2017 Initiatives
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2017 Initiatives
I know many of you have been wondering what is going on in the Scoutbook development world. So, what is on the schedule for 2017?
The Scoutbook team is still releasing new functionality and bug fixes every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10 am Central Time. As a reminder; there may be short downtimes associated with these releases with communication regarding what was changed to follow. Additional releases will be completed as needed to improve or correct the User experience.
We have made great progress on the Scoutbook Advancement Record Sync with Internet Advancement. We are in the final stages of testing. This project will be implemented in Feb 2017 for several pilot units. Once those units have verified that everything is working smoothly for them we will communicate the steps you will need to take to get your unit ready and setup for the sync process. Once your unit has been setup you will no longer need to export/enter data into Internet Advancement; as advancement records will be update between the systems automatically. Look for more information within the next few weeks regarding this roll-out!
There are several large initiatives we are looking to implement in 2017. These projects are listed in no particular order as priorities are subject to change:
· Enable Venturing Subscriptions
· Enable Varsity Subscriptions
· Enable Exploring Subscriptions
· Membership Validation
· Single Sign On (between SB and other BSA Applications)
· Unit Renewal
· 2017 JTE Requirements built into Calendar/Event modules
· Unit JTE Report
· New Mobile Scout Experience
Thank you and your unit(s) for using Scoutbook – We are looking forward to what 2017 has in store!!!
Are there any of the 'smaller' items on the calendar / event module? I know it gets asked about by many users, but active units use the calendar process so much that even small changes can generate a lot of good will.
Richard - we can add the ability to add attachments. I'll put that in on the request.
Llona - same for RSVPing - we will look into what we can do there as well.
We will try and push these types of changes in as we can! We appreciate the support and feedback!
attachments on the events calendar would be very useful.
thank you @Daphne Brizendine
Ability to set an adult leader to the main calendar. Allow for comments/comment changes and RSVP to be sent to the leader.
2017-02-04: More, see [url]https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/sea-scouting/81507/planned-enhancements-through-2017/[/url]
Would you say more about what you are asking for here: "Also the rank advancement items should automatically flag if there is a date validation issue if the date entered was not within the required range."
Sea Scouts are on the list!
Please add your suggestions for features or report any bugs to the forums, they are monitored daily. The forums are here: https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/
There may be things we can prepare for even before the "steps you will need to take to get your unit ready and setup for the sync process." It might be useful, for example, for troops to complete advancement usually done just before a Court of Honor a little early so that nothing is open and more at risk of complication. In other words, there might be things on our schedules which can be accommodated if we know well ahead of time what could be affected.
1) Make sure all Scouts on the roster are registered in the unit and have their current BSA Member ID in their profile.
2) Make sure there are no duplicate Scouts on your roster in Scoutbook.
3) The person who will be setting your unit up for the sync needs to be: a unit key 3 member (Unit Leader, Chartered Organization Representative or unit Committee Chair) or Scoutbook Unit Admin (who is registered in the unit.) They will need to verify their My.ScoutingTools login credentials so they should check that they can log in at http://my.scouting.org.
4) Make sure the First Name, Last Name and Date of Birth of each Scout matches what is in Akela and Internet Advancement (aka ScoutNET.) A unit key 3 member (CC, unit leader, or COR) or delegate can use Member Manager in My Scouting Tools to see what First Name and Last Name are in Akela and Internet Advancement. Member Manager also has the birth month and day. The year can be computed by printing the Youth Member Age Report in Member Manager.
5) Keep your unit’s Purchase Orders up to date in Scoutbook.
I will start a thread in the Using Scoutbook forum where we can receive feedback. Please don't add comments here.
I'm somewhat concerned over what "New Mobile Scout Experience" means.
Not sure what you are asking here.
See the guide: 04M -- Migrating Scouts from Youth to Adult Leader Roster (FAQ)
on page 2 of the SUAC Scoutbook FAQ and Resources at http://bit.ly/scoutbook
1) the ability to add Boy Scouts (that have a Troop Scoutbook account) as Den Chief in a Cub Scout Pack Scoutbook account (single Scoutbook account for the boy scout) so they can see Pack events
2) Ability to give a Boy Scout calendar admin editing rights
3) Update the Boy Scout Nova and Supernova Awards
Also, as others have also volunteered, both the pack (1191) and the troop (460) I am working with would be interested in testing out the Scoutbook Advancement Record Sync with Internet Advancement.
Getting all official national awards is also something that we've been told will be worked on.
And if I may give a +1 to those folks above who were asking about the calendar...since most of us use the calendar and its associated functions on a daily basis, any work that is done improving its functionality, even minimal changes, make us all very, very happy.
1. Member validation = ensuring all BSA databases have the same info on scouts and scouters
2. New mobile Scout experience = offline capabilities for scouts
There may be some nuances of the definitions that can be picked at, and Scoutbook may not go 100% to goal state in a step, but that should give you a basic idea.
Additionally, is there any effort into creating the ability to log events Scouts participate in, but not camping nights? This would allow for easy and quick verification for the first requirement for both Second and First Class ranks. An example would be logging attendance for a Saturday Troop First Aid class which now logs 1 event for the Scout. Then attendance for a campout logs a second event to aid in reaching the 5 or 10 needed for each rank.
Finally, has there been any progress in allowing Admins to move Scouts to Adult status? This would help out tremendously as many of our Scouts haven't created accounts yet and many parents are still learning the new system, so they haven't even done the request email option under the edit profile, let alone have the Scout log in so the Scoutbook Admin can move them at a later time.
Auto population is a two edged sword. For example the 20 nights of camping for the Camping MB isn't just 20 nights, it is:
a. Camp a total of at least 20 days and 20 nights.* Sleep each night under the sky or in a tent you have pitched. The 20 days and 20 nights must be at a designated Scouting activity or event. You may use a week of long-term camp toward this requirement. If the camp provides a tent that has already been pitched, you need not pitch your own tent.
*All campouts since becoming a Boy Scout or Varsity Scout may count toward this requirement.
Often it is better if a Scoutmaster or other leader confirms that Scout did the requirement. Remember, the requirement isn't that a computer said you did this and that, the 4 steps to Boy Scout advancement are:
1. The Scout Learns
2. The Scout Is Tested
3. The Scout Is Reviewed
4. The Scout Is Recognized
Step 2 is the responsibility of the Scoutmaster, not a computer.
https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums
Thanks for the update and continued development of Scoutbook.
Just saw this, there is a chrome extension that allows recurring events to be added.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/scoutbook-calendar-extens/fkpildogijblljpfejjaagppigmfcgld?hl=en-US
Look at the reporting section on page 3 of the SUAC Scoutbook FAQ and Resources here:
http://bit.ly/scoutbook
Would like to see integration with SOAR as they've added the ability to nest Scoutbook within their portal so you can have both advancement (Scoutbook) and website/calendar/registration/email engine of SOAR in one screen/session. Specifically generate a SOAR.xfr file export from Scoutbook for import into SOAR websites so that the email alias, email grouping tools, calendar, event registration, etc of SOAR can use the data. We are also looking at integrating slack into our messaging mechanism as enabler for instagram, text, email, facebook, etc.
What is the best way to receive help with a scoutbook issue for wolf ranking? There is a problem with on of the requirements. I wasn't sure if this is the best place or if I need to address this in another blog
Thanks
The Scoutbook forums are the best place to go for help. If the problem you are seeing is Duty to God Footsteps not auto completing when requirement 1 OR 2 plus 2 others are complete, this is a known issue. You can manually complete the adventure by clicking on the box next to Percent Completed and fill in the completion date.
Thank you
WE WILL PILOT IF YOU NEED VOULNTEERS. T350, MI
We have a discussion going in the forums about the sync here:
https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/using-scoutbook/99892/getting-ready-for-the-advancement-sync/
There is a FAQ linked there that will answer your question.
https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/using-scoutbook/88731/suac-scoutbook-faq-and-resources-table-of-contents--page-3-/
If your council registrar makes sure the Scout's advancement is under his current BSA membership ID with your council, we can see it. Otherwise we cannot.
A reply from ScoutBook would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
The Boy Scout Super Nova awards are on our to do list. There are a number of awards we will be adding/updating in the next few months.
Thanks
If you have a question about how Scoutbook works or suggestions for improvements, please post them on the forums, which are monitored and are here:
https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/
Ranks such as First Class require keeping track of the number of troop events participated in. However, First Class, Order of the Arrow, and Camping Merit Badge require one to be clear in the number of camping nights where a scout pitched his own tent.
If you use the camping tab for everything, you can include notes about whether the scout pitched his own tent but you have to click open each entry to read the notes and the total number of camping days is incorrect.
If you use the camping tab for just nights where you pitched your own tent, then there is no where to keep a complete log of all the activities you participate in.
Another suggestion to resolve this problem would be to add another tab near camping and hiking for "other events".
Any improvements in this area would be appreciated.
I was just wondering if there are any plans to allow text formatting, bullets, hyperlinks, etc., when making calendar entries.
Also, I saw that a couple people asked about adding attachments to calendar entries, and that would be awesome, too!
On another note- I had units leave scoutbook because it will not take payments. If we can get a function that will allow parents to make payments to the unit (Credit Card) that would be awesome!
Chuck, the JTE report is not available in Scoutbook yet.
Another option is to use the iCal URL and import the .ics into Google Calendar. Google calendar has an option to Print.
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