I have been working with ScoutBook for 6 months now and have figured out most of the features. One of the most frustrating parts of this program for me is that it doesn’t give a complete picture of the scout on Advancement Reports (and even the scouts page). I would like to see added to the report the camping and service logs, as well as the training log. I would also like to see what leadership positions the scout has held over his entire career on the report.
My other concern is there is no place to record major event and have them appear on the advancement log. Major Events would include: High Adventure participation (Philmont, Northern Tier, Sea Base, etc.), participation in NYLT staff (or other staff positions such as Camp Councilor), summer or winter camp participation, National or World Jamboree participation (although I see National Jamboree Award for 2017).
For me and my troop, this would be a welcome addition to both the scouts (and Adult volunteers) page and the Advancement report. As Advancement chair, this information is much more important at a BOR than the date a Star Scout applicant learned the Scout Law. Its enough to know what date the previous ranks were earned and not the dates of each individual requirements for each rank.
Michael - you may want to look at the scouts BSA history report that exists in the scout page under reports.
Thank you for responding. I have looked at the individual history report. It does not show all the things I would like to see, AND it is another report to build WITH the advancement report. Could the 2 not be not be merged? It is redundant (and a complete waste of paper) to print an advancement report and then an individual report that includes the same information plus some extra information. I would still like to place on the scouts profile, prominently, that he/she attended Philmont High Adventure, World Jamboree, Staff for NYLT, etc.
Michael,
I’m confused. The advancement report is the report that you give to the Scout Shop when you purchase awards. Neither the Scout Shop nor the council cares about camping, service, or training logs. Are you referring to something other than the advancement report that is generated from the Purchase Order?
Get Troopmaster. SB may be fine for what’s in the handbook, but it’s lacking for what you’re looking for.
I may be. The advancement report is what I print out for the Board of Review so that the other members can see the Scouts records. Some members of the BOR do not have regular contact with the scouts outside of BOR’s. Its the only form I have found that provides the records on advancement and merit badges earned.
However, there is a place on the scouts page that lists awards. This is great and I appreciate seeing them. I would like to be able to add positions or experiences that are just as much work as the awards. NYLT Staff, camp counselor and other positions of responsibilities the scouts seek out and perform. Attending High Adventure is also an important experience that would be great to see on the scouts page and in the report used for BOR’s. To me, the Advancement Report (or report for BOR) is a resume, and the BOR is an interview. Resumes, BOR Report worksheets, should have all the information that make the scout stand out.
I had TroopMaster, and the troop voted to use ScoutBook. I am fine working with ScoutBook, and since this forum is titled “New ScoutBook Feature Requests” I thought I would put up a request for a new feature here. If there is another forum you would like me to use for my request, feel free to advise me. I would appreciate, however, that your response remembers that a Scout Is Helpful.
Michael - indeed the new feature forum is the right place. Now I will ask though if a scout never went to philmont, attend or staffed nylt, or any other thing are they less of a scout and unworthy of advancement. If you are requiring these things then you are adding requirements. Not that I am against recording the full scout experience I am just concerned that it seems like these items sound like required advancement items.
No sir. Not at all. It would just be nice to see the experiences of the scout in one glance. Even more, the scouts who use ScoutBook and look at their page can see their Merit badges listed by picture, and awards listed by picture. Why not add a feature that shows High Adventure attendance, staff positions performed at district/council/national level right there on the home page just as awards or merit badges do. And since ScoutBook is a database, it should be able to pull that info into a report such as advancement. I would also include major training such as NYLT or Leave No Trace Trainer, etc. While it seems like a list like this could quickly become “endless” and excessive, some of these should be considered as noteworthy as a Mile-Swim award or Fireman Chit. Something to think about.
Every scout is important to me, and while scouting is a group organization, the experiences of the scout are very individualized. Never would I compare one scouts achievements against another. Each deserves recognition for the achievements they have earned and no one scout (or their experience) is more important or deserving than another’s. Nor should one scout ever be compared to another. That is what makes Scouting such a wonderful place for both scouts and adult volunteers.
Thank you for responding and asking for clarification.
Youth training is included on the Scout History Report.
Sorry about being a little short, but a couple of years ago, I got a trial version of SB before our TroopMaster license expired to evaluate. Back then, SB had a lot of problems. (It has gotten better.) I listed the pros and cons of each, and when I reported back to the committee, my recommendation was to keep TM at least for the time being, because even if we went with SB to track advancement, we would still need some unit management software for everything else.
Now that SB is free, I gave it another look, and noticed that some things had improved, but reports were still lacking, not much in the way of recording adult participation in activities (e.g. camping nights for OA eligibility), etc, and just recently I went to our TM archive to retrieve emails from our alumni for our 50th anniversary. I doubt SB will ever be able to do that.
I must admit that SB does look nicer than TM on a smart phone.
BTW, does SB have offline capability yet?
Yes ma’am. And I appreciate that. I was hoping for a one report stop
I appreciate your response. My troop was not willing to continue to pay for a management system when one was available for free. And I’m not willing to input data twice. I like a lot of features of ScoutBook, and I agree the reports function could be improved greatly. I am not happy with the app and haven’t really found a use for it. I haven’t even looked at it in a couple of months since all I could see on the app was my scouts page even though I am a Key3.
Michael - I appreciate the honest answer. Certainly troopmaster/Packmaster has had many years to develop reports that units have grown used to. I can say that havening been a long time troopmaster/packmaster person I really never used the majority of the reports. That is not to say that scoutbook can not get there but do know that if there is a specific report build, it is most likely intellectual property of TM/PM and can not be exactly replicated. Just fair warning.
The Scouting app is only for parents and Scouts - not leaders.
Yes sir. I understand. Much of what I have asked for was not included in TM either, at least in the way I envision it. I really like SB’s Scout Page, with the Merit Badges and Awards right there on the Individual home screen. I would be nice to have a section under Awards that showed major experiences. And a report that included more experiences and less past requirements.
Thank you. I thought that might be the case
