Re: Internet Roundtable
(no name) ((no email))
Mon, 8 Jul 1996 13:28:34 -0500
Mary Anderson wrote:
>In September I will be leading our District Roundtable in a
>"Introduction to Scouting on the Internet", this is in conjuction with
>the national theme on computers.
>
>I certainly am not the best choice for this duty (being on the internet
>myself almost a week now), but we all know that in Scouts enthusiasm
>counts. This will also be my first discussion topic posted to you all,
>so if I'm off base... my excuses.
No. This is very appropriate, Mary, and btw, welcome!
PLEASE make sure that you share your agenda with your District
Executive or other professional member. There are SOME local Councils
that DO NOT WANT ANY PART OF ELECTRONIC SCOUTING explained
nor as a part of their program!! I say this because I just finished writing a
response to a Scouter this morning. He wanted to pass out a listing of
all of the Scouting resources that he'd found online, but when he went
to Roundtable last Thursday, the District Executive would not allow
him to distribute the information, talking about BSA's "restriction on the
Internet" and such nonsense.
The District Executive took all of this Scouter's materials and asked him
NOT to distribute it to anyone in the District. The man was crushed.
He thought that he was doing something "great" for his District,
especially since he too just "caught the Internet bug" not a short time
ago, first through an online service and now on his own with a local
provider. He wrote me that he has tried to call the Council office and
get some better explaination, but nobody has returned his calls and he's
afraid that he's done some kind of "boo-boo" as far as Scouting is
concerned.
(The "restriction" applies to LOCAL COUNCILS presently, NOT to
individual units nor volunteers that are online on their own without
Council "sanction". In some local Councils, the Scout Executive has
overridden the "restriction" (good for them!) because so many Scouters
are already online and that he or she sees only the good involved in
such a venture, especially if the Council does not have to "dole out
money" to "make it work". Look for this "restriction" to be "lifted" with
the start of the new program year, which explains in part the program
emphasis in September!)
>I would like some input on my agenda for this Roundtable. It is my goal
>to entice Scout Leaders in my district to explore this great resource,
>the internet.
(deleted outline only for space reasons)
>I hope to be able to make arrangements for a personal computer,
>connected to the internet available at Roundtable, for demos. I want to
>keep this short and interesting.
To keep it short and interesting, concentrate on a single aspect of
the Internet experience, for instance, the World Wide Web. This is the
most visual aspect of the Internet, and one which encompasses all other
aspects of the online experience. Find some Web sites which has
Scouting content and which would appeal visually and content-wise
to your Scouters. Do this in advance of your presenation and bookmark
each, so it makes it easier to just "click and go".
The other information, like "What is the Internet" and "What can we
do with it" can be placed on a handout and given to each participant as
as "take home" item. I would also make up a 3x5 or 6x8 card with some
essential information: terms, suggested sites, general information about
being an "electronic Scouter", and even a copy of the BSA's stated
policy on the Internet. All of this information can be obtained from a
series of Web sites.
Don't get caught up in the "technical aspect" of the Internet and refer
any of those questions to you or someone else after the presentation to
make it go a little smoother. The idea is to excite them about using the
Internet as a resource, not to "fine tune their machine" or to offer
advice on a "machine that will get the Internet".
You also might want to get ahold of America Online (tm) or WOW!(tm)
and get some of their free diskettes from them to distribute after the
presentation. AOL will send you a box of a REASONABLE amount
of their diskettes upon request to their phone number.
Finally, make it fun for the participants. Find a Scouter that has NEVER
seen or used a personal computer and place this person in front to move
the mouse. While this may seem to be a terrible thing to do, remember that
while this person may feel unconfortable about being "the guniea pig",
this is reflective of most of your Scouters: they are going to be VERY
NEW at this all, and you want to show that you need to have some
patience at doing this.....after all, you have to wait for the pages to load,
for the software to start up, and for the mail to arrive on your machine.
It's *not* magic and it doesn't happen "right away", no matter how fast
our modems are! *grinning*
By having someone "experienced" there, pointing and clicking away,
it tells your participants that "you have to know a lot to do this
Internet stuff", which isn't true nor even accurate.
Hope this all helps you out, Mary!! *looking around* Anyone else
want to chime in here??
Settummanque!
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle) (
co-Owner, Blackeagle Services of Kentucky (502.826.7046) __)_
174 Chapelwood Drive, Henderson, Kentucky 42420-5036 | ** |]
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anytime!
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