Gary,
The best suggestion I can offer is for you to mock up what you are thinking keeping in mind it must work on both a computer and smartphone and post it in the Feature Request category.
Ed,
I have to say, I’m disappointed in the responses here. As a member of the “Scoutbook Advisory Council,” are you able to tell me the process to get feedback to the people who make design decisions about Scoutbook?
I’m not a UI designer, so I don’t want to mock up anything. This really should be done by a professional UI designer with guidance from people who understand the advancement process.
We have a proven UI design in the paper process that clearly separates Scout self-progress management from the approval process (see screen shot from the printed book above). The current color coded check boxes fail at that task. It could be as simple as two check boxes side by side, or other approaches that a good UI designer could certainly develop.
So, I ask again, what is the process for getting improvements and enhancement requests in front of the responsible people at Scoutbook?
There are only two portals to the folks in the Scoutbook development sphere: posting here in the discussion groups (and getting relayed by someone from SUAC) or email to scoutbook.support@scouting.org.
There is no direct interface.
As Charley said, if you send an e-mail to scoutbook.support@scouting.org with your suggestion, I’m 99% sure the reply you will get is “post it on the Feature Request” forum.
The reason I asked you to mock something up is because no one on the SUAC to date has come up with anything better than what we have. The main requirement is that it fit on a smartphone screen which eliminates the 3 column model of the handbook. If you have any suggestions, we would like to hear them.
The BSA does not have an unlimited IT budget and given the recent bankruptcy filing, I doubt they would assign something without details to a developer.
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I’ve posted this exact same story in other threads, but I want to share it here again to offer some perspective to those of you frustrated by scouts or parents entering things into Scoutbook for rank or merit badges…
"My older son is a First Class Scout, and I wanted to share how we use Scoutbook from his perspective as a kid and my perspective as a parent.
My son struggled when he crossed over. He went from 100% all in as a Webelos/AOL, to lost and confused and losing interest just a few months after joining his troop. I watched from a distance to see if it was maturity or anxiety… just to see how he would adjust to the new environment.
After a while, when he’d been “stuck” at Tenderfoot for about a year, he came to me and asked to quit Scouts. Of course, I told him I accepted his decision, but I wanted him to explain to me what led him to that choice. We made a list of the things he still enjoyed about Scouting, and another list of the things that were bugging him. There were a ton of things he enjoyed, but the number one thing that was bothering him was that he didn’t feel like he was making any progress. He wanted to advance ranks, but felt like he was going nowhere. (We also talked about if advancing was the only reason to be in Scouts, and he agreed it wasn’t, but that was his goal, and he felt like he couldn’t get anywhere).
I asked why Webelos/AOL was different, and the answer was that his den leader kept a huge poster chart that showed their achievements and what they had left to accomplish.
For him, it was all about visualization.
That night, I showed him his little brothers’ Scoutbook account (his troop used it, but not regularly). His brothers were both AOL (twins) and I am their den leader, so he could see what they had checked off on each Adventure and each Elective, as well as the entire rank. (they have both since crossed over and are working on Tenderfoot).
The ability to see the progress really spoke to him, so we logged into his Scoutbook and inputted all the requirements signed off in his book by leaders for 2nd and 1st class. Just looking at it in the book made him feel overwhelmed that there was so much to do, but the colorful little wheel in Scoutbook showed him he was 60% done with 2nd Class and 35% done with 1st Class. Just visualizing it like that made all the difference, and he suddenly loved Scouting again.
I hoped I wasn’t stepping on any SM or AC toes, but I know that this little thing got my son really excited and really motivated again. Since this tiny change, he’s more involved, more social with other scouts, and excited to be a part of things again.
After every troop meeting/activity, we’d sit down and enter his achievements in so he could see the percentage go up and up and up. He finished 2nd Class in just a few more weeks - and 1st Class about two months later. Now he is working on Star and is just as excited about seeing the percentage wheel go up each time he completes requirements for his merit badges.
I imagine this is one of the reasons why the programmers made it so Scouts and parents can enter achievements and “approval” is required by a leader.
Some kids get motivated differently, and I’d bet there are tons of kids (especially in this digital/video game age) that are motivated and feel a greater sense of accomplishment by the visual representation of their progress that Scoutbook gives them.
A few weeks ago, one of my younger sons (who cross over this week) joked that their older brother is just addicted to the percentage wheel, not to the achievements, the skills learned, or the knowledge gained. He quickly corrected them, saying that is wasn’t the wheel itself, but knowing and having real concrete proof that he was making progress towards his goals.
***** That was all several months ago, and we still use Scoutbook in the same way to track his progress in the Merit Badges he is working on, and we use it for my younger sons in this manner as well.
He - like a lot of kids in this technology/video game age - crave that feedback and the percentage wheel speaks to him. I am a teacher, as well as a Scout Leader, so I think we need to get used to the way that visualization like SB helps today’s kids stay motivated and progress. Instead of bemoaning that they aren’t using the technology the way we want them to, perhaps we should see things from their perspective and understand why they use it that way.
I don’t mean to offend - but I don’t see any problem with kids/parents being allowed to use Scoutbook in that manner, and I think the OP’s problem is more with communicating to parents to use it correctly and help the kids/parents understand that they still need to follow the proper protocols with Blue Cards and counselors and the like and that their checkmarks don’t indicate a completed merit badge.
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Love your write up. I have showed it to 1 scout that has no parent involvement and was stuck a bit in my opinion. After showing him on my phone where he is and what he still needs to do I asked if he thinks scoutbook would help him and his reply was definitely.
I feel that the leaders are harder to convince.
Another thing about this whole thread though that bugs me is that so many of the leaders are complaining about what is wrong…I have used a few of the programs including internet advancement and I think scoutbook the best of all of them. Is it perfect? Heck no! Write your comment to scoutbook, quit griping, move on and focus on how you can help your scouts rather than banging your head against the wall and not changing one bit by doing that.
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As for the part where your Eagle has started working on his own on an MB:
And I think there is another important sentence missing in the part that Donovan has quoted from the Guide to Advancement: “…It is the counselor’s decision whether to accept work or activities completed prior to the issuing of the signed blue card. Common sense should prevail, however. For example, nights already camped as a Scout in Scouts BSA or as a qualified Venturer or Sea Scout, or coins or stamps already collected, would count toward their respective badges.”
My son has used the workbook to fill out for Personal Management. The counselor that talked to him after reading his workbook e-mailed me later and said that was the most extensive work he has ever seen a scout do for that MB. And he had started to work on it before a blue card was signed.
Here another source: https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/advancement-and-awards/merit-badges/ : "… Call the Merit Badge Counselor . Get a signed Application for Merit Badge, No. 34124 or No. 34130, from your unit leader. Get in touch with the merit badge counselor and explain that you want to earn the badge. The counselor may ask to meet you to explain what is expected and to start helping you meet the requirements. You should also discuss work you have already started or possibly completed.
At the first meeting, you and your merit badge counselor will review and may start working on the requirements. In some cases, you may share the work you have already started or completed.
Unless otherwise specified, work on a requirement can be started at any time …"
Hope those 3 sources help you be a bit more open in your approach…
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