@StewartStryker - no need to apologize. I fully understand your sentiments. What we can hope for is a far better end product now that things are migrating a new and more stable platform than scoutnet has been lately.
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We started using Scoutbook on February 1 when we founded our Troop, because it was my understanding that this would be THE internet advancement tool that BSA is using. It has been challenging to get parents and Scouts fully on board and I was going to make a push in the fall to get the stragglers set up. However, now I am reading this thread and I am wondering if that is the best decision. I am not interested in pushing hard to get everyone onto a system that will be obsolete soon or if we will then have to migrate everyone over to a different system.
If IA 2.0 is what we are REALLY going to be using, I would rather switch to that before pushing everyone on board.
I am not completely computer illiterate, I have been able to help the parents who want help to get them set up on Scoutbook, but I donāt understand the technical conversations about APIs or operating systems, which means I donāt fully follow what is being said in this thread.
Bottom line, if I stick with Scoutbook, am I going to have to transition my whole Troop to a different interface within 3-5 years?
Internet Advancement is intended for use by units that do not use Scoutbook. It writes to the Scoutbook database. If you do not have another advancement tracking program, Scoutbook is recommended by the BSA. Scoutbook will continue to be the advancement tracking software of the BSA.
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Ed,
Thanks for clarifying this.
Stew
In your reply from May 19th, you are saying that if we are using Scoutbook, we will not need IA2. Some parts of Scoutbook seen to be forcing me to use IA2 even as soon as two days after the previous post was written. What gives?
David,
The log term plan is to move Scoutbook functionality currently written in an obsolete system to a modern programming stack. That stack is the basis of Internet Advancement. As functions are migrated to that stack, the user will be automatically redirected to that new function.
Units do not need to use the advancement functions of Internet Advancement if they are using Scoutbook for advancement.
Scoutbook and Internet Advancement share the Scoutbook database, so writing advancement final completions in either platform will be visible in the other. Internet Advancement does not support advancement or award requirements. Requirements can only be marked complete in Scoutbook.
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What happens when Council does not have the time to update the counselor information or add new counselors? Currently this takes months at different times of the year. How will Scoutmasters link a Scout to a Merit Badge Counselor who has not been entered into Scout Book? Who will notify Merit Badge counselors that their Youth Protection Training is about to expire? Currently there is no way to check the YPT date as the Training Validation app has been removed.
The same thing that happened before - they arenāt counselors. This is the same as it has been for the years that the BSA required counselors to be registered. No change.
Very simple - they will continue to use blue cards as they have for decades before. No change.
Like with anyone, they get an email at multiple intervals alerting them. If they fail to act, they have their membership lapsed. This is true for all adults. No change.
If you want to check someone, a SM (or key 3, or key 3 delegate, or commissioner) can go to training manager and go to quick search and search anyone in the council.
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How can Scoutmaster send a Scout to a merit badge counselor how has not been setup as a counselor? There are times when a counselor is not entered for months.
What do you mean? As long as they know the person is registered as an MBC, they can send them with a paper blue card.
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How do they know a person is registered if the application is sitting on a desk in council office? It has not been processed, the Counselor has not been notified, therefore there is no listing in Scout Book. As I say, this can take months before the application is processed. This is not acceptable in my book.
Respectfully, that person is not registered (at least not as a MBC) if the MBC application is still sitting on someoneās desk unprocessed. Irrespective of the new-ish (Scoutbook/IA2) or pre-existing (hardcopy) process, the fact that a MBC applicant has not yet been approved by council means that they can not yet serve as a MBC for the respective badges. Thatās a council application processing issue, not a Scoutbook/IA2 issue.
As soon as the person is registered (properly) in the system by council as a MBC, they should be appearing in the MBC list available to unit scouters in the unit menu in Scoutbook. If the MBC application has been processed and the individual scouter is not showing up, that could be a bug or the result of an error in the data entry.
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Great point. Not registered is not registered. This has been true for MBCs for many many years. 25 years? More? This has zero to do with IA or Scoutbook.
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Agreed. Take this up with your council.
I still donāt understand your main point.
The training validation has not been removed look at blue question circle lower right hand corner in my scouting. Emails go out (2-3) in the months leading up to expiration. In my council the advancement committee lets counselors know of a pending deactivation due to YPT. If they are not registered that means they may not have their background check done as of yet. If your council has not processed their app and you are sending scouts to them that might put you and your chartered org at risk.
Ron
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