Archive for 'Technology'
Creative way to get touch screens without buying touch screens
Posted on31. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
So I’m excited about this little piece of technology. We currently use Fellowship One for check-in, but we’re only using it as assisted check-in. I want to move toward self check-in stations, but I only have one touch screen. I know that you don’t have to use touch screens, but let’s face it, it’s a better experience. I know that there may be others in a similar situation. You have a lot of monitors already, but you want to move to touch screens. Touch screens cost $500 each (let me know if you know of a better deal) and that’s cost prohibitive for most ministry budgets.
Then I came across Magic Touch, a little device that turns any monitor into a touch screen. It plugs into USB and then calibrates with your screen. I haven’t tested this yet, but I’ve got one on order. In a few weeks I’ll post a review and let you know how it works.
You can get more information on this device here. I actually bought it from here. Check out the video below for and idea of what it looks like. However… although this piece of equipment is pretty innovative and new… the video looks like it was made in the 80’s.
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I need help with a report
Posted on30. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Okay, I’m crowdsourcing a problem I’ve run into. I found the PERFECT volunteer report for Fellowship One. We check all of our volunteers in every Sunday. We keep up with our volunteers as well. If one drops out, we make their ministry assignment inactive. This way, I can run a report and pull up the names of only those who are active. Likewise, I can pull the same report of those who are inactive to see who isn’t serving anymore.
As PERFECT as this report is, it’s got one little problem. Actually, it’s big enough to make it report frustrating. I’ve sent in a request to have this enhanced, but I’m hoping that someone out there can help me before I hear back from the fine folks at Fellowship Tech. So, I figure that one of three people could help me out. If you’re one of these three types of people, then read on. If you’re not, then feel free to move along unless this just sounds absolutely intriguing.
- You work for Fellowship Tech and you’d like to have mercy on me and pass my request to the front of the line to have it fixed before the end of the day. (Hey, it’s worth a shot, right?)
- You’re a Fellowship One ninja and know of another report that will get me the same information (or enough to satisfy my needs).
- You’re an Excel genius that can help me extract the information I need that is already in the report, just not in a convenient way to access.
So, I’m betting that at least one of you three are reading this post and are going to have a solution for me. Here we go:
The report is M3739E. It’s a fantastic report that spits out the names, addresses and communication information of all active or inactive volunteers for a ministry. In addition, it tells me where they serve, what their role is as well as the RLC they’re assigned to. Best of all, it shows volunteer requirements, such as when they had a background check run as well as if they’re filled out an application. It’s beautiful!
However, the problem is that this report puts all the communication information in one cell. Every phone number and email in once cell. So, if I want to run this report and quickly cut and paste 200 emails, I can’t becasue all the phone numbers are mixed in as well. At first I thought this was a simple fix as I could just do a “text to columns” split, but the contact info doesn’t appear to be separated by commas, spaces or anything else… so I can’t seem to divide the individual contacts. The only way I’ve been able to do this is manually cut and paste.
So, any advice? Is there a similar report? Anyone know an Excel trick that will do this for me? I need to get an email out to all my volunteers later this week and I totally don’t want to have someone cut and paste 300 emails.
Here is a sample of the report. The names, addresses and such have been changed, but it gives you something to play with to see if you can work your excel mojo on it.
UPDATE:
Within an hour of this post, my friend Mike Niebuhr, both a F1 Guru and obviously an excel ninja created a custom fix. So, if you’re curious about using this report, which you should becasue it is awesome, then you can use this fix as well.
Insert a new column between “communication” (column C) and “work address” (column D). Now column D is an empty column. In column D2, paste the following code:
=MID(C2,(SEARCH(“E: “,C2,1)+3),LEN(C2))
This code/function will extract the email (if there is one) from the C column and put it in column D2. Brilliant, right? To quickly add this function to all the rest of the cells in the D Column, click on Cell D2 and in the bottom right corner of the cell you’ll see a little box. When your cursor hovers over the little box, it turns to a solid black “plus sign” instead of what was a “hand” or white “plus sign.” Click on it (and hold down) and drag it all the way down Column D. This will populate the function in every cell in this column.
Thanks Mike for your help!
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The social church database: what to watch out for
Posted on25. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably a Kids Pastor or somehow involved in the world of kidmin (although I know there are others as well… including my mom and other extended family). So, I need to throw you a serious line of caution. Don’t miss this… seriously.
When it comes to your role and what you’re responsible for, these social church database tools are the icing on the cake. I do believe that both tools (and those yet to come out) will enhance our ministry to our volunteers and better equip them to do their jobs. However, the people who are really going to get excited about these tools is everyone in your staff outside of the children’s ministry. Actually, they’re all going to go nuts, especially your pastor, small group pastors and the like. They’re going to be ready to make the switch yesterday. My word of caution for you is to hold the line.
We’ve actually been on the search for something like this for a few years now. Over two years ago we flirted with a company that allowed us to have a facebook-like experience that wasn’t very expensive, so we moved on it to check it out. They had plans to integrate (share the API) with a church database system so that all of it would fluidly talk together. The software turned out to be kind of crappy (totally not user friendly) and the church database system they were integrating with had some major deficiencies in areas that were essential to us as a church. So for them, it was a no-go. I wonder though, if this software we were looking at was as good (or better) than a facebook-like experience, would we have given in to the not-so-great church software and compromised? That’s where you might have to hold the line.
When looking at the new social church database tools on the market now, you need to evaluate what it offers as well as what it doesn’t. They may do some incredible things that you’ve not been able to do up until now, but what price are you willing to pay for this new found functionality? Here’s the scenario that is likely to play out. The new tools may be the answer to everything your small groups pastor needs, but making the switch will be a major sacrifice to the finance team as the financial tools are not as good as what they were previously using. Or in our case, the tool is a big win for small group connectivity, but is a step backward when it comes to check-in or something that affects the Children’s Ministry.
Does that make sense? Moving to new tools like this will affect the whole team. Make sure you know what the implications are with the tool you’re looking at. If it negatively affects kids, then know what it is and SPEAK UP! If it doesn’t, then all is good!
In the end, it’s an exciting time for our churches. I love the tools that are developing and it’s going to be cool to see what develops next!
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The social church database: who is doing it?
Posted on24. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Yesterday I started a new series about the social church database. If you’re like me, you got excited about the possibilities. So, who is already doing this? How do I get more information?
I’m by no means an expert in this stuff, but I try to keep up-to-date with what’s out there. So here’s what I’ve learned these last few months.
The first instance I’ve seen of the social church database is The City. It’s gotten a lot of buzz the last few months, a connectivity tool developed at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Several big churches have moved to it and more are looking at it. I totally understand why… it’s beautiful. I’ve spent many hours on The City and it is what’s been missing. It’s a powerful tool to connect people to each other and to communicate information to the entire body in clear and concise ways. It’s a tool you don’t have to “lure” your people to use, but something they’ll want to use on a regular (if not daily basis). Seriously, The City is a bold step forward for connecting with the people who attend your church.
The second instance I’ve seen of the social church database is Fellowship One’s Table Project. I actually watched a demo last week and I’m equally excited about Fellowship Technologies solution to the social media problem. Where The City is an approach to a new database for your church, the Table Project is a tool that connects to your already existing Fellowship One database (assuming you already use Fellowship One… or plan to move to F1). The Table Project is an outside tool that has partnered with Fellowship One and seems to offer most of what the City does, just in different ways. I’m a big fan of Fellowship One and seeing this demo last week was very encouraging, something I’m really excited about.
Here’s the bottom line. I’ve gotten really excited about both of these projects. Why? Because they’re addressing a huge need that you might not have even known you had. People are slipping out the back door of your church and these tools WILL help people get connected at your church as well as stay better connected. Honestly, I love that there are two solutions out there right now. This kind of competition breeds innovation and that means a better product for you and me. Bottom line, I just want a tool that makes my job easier and to a degree (in certain ways) these tools will.
Tomorrow I’m going to conclude this series of the social database with a very important warning. Contain your excitement for one more day!
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Using the iPad for check-in
Posted on23. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
I’ll be the first to admit. Using the iPad for check-in was beyond cool. It’s funny how many of you commented and messaged me for more information about using the iPad for check in. A few weeks ago when I first wrote about the idea of using the iPad for check-in, that post got more hits than anything I’ve written in a long time. I think I know what it is. You really want and iPad, don’t you?
Ha! Well, here is what I posted a few weeks ago along with links and video. This is where it all started. 
I wasn’t overly creative. I simply copied what they did. I downloaded WinAdmin on my iPad. From there, I ran into problems. When it comes to tech, gadgets and applications, I’m pretty knowledgeable. However, when it comes to networking and connectivity, I’m not your man. I was having network issues, so I had our IT guy get me hooked up. Because our wireless in our Kids lobby is a different network than the actual check-in machines, he had to set up the iPad for VPN. It gave him some trouble at first, but within a few minutes, that was working. He put all the server information in WinAdmin and within minutes, it was working perfectly. I really like the VPN feature which gives me a lot more options.
So this Sunday, we were looking for new 1st graders. We were doing something special for their promotion, so I was checking in families that had a first grader. We had a huge crowd on Sunday and having me on the iPad seemed to help with flow (even though one machine was down becasue that’s the computer I was logged into with the iPad). I was pretty busy, but it was fun and personal. I felt like I had a better connection with both the kids and the parents… I totally liked it. Initially I couldn’t tell overall if it was helpful or not, but the volunteers at check-in said that it helped them tremendously. Big win!
So, my thoughts…
This isn’t an iPad app. It’s more of a hack. You’re using an app to remote desktop into a windows machine and essentially using that machine to check-in kids. As soon as they check-in, the parents can pick up their tags from a volunteer standing by that printer. The downsides are that you have to have a computer that you’re essentially taking control of for check-in. Also, it’s slightly sluggish. Not enough for me to not use it, but not as fast if I was standing at that computer. You see, we’re still using assisted check-in with Fellowship One. Because of our set-up, this was a really nice touch. If we were fully integrated with self check-in, I’m not sure we’d need or want to do the iPad check in. However, it’s certainly worth playing with. I highly recommend you get your hands on an iPad and experiment. Then you’ll know if it’s worth getting one for your ministry.
Although we used this for F1, I don’t see why you can’t use it for other systems as well. Remember, the iPad doesn’t really print, so you’ll essentially have to use a remote desktop app like WinAdmin to take over a computer with a printer. Definitely worth checking out though.
What I’m hoping for? That someone would develop and iPad app that integrates with F1 check-in where this is a feature and not a hack… but for now, this will work.
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The social church database: a new concept
Posted on23. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
In case you haven’t noticed, we use a social and interactive web. Unless you’re one of those uber conservative (are we still using the word uber?) “I don’t put myself out there on the web” type people, we’re totally intertwined with the web. Between Facebook, Twitter, blogs, RSS feeds, forums and everything else, we’re constantly interacting with both people we know and people who bring value to our work and lives. Just recently, we’ve seen this same move with church database software (kinda).
Think about it, you’re Church database holds the records of hundreds, thousands of tens of thousands of people who have attended your church. More than likely, most of that data is wrong or outdated. Typically, the only way to get more accurate data is to get church attendees to fill out a new card and then manually update the data which is often can be confusing. The ideal solution is to have the average church attendee fix their own data. I know, there have been solutions for many years for people to log into specific pages where they could see all their stuff and update it, but rarely was there a strong/compelling reason for people to take the steps to get online just so they could keep their info up-to-date. The truth is, there hasn’t really been a compelling reason for people to do this except to occasionally sign-in to check giving records or sign-up for an event. However, in these cases I’ve seen people not really change incorrect data when in there and this is such a small penetration of the church who is doing this.
However, we’re on the verge of something totally new. It’s the social/interactive arm of your church’s database.
MOST people are searching for community. Not online community, but real community. Some of those already in community are looking for ways to enhance it. That’s where the social CMS is changing. They’re creating a space online where attendees can interact online with each other and the church in easy/non-threatening ways. There is space for actual small groups to continue discussions, pray for each other during the week and plan upcoming serving projects or socials. There are tools for serving teams (such as your 9:30 toddler room volunteers) to discuss how the weekend went, discuss policies and adjust their serving schedule without having to use email lists. The best part is how easy these systems let visitors explore and interact with your church before taking that risky step of setting foot in a small group. Again, this isn’t a “virtual” community, but a reflection of community that already exists. When attendees have this kind of interaction and value from a tool like this, they’ll keep their data up-to-date. From the church point of view, not only will you have up-to-date information, but you’ll see their involvement, how they’re connected and if you think there is some data that’s not correct, you can simply message them through the community software and have them update it.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? We’ll explore more tomorrow.
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iPhone 4
Posted on18. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
I was very please to get home from Colorado last night with a package waiting for me on the kitchen counter… my much awaited iPhone 4. A few weeks ago I upgraded my 3G to iPhone4 software and I’ve been regretting it as it choked my 3G. I knew there were options to go back, but I didn’t want to give up some of the new email options… so I’ve put up with the slow system until the new phone arrived. I’m really excited to play with the video options. A few weeks ago I came across this short film entirely shot and edited on the iPhone 4. Pretty impressive.
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Review: Kodak PlaySport
Posted on04. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
So, I want to tell you about the best electronic purchase I made this summer. A few years ago I bought a little flip mino, before they had the HD version. I was pretty impressed and I used it a lot… that summer. Since then it’s spent most of it’s time in my office or in my backpack. The audio and video was pretty good, but for most of what we were doing, it wasn’t useful enough. Also, if I had my digital camera with me, it was easier just to use it to take pictures and video. Since then the flip has evolved and has become a much better camera, but not enough for me to want to upgrade.
Then this summer a coworker brought a PlaySport to camp, which is Kodak’s version of the Flip. When he told me he got it, I told him he should have gotten the Flip. Then I saw him shooting video with it in the pool. “That thing’s waterproof?” I was warming up to this device by Kodak. For the Flip, you have to buy a special case to go underwater. Then later one night, I saw what sealed the deal. We have a $2000 3CCD camera that we use for ministry. We were shooting a lot of video at camp with the nice camera. We were watching on of the daily videos when all of a sudden the person holding the camera jumped in the pool and went underwater. I freaked. I assumed that our $2000 camera just took a dip. Once reason hit me, I was amazed. The quality of the PlaySport was so good, I didn’t notice when the video switched from the nice 3CCD HD camera to the PlaySport. I was sold.
A few weeks later I picked up a PlaySport and I’ve been very happy with the purchase. It takes great 5MP pictures as well as fantastic video at up to 1080P. I put in a 8Gb SD Card so I have plenty of room for 2 hours of HD video. I love that it has removable memory and battery, so when I travel I can bring back-up just in case.
I bought it on my way down to San Marcos to go tubing down a river. Below is a video I made of our trip down the river. It was liberating to be in the water without worrying about the camera getting wet. The video was put together using Animoto and I didn’t pay for a high-resolution version of the video from Animoto, so don’t let that distract you. The quality really is amazing.
One of the best parts about the PlaySport is that it only costs $130. Seriously, that’s a no-brainer, isn’t it? You can pick up your PlaySport right here. Hurry up, the summer is almost over and you still have some time to capture some great memories on the lake or in the pool.
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Installing a Zebra Printer for Fellowship One
Posted on04. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Since Easter, I’ve had three check in computers die on me. Since then, we’ve had to reinstall printers on the new computers. When it comes to check-in, I know more than anyone else at our church, so it’s usually much faster for me to make sure the printer works for check-in. If you use Fellowship One and have worked with Zebra, printers, you will know that installing a Zebra Printer to work with F1 is about as easy as meeting the president. Let’s just say it’s not the most intuitive process. Since I’ve had to do this three times in the last few months, I finally made notes. This blog post is a result of these notes. Hopefully this post helps someone else in Zebra printer hell, but this blog post is a reference for me for when I have to install another printer on a new computer.
I have a feeling that someone is going to read this post and say, “Hey, you’re totally going about this the wrong way.” Please, if you know of an easier way, leave a comment with your instructions.
First of all, figure out what Zebra printer you have. We have a mixture of LP 2844’s and LP 2844-Z’s. I think that at one point, I might have even had a few TLP-2844’s that I got off Ebay for a good price. First of all, you’ve got to download your drivers. You can get them all from the Zebra website drivers page. On the left-hand side, just select the model of the printer you have and it will take you to a page where you can download the appropriate drivers. I’ve just been downloading the recommended driver for my model which is usually some from of the “Zebra Designer Driver.” Download the driver and install it.
Once I’ve installed the driver, my computer usually recognizes the printer at this point, connecting the driver to the new printer. I usually go to “printers” under the start menu and install a new printer. Because I’ve installed the drivers and the Zebra is connected to the computer, it adds the Zebra as the new printer. Now the goal is to get the printer to print a test page.
From the printer control panel, I right click on the Zebra printer and click on properties. On the general tab, I might go ahead and click, “print test page” to see if it’s working. Usually I’ve got to make sure some other things are right before it will work. On the sharing tab, I usually select “share this printer.” I think I remember some documentation telling me that I’m supposed to share, but I can’t remember. Honestly, I think some of my machines have sharing turned on and others have it turned off. On the ports tab, I make sure the computer is talking to the port the printer is plugged into. That would be USB virtual printer port for a USB connected Zebra or the LTP port if it’s connected by the old printer port. Last of all, I’d check the advanced tab just to make sure the right driver is connected, although I don’t think I’ve ever had to make any adjustments on this page. After checking all these things, I go back to the general tab to print a test page. Remember, if you can’t print a test page from here, you won’t be able to do it from F1 check-in. If you get stuck, get any computer geek to get it working. It may take them a bit, but they’ll figure it out. Honestly, this part has been the most frustrating in the past.
Now that the printer is working, do the rest of the setup in F1. Log in to check-in and type in an active activity code. Go to the menu and click the button, “Print Test Tag.” If it prints here, you’re in business. If nothing happens, you need to set up the default printer. Click on the button, “Set default printer.” From here, just select the Zebra you have installed. I find that is shows all the printers you have access to, including old installations you might not use anymore. When you clean these out of your printer control panel, they should go away from the list in F1. Once you select the zebra as your default, try to print another test page. If it prints, you’re in business. Be sure to test it though with a few families just to make sure everything is working.
If it’s still not working, have someone better at this stuff than you work on it. Don’t call or email me becasue all I’ll do it tell you to do what I just wrote. I really love Fellowship One for check-in and the Zebra printers are the most durable thermal printers I’ve ever used, but setting them up has been a beast. I hope this helps. If you have any suggestions, comment below!
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Secrets for successful check-in
Posted on03. Aug, 2010 by Kenny.
Two weeks ago, Fellowship Technologies held a webinar about check-in. It was for any church using any check-in system; however, it was very heavy on the Fellowship One. If you’re curious about Fellowship One and think your church might look into it as a check-in solution, you need to watch this video. However, there were several nuggets that I took away that had nothing to do with F1 specifically. So, even if you don’t use Fellowship One, it might be worth your time to watch this webinar.
It is an hour in length and I don’t expect everyone to watch it, so in the next day or so, I’ll also post some of the things I really got out of it. I’m really excited about some of the things I learned.
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