Becky at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Probably by now, you've seen the messages from Extension IT, telling you that beginning on April 15, all new computers WILL be loaded with Windows Vista--no exceptions allowed. Let's talk about Vista and how it interacts with Blue Ribbon first. There is a separate post about Vista and Filemaker.

In Iowa, we are using Blue Ribbon version 2.5 because 2.6 is buggy and has not been fixed yet. Eventually I'm sure there will be a version 2.7, and I'm hopeful it WON'T be buggy. But, we don't know when that will be released. Stick with me here--this is a trickle-down explanation from this point on. Version 2.5 will not install and work with Vista. There is no work-around or fix. However, there IS a separate installation package for version 2.6 and Vista. One install package for XP, a different one for Vista. This where it gets interesting.

Version 2.6 changes the data file structure, so if one person in an office updates to that version, everyone else will be forced to do that as well. So far I'm seeing two different CDs for that office--one Vista, one XP. It gets worse. Once one county updates to version 2.6, I'm also going to have to do that in order to be able to use the data. Once *I* have updated, the REST of the counties will also have to do that... now we're looking at two CDs for every county, and a forced software update across the state, never forgetting the original problem: version 2.6 is buggy. So everyone would be doing that software update to a flawed product, instead of one that works right. Hm.

What should you do about Vista, then? If you are going to order a new computer (to run BR) this year, you have a couple of choices--if the current BR computer is running well, order a Vista computer, and just leave the old computer set up and running BR until I release version 2.7, then load 2.7 on the Vista computer. If your current BR computer is NOT functional, then you'll have to think about ordering a new computer before April 15, and asking for it to be loaded with XP. I can't guarantee we'll see version 2.7 by April. Or September even. All I know is that I'm not going to release version 2.6 because the problems are significant enough to override any benefits.

If you need more information before the April 15 ordering deadline, please email me or better yet, post a comment to the blog!

Posted by Becky at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I got this information and link from a colleague in Pennsylvania last night, and thought it would be something good to share with all of you. I don't know about you, but Google is my favorite (read pretty much ONLY) way of searching for information on the internet. This "malware" (stuff that's bad for your computer and your privacy) attack has specifically targeted Google through infecting the computers of people who come to the compromised sites through a Google search.

Although the article has some techie stuff, there are some very useful tips on the second page for staying safe when you're visiting sites as a result of a Google search.

“Beginning on November 24 and continuing for less than a week, bad guys loaded up more than 40,000 Web pages with malicious software and thousands of common search terms. They then employed an automated network of malware-infected botnet computers to link to those sites in blog-comment spam and other places…”

link: How to use Google and stay safe

From: www.techworld.com

Posted by Becky at 07:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thanks to Darin Dugan, we have a unique new opportunity--to have all of our counties' Blue Ribbon data folders stored in one location. The advantages are many, the only possible disadvantage is small in comparison.

Beginning the next time you start your computer, all BR users should see a new drive listed on "My Computer": “Projects on \iastate.edu\C Ext (X:\)” That’s the new Blue Ribbon data server. When you open that X: drive, you’ll first see a folder named Winyouth, then inside that you will see two folders, CountyData and CountyLocks (only instead of the word “County”, you’ll see your own county name… like AppanooseData, for example). The CountyData folder is where your Blue Ribbon data files will reside after the change.

Let me give you a little sales pitch on moving your data out to this new server drive. In the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you the only disadvantage first--your Blue Ribbon program will take a bit longer to open, and will switch between screens a little slower than it does now with your data on the C: drive. However, over half the counties have been using the S: drive already, and in checking with them, they didn’t feel that the slowdown was really burdensome once you get used to it.

Turning this sales pitch around, let’s talk about the positives!

Your data is secure. Although this is a server, not everyone can see the X:\Winyouth directory. I control permissions not only to that folder, but also to the individual county folders. That’s why you can only see your own county, even though all 100 county folders are out there. So the only people who can see/open/use your county data folder are the ones I set permissions for, which are the Blue Ribbon users in each county.

I, however, can see and use all of the county folders. That means you will NEVER EVER have to do another backup. You will also NEVER EVER have to download and install those pesky project & lit updates that come out every fall, because I will do that for you. If you are having problems with your records not working right (kids not showing up on the right report, ES237 not balancing) you can call and I will be able to look at your data “live” and help you work through a solution.

The server is automatically backed up every night. If something dreadful happens and you somehow lose data, we can recover your Data folder from the previous day. Additionally, we’ll be making a copy of the data folders every month, so that if you want to be able to go back to a previous set of data (like at the beginning of the new year), that can happen as well.

I have posted instructions for you on how to make this change on the BR helpsheets web page at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4H/blueribbon/helpsheets.htm. You can choose to print out the Word document, or view the videos. The information is the same, just presented differently for those who would rather read, and those who would rather watch & listen!

An email is going out now to all the the people who are listed as Blue Ribbon users in counties with their data on the C: drive, and there is a bit more information in that. Additionally, an email will go out to all county directors, so that they are aware of what is happening, and also know that when a new Blue Ribbon user is hired, they will have to notify me so that I can add permissions for them.

If you have questions or concerns that you need to have addressed before you make this change, please feel free to email me and I’ll be happy to work with you on those!

Posted by Becky at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Reading other people's blogs can sometimes be productive. I just found the following site by going to Anne Adrian's blog (she's from Auburn and writes some interesting posts about social networking), then following a link to a Twitter account called "ittotd" which stands for IT Tip of the Day... and that led me to this Microsoft site. Never underestimate the power of social networks on the web!

Anyway, I know that some of you have new computers, and that they may have been pre-loaded with Office 2007, which has a very different look and feel than the previous version. It'll do the same things (maybe more), but it does them in a completely different way, which can lead to frustration, and in my case, lower productivity. It took me longer to get things done. So I solved the problem by uninstalling Office 2007 and reinstalling Office 2003, and I'm happy.

In case you'd like to EMBRACE new technology, rather than IGNORING it, go to the training site on the Microsoft website that has some comprehensive lessons on various tasks you might be doing in Office 2007.

Posted by Becky at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've had several questions in the past couple of weeks, all related to project codes, and most related to this year's winner of the "We Should Have Thought About that Twice" Award--Horseless Horse.

Horseless Horse has been project 1214. REAL Horse Level 1 was project 1211. The problem was that although that was Level 1, the project literature we use for the project has "Level 2" in its title, & Level 1 of that curriculum is Horseless Horse. That seemed to be too confusing, so a decision was made (and nobody asked me) to re-number and re-name all the horse projects, assigning current numbers to different projects. That's where the problem came in.

How does this affect your enrollment process? Well, it's giving us a great opportunity to know who has installed the project and lit file updates. If you are trying to enter a project enrollment for 1210 (Horseless Horse) and it's telling you it's an invalid code, it's because you haven't done those updates. They are available on the BR Updates webpage, along with instructions for downloading/installing.

A few key facts: Installing now will NOT affect any enrollments you already have done. There were many price changes in the literature, so if you DON'T install them, not only will you have the Horseless Horse Issue, but also your lit orders will not add up the same in BR as they do on the web order form. You only have to do this installation ONCE, regardless of how many computers are loaded with Blue Ribbon. And, finally, you should not log in as Administrator when you do this.

Posted by Becky at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As you're entering new young people into the Blue Ribbon program, you may find that your drop-down menu with the schools listed either isn't complete, or is TOO complete!! You can't type directly into that list from the member screen, but you can edit it. Enrollment time is the best time to do this, because you're going to be looking at each member's record anyway, so if you delete a school (spelling, probably) that was assigned to a kid, you can just assign a new one when you re-enroll him/her.

Under your File menu, you SHOULD find an option for School Codes. When you choose that, you'll see the screen shown below. You can type in the fields, add new records, and delete duplicate records (caused by spelling the same school name two different ways).

Posted by Becky at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)