Tech Forum

michaelfish wrote:I understand the possibility of notebook information getting stale...

What I did to help my successor, or anyone else reviewing the notebook, was to put an "as of" date for each piece of volatile information. Sometimes the entire page had volatile information so the page had an "as of" date instead of for each piece of data. I did receive feedback from my successor a few months later that this greatly helped.

michaelfish wrote:For instance, where are all Ward's meeting times displayed on one web page?

Why is that important? The current info can be found in maps or CDOL. Set it down on paper now, and it will be wrong in 5 months. However, you might want to document the time slots. The slots tends to be static, it's the wards assigned to the slot that changes.

michaelfish wrote:And where does it show which ward a High Councilor is assigned to work with?

That changes pretty frequently.

michaelfish wrote:IP address ranges and subnets are only the beginning.

tm.lds.org

michaelfish wrote:A new STS won't know what static IP addresses have been assigned to Clerk PC's, networked printers and network devices.

I like the idea of recording it in tm. That way both the STS and GSD has access to it. At work I label everything that has a static IP.

michaelfish wrote:IMO, newly called Stake Technology Specialists will not know where to go to get those pieces of information.

And THAT, IMHO, is what should be documented in the notebook. Telling him here to find the current info is more importantly then listing something that's likely to be out of date by the time he needs it.

The purpose of this thread is to come up with ideas for the creation of a comprehensive STS notebook (I have 6 days left) for distribution to 40 (hopefully) STS’s at the Phoenix LDSTech Charter meeting next week. The notebook will contain templates, links, and other resources intended to help others and perhaps be passed to the next STS.

I am aware that information in a notebook would need to be constantly updated and that there is more current information on the Internet, but what new STS is going to know where to look, and what to look for?

What if there was a STS notebook with important links and other useful information?

If I can create a comprehensive sample, perhaps in the future, a church employee could look at the collected ideas and create a single webpage to access the latest data. BTW, I plan to send a sample of my work to Elder Eliason (LDSTech missionary).

michaelfish wrote:
For instance, where are all Ward's meeting times displayed on one web page?

Why is that important? The current info can be found in maps or CDOL. Set it down on paper now, and it will be wrong in 5 months.

Having Ward meeting times in a notebook is important because a new STS may not know anything about other wards in his stake. When I was called, I certainly didn’t. I’ve been the STS for several years now and I STILL have problems remembering which ward meets when and in which building. Having all information printed on one page in a notebook for all ward’s information such as: 1) the name of the ward, 2) the building they meet in, 3) their meeting times and 4) some contact information including the High Councilor assigned to the ward was and still is VERY helpful to me. For instance, when I get requests to resolve problems and I want to schedule the best time to meet, instantly having this information on one page is faster and more convenient than looking through several pages on the Internet or running a CDOL report for the information.

michaelfish wrote:IP address ranges and subnets are only the beginning.

tm.lds.org

tm.lds.org is a great tool, but it currently does not show static IP address assignments made by the previous STS…like I said, it is only the beginning.

If you have any ideas for a STS notebook, please contribute.

Thanks,

Mike

michaelfish wrote:If you have any ideas for a STS notebook, please contribute.

First of all, I love the idea. It has opened up new avenues for me to magnify my STS calling.

Personally, it would be more valuable for me to have this information in a single, well indexed, file rather than a physical binder. It could be a DOCX, ODT, or even my preference, a PDF version of either of those. I could then store it on my phone for instant access anywhere, anytime. That file could not only contain the mostly static information you previously suggested, such as, unit numbers, inventories, building plans, wiring diagrams, checklists, etc.; but also the more dynamic info. With the latter could be active links to where the most current info can be located. It could also contain links such as tm.lds.org and mhtech.lds.org, with explanations as to what what each one is good for.

Organization of topics with a good index and portability would be the most important for me.

Any contributions for website links a Stake Technology Specialist that would be helpful?

I've compiled a few. What am I missing?

Official Main - lds.org
Meetinghouse Technology IT Support and Help, Overview - mhtech.lds.org
Technology Manager Firewall and Internet Connectivity - tm.lds.org
Church Technology Website - tech.lds.org
Technology Forums - tech.lds.org/forum
LDSTech broadcasts - tech.lds.org/wiki/LDSTech_broadcasts
Official Facebook Site - facebook.com/ldstech
Official Twitter Site - twitter.com/ldstech
Handbook 2: Administering the Church - lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church
Video, Audio and Images - video.lds.org
Hymns Text - lds.org/music/text/hymns
Personal Video Conferencing - pvc.lds.org

Does anyone have useful FHC technical links to add to the above?

I haven't been able to find any useful guides etc., for setting up FHC computers, especially now Tivoli is the main management tool!

michaelfish wrote:Any contributions for website links a Stake Technology Specialist that would be helpful?

I've compiled a few. What am I missing?

I'd definitely add:
Broadcast Info: broadcastinfo.lds.org (yes, it's part of mhtech.lds.org, but the direct link is handy and is referenced in several publications, such as the annual Church Broadcast Schedule).

Biggles wrote:Does anyone have useful FHC technical links to add to the above?

remote.familysearch.org is the starting point for FHC tools/downloads.

russellhltn wrote:

Biggles wrote:Does anyone have useful FHC technical links to add to the above?

remote.familysearch.org is the starting point for FHC tools/downloads.

Yes that is a starting point for the necessary tools, but there aren't any detailed instructions on what the tools do and in what order they should be deployed.

For an example, when should you deploy the Landesk uninstaller after using the FHC image DVD! I haven't come across any detailed installation instructions for many of the tools available. Whereas on the RKAT site the instructions for Setting up a new Clerk computer are quite comprehensive!

I might be looking for something that hasn't been created yet, but it would certainly be useful information for a new STS trying to keep a FHC running!

I would also add a link for downloading MLS. The old mls.lds.org URL now redirects to:
https://www.lds.org/callings/melchizedek-priesthood/records-and-technology-support/applications
where you then have to scroll down and locate the right link for the actual MLS download page.

IMO, a better redirect (and a good link for your notebook) would be:
https://www.lds.org/callings/melchizedek-priesthood/records-and-technology-support/mls-download