Virtual Enrollment Party

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)