Missionary iPads and digital area book

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allenjblodgett
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#11

Post by allenjblodgett »

Random question: Would anybody on this forum happen to know why the San Fernando California Mission doesn't have them? I'm currently serving there. We just met with some missionaries that over lap into our mission that have them and I can't see any reason why we wouldn't have them.
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#12

Post by russellhltn »

I've heard stories that some mission presidents have refused them.
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allenjblodgett
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#13

Post by allenjblodgett »

Oh. Great.
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#14

Post by lajackson »

allenblodgett wrote:Random question: Would anybody on this forum happen to know why the San Fernando California Mission doesn't have them? I'm currently serving there. We just met with some missionaries that over lap into our mission that have them and I can't see any reason why we wouldn't have them.
The Mission President determines when his mission will begin using the devices, in consultation with the Missionary Committee. Even after your relatively new president makes a decision to implement them, it takes some time for the transition to take place.
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allenjblodgett
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#15

Post by allenjblodgett »

lajackson wrote:
allenblodgett wrote:Random question: Would anybody on this forum happen to know why the San Fernando California Mission doesn't have them? I'm currently serving there. We just met with some missionaries that over lap into our mission that have them and I can't see any reason why we wouldn't have them.
The Mission President determines when his mission will begin using the devices, in consultation with the Missionary Committee. Even after your relatively new president makes a decision to implement them, it takes some time for the transition to take place.
So....would you know which missions have them or no?
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#16

Post by lajackson »

allenblodgett wrote:So....would you know which missions have them or no?
I wouldn't know. I only know that our mission does, but there are several hundred others. A missionary called to a mission that uses them will receive information in his or her call letter.
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#17

Post by cscooper2000 »

This may not be the right place for posting this... What is the process by which apps are selected for approval on missionary iPads? Is that determined by the mission president, or at church headquarters? The fact that missionaries have iPads is great! the fact that they are stuck on the iOS operating system is, however, limiting. Only approximately 50% of mobile devices in America run on iOS. That drops to 25% worldwide. Google and Microsoft make apps and services that are universally available for colaboration and getting work done, regardless of the device. Apple, on the other hand, excludes those who don't attend to the iOS party. The challenge at hand is this: Our ward make excellent use of Google Docs and Google Drive for sharing and collaborating on living documents. iPad, Android and Windows users all play great together! But Google Drive isn't an approved app for missionaries serving in our mission (or is this all missionaries?). As the Ward Mission Leader, I'm interested in coordinating splits (team-ups) and meals directly with the missionaries' iCalendar. This can be done from my direction (invite from my Google Calendar, or from Outlook), but the missionaries want to share their entire calendar with me (as it would require less work for them to enter the appointments themselves), they cannot do this. They can share the calendar with me, but I am not invited to the iOS party. Using Google Calendar or Sunrise on their iPads would be a better, universal choice, and allow communication to flow freely between all ward members.

Anyone know where I should start trying to get approval for Google or Microsoft apps on missionary iPads?

Thanks,

Clark
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#18

Post by sbradshaw »

This would require each missionary to have a Google or Microsoft account, or the Church to set up enterprise Google or Microsoft accounts for each missionary.
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#19

Post by khetospreacher »

kew33 wrote:I wanted to echo the plea of the OP--as a Ward Mission Leader I can really see the benefit of having access to this Digital Area Book. The project page here http://tech.lds.org/wiki/Digital_Area_Book_Project claims that access will be given to ward leadership. When will this occur? Right now it seems like we have a ripe opportunity to improve coordination efforts--we have three sets of missionaries in our ward and this could really help. I am not a Mac guy, so access through a browser would be ideal. Any idea on when this is coming?

A second but related point--is there a system for getting missionaries access to specific sites or links? For example, we have an online meal calendar set up for our missionaries (http://tiny.cc/Westchester1), but they can't access it. Also, we have thought about setting up a central Google Doc Spreadsheet to coordinate less-active finding, but the missionaries would not be able to view/edit it without some access granted.
Thanks,
Kent
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Re: Missionary iPads and digital area book

#20

Post by laurenvmajor »

There is some great feedback on here. Thank you. The Church is continually seeking ways to improve the technology tools available to missionaries and members and is evaluating solutions for data sharing through collaborative tools such as the ones you have described.

In reference to the Area Book Planner app, this app is currently available in certain missions in Canada, Europe, Japan, and the United States. Ward mission leader access to Area Book Planner is being considered.

Requests for new apps and websites for missionaries on mobile devices can be submitted by mission presidents to the Missionary Department.
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