FM Group and TV's and Libraries

Discussions about using TVs, projectors, laptops, tablets, smartphones, DVD Players and other media players in meetinghouses including standards, management, how to connect to them, proper use, and support.
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mcallaghan
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#61

Post by mcallaghan »

Streaming videos from lds.org is what they are doing now. Some of them use their phones, and their own data plan, which is fine by me. But many do stream over the building WiFi. So far, this hasn't been a problem. I guess we have decent bandwidth. We have been pushing folks to download the videos ahead of time, of course. The hard part is connecting their devices to the TVs. I'm trying to simplify things for everyone.
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#62

Post by russellhltn »

mcallaghan wrote:But many do stream over the building WiFi. So far, this hasn't been a problem.
It's fine until it isn't. But I wouldn't support a solution that can't stream locally and requires web streaming.

I'm curious as to why Apple TV was nixed. Was it that or something else?
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mcallaghan
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#63

Post by mcallaghan »

We have two wards in the building, so the bishop told me it has to be done by the FM Group. They said, "Not on our radar" or something to that effect. Went back to the bishop, who said to look for another solution. I think the concern is two-fold: the first is the idea that it would be easy to steal. The second is the expense, particularly if we physically mount one to all three of our TVs.
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johnshaw
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#64

Post by johnshaw »

mcallaghan wrote:We have two wards in the building, so the bishop told me it has to be done by the FM Group. They said, "Not on our radar" or something to that effect. Went back to the bishop, who said to look for another solution. I think the concern is two-fold: the first is the idea that it would be easy to steal. The second is the expense, particularly if we physically mount one to all three of our TVs.
This is a very strange line of conversation, What is the Stake Technology Specialists doing in this regard, the Stake Clerk, or the Stake President or High Councilman over Sunday School and/or Physical Facilities? I'm not sure why a 'bishop' is saying it needs to be done by the 'FM Group' - There is a policy that outlines this area that should be consulted and it's really only the stake people that can get involved with the FM Group. If this hasn't been done, I'd suggest getting the Stake on board...
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.”
― Thomas Paine, Common Sense
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gregwanderson
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#65

Post by gregwanderson »

mcallaghan wrote:What about the DVD player itself? Ours are all older models that have composite video. Are there any modern DVD players that can play video from USB? That might work, and are less likely to disappear.
About two years ago we bought a couple of Sony Blu-ray players (outside of the FM Group's assistance, I'm afraid) which have USB ports on the front. We download the video files from LDS.org and they play quite nicely from USB flash drives. The players we bought were a pretty good bargain at Sam's Club. They have both composite SD output (red, white and yellow RCA connections) as well as HDMI. The newer model only has HDMI, so it wouldn't be as useful with an older monitor.

I'm guessing that you can find other players with exactly the same ability to play video files from USB drives. The nice thing is that, with one player, we can also play any CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs (although the church doesn't have a ton of Blu-ray material… yet :) ).
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mcallaghan
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#66

Post by mcallaghan »

I think the DVD player with USB port actually might make more sense in the long run. That way, we don't have to worry so much about devices. Even with Chromecast, you have to plug it into AC power, install the Chromecast app on your device, etc. It should be a lot simpler to teach people to download the high-res version of the video from lds.org, copy it to your flash drive, plug it into the DVD player here, and click play on the remote. :)
gregbishop
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#67

Post by gregbishop »

It seems that policy (now) reads that either the FM Group or the Local Units could purchase AV Equipment as long as it isn't installed and that inventory is kept: https://www.lds.org/help/support/meetin ... lang=eng#7. Our meetinghouse has a single display device on a cart to share with 3 wards which has led to our teachers nearly universally either not using any media or they bring their own display devices from home if they have them. I'd guess that working through the FM Group is a great approach however our bishop is ready to purchase 2 display devices for our ward until the FMG is able to respond to our needs.
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#68

Post by rknelson »

We found 24" TCL Roku TV's (Roku built-in the TV) for $99 over the holidays. Replacing the cord on the TV with a 12' version ($6 on Amazon) makes it very easy to use anywhere. We also found 55" TCL Roku TV's for $380. The 24" TV's are easy to carry without a cart for smaller classes. The 55" TV on a cart made for large TV's (another $200) works well for large groups. We have several 24" TV's and one 55" TV in each building in our stake.
devinbost
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#69

Post by devinbost »

Sorry to bring up such an old thread, but after reading through this, I just feel like I need to say something.

I think it's great that we're trying to empower and teach our youth. I also have a growing concern that our youth are becoming increasingly addicted to media, whether it's television, social media, etc. Even the most well designed curriculum videos from the Church can't replace the personalized impact of the Spirit to a teacher within the classroom they are responsible for. The new Come Follow Me curriculum was largely designed to provide greater flexibility for teachers to adapt their teaching to the needs of their students in accordance with the promptings of the Spirit.
When I prayerfully prepare for a lesson, after sufficient thought and study, I always get at least some impression regarding what to teach, and only sometimes is it exactly aligned with one of the available videos for that lesson.
Often times, the impressions are to deep dive on one or a few verses of scriptures or ask specific questions in group discussions, though I definitely have had moments when I felt strongly impressed to share specific videos or conference talks.

While I can certainly understand the frustration associated with feeling like technology decisions are being micromanaged to a degree that's hindering the work, I recommend being very careful to avoid any kind of overreliance on media or videos. They absolutely can and should be appropriately used to bring the Spirit into the classroom. They can also allow teachers to become very complacent and lose sight of what they really need to be doing to reach the youth and grow in their capabilities as teachers.
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johnshaw
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Re: FM Group and TV's and Libraries

#70

Post by johnshaw »

devinbost wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 7:57 am Sorry to bring up such an old thread, but after reading through this, I just feel like I need to say something.

I think it's great that we're trying to empower and teach our youth. I also have a growing concern that our youth are becoming increasingly addicted to media, whether it's television, social media, etc. Even the most well designed curriculum videos from the Church can't replace the personalized impact of the Spirit to a teacher within the classroom they are responsible for. The new Come Follow Me curriculum was largely designed to provide greater flexibility for teachers to adapt their teaching to the needs of their students in accordance with the promptings of the Spirit.
When I prayerfully prepare for a lesson, after sufficient thought and study, I always get at least some impression regarding what to teach, and only sometimes is it exactly aligned with one of the available videos for that lesson.
Often times, the impressions are to deep dive on one or a few verses of scriptures or ask specific questions in group discussions, though I definitely have had moments when I felt strongly impressed to share specific videos or conference talks.

While I can certainly understand the frustration associated with feeling like technology decisions are being micromanaged to a degree that's hindering the work, I recommend being very careful to avoid any kind of overreliance on media or videos. They absolutely can and should be appropriately used to bring the Spirit into the classroom. They can also allow teachers to become very complacent and lose sight of what they really need to be doing to reach the youth and grow in their capabilities as teachers.
It is pretty strange to come onto a board dedicated to 'tech' and clerking in the church to chastise them about their concern about doing the thing they are called to do. If this were a 'teach' board, sure dismiss the conversation away as one wants. Let's let people with callings dealing with tech - deal with tech for their callings, and let people who focus on teaching deal with how they utilize the tech while they are teaching. I'm forever grateful that - To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.”
― Thomas Paine, Common Sense
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