Missionary iPads and digital area book

The missionaries serving in my area were just given iPad minis. They are apparently one of the pilot missions for them. I got to see one the other day and think it is a wonderful idea. One area of particular interest is the area book application that comes with it. It's essentially a digital version of their area book that stays with the area and gets synced to the cloud. As a ward mission leader, I would love to have access to this information on my tablet or via a browser. The ward missionaries and auxiliary presidencies go on regular visits to less-active members and having the ability to see and update this area book could really help coordinate these visits.

Does anybody have any information they can share about this application? Searches have proved fruitless. Is there a beta program we can get involved in (I'm a software engineer by trade, so I can help volunteer if needed)? Will it be available to members of the ward council?

The broadcast video of the big Hastening the Work of Salvation meeting in June of last year has a very brief clip at the beginning of a missionary using the area book app. I took a few screenshots:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 40b9c222a5
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... f53d02db73
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... d51dd3258f

I too am curious about the app(s) missionaries have to help them with the work...

When your mission gets iPad minis, be sure and remind them to not try to do setup and Gospel Library downloads for more than five (5) users at a time

The following are some of the apps on missionary's iPad mini
AirWatch (Mobile device management (MDM) )
Area Book App (Area Book/Planner, with Ward List)
Other Apps to Hasten the Work
...Safari
...Facebook
...Facetime
...Skype
...Maps
...Gospel Library
...Clock
...LDS Hymns
...Myldsmail Email
...Mormon.org Email

pete.arnett wrote:be sure and remind them to not try to do setup and Gospel Library downloads for more than five (5) users at a time

When you say "users" I assume you mean syncing the annotations and markings. What happens if they try to sync too many?


Do you know if these are wifi only or do they have a data package?

I do know they are WiFi only

russellhltn wrote:

pete.arnett wrote:be sure and remind them to not try to do setup and Gospel Library downloads for more than five (5) users at a time

When you say "users" I assume you mean syncing the annotations and markings. What happens if they try to sync too many?


Do you know if these are wifi only or do they have a data package?

The iPad minis are WiFi only, as state in another posting

It appears that once the basic setup and complete Gospel Library download had been completed, that having several (at least 6) missionaries iPad minis in use did not have any major impact on the meetinghouse network

The downloading of the complete Gospel Library and including videos will cause an overload on the meetinghouse network if you do 5 or more at the same time

It was reported that it took a very long period of time for about 15 missionaries to do the complete iPad mini setup and Gospel Library download using a 10 Mbps down link in the chapel of a meetinghouse with four bars (e.g., one wireless access point)

One (1) mission was able to setup at least 75 missionaries, with only doing a basic setup of Gospel Library (complete download to be performed later), using the meetinghouse network and three additional external wireless hotspots (not connected to the meetinghouse network)

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

All of these digital area book tools are relatively new. Any access that ward mission leaders receive in the future will most likely be through a web browser. iPad apps can't run in a web browser, though, so the work that needs to be done (and I'll bet they're working on it already) is to build a web page from scratch that matches the app. This will probably come soon, but it takes time. The iPad app (what the missionaries themselves use) was the first priority...

(As an aside, that meal calendar system you have a link to above looks interesting. I know not all wards would be able to get members online to sign up, but it looks like your ward is doing a good job!)

I have a Ward Mission Leader that can not see the current discussion that has been given and other new information added by the missionaries. How can I help him?

FMeese wrote:I have a Ward Mission Leader that can not see the current discussion that has been given and other new information added by the missionaries. How can I help him?

Is it possible that he was experiencing the problem reported in Can't access Missionary Progress Report? If so, it was recently fixed (in the last 24 hours, I believe).

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.

I've heard stories that some mission presidents have refused them.

Oh. Great.

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

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

Area leaders now have access in the alpha/beta version of LDS tools!

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.

laurenmajor wrote:Ward mission leader access to Area Book Planner is being considered.

Hey Lauren, long time no chat!

Do you have any insight into whether the Ward Council is being considered for this access (as opposed to just the Ward Mission Leader). Or even just the bishopric? We've been working closely as a WC on the missionary effort in our ward, and this tool could be a big help.

Thanks!
Brad Morgan

Why would the Ward Council need access to the area book? I would think the only person we would want in that is the Ward Mission Leader

Giving Digital Area Book access to ward mission leaders/missionaries and ward council members would be IMMENSELY useful in bridging the gap between missionaries and members. Please keep us updated if this is considered and/or approved.

palarkin wrote:Giving Digital Area Book access to ward mission leaders/missionaries and ward council members would be IMMENSELY useful in bridging the gap between missionaries and members. Please keep us updated if this is considered and/or approved.

It already exists. I'm staring at ours now. As stated, your missionaries have to be using the online area book before you can see anything.

Is access to the digital area book the same as viewing the "ward progress record" on LCR?
If so,read-only access is a start.
Can the ward mission leader use the same tool to enter information about families that ward missionaries are working wi?
These two groups of people (those the full-time missionaries work with and those ward missionaries work with) may be different.

Thanks.
Ward Mission leader

Hello everyone,
I am a missionary in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission. We have iPads, and more recently Samsung tablets.

The (still read only for now) Progress Record is available in LDS Tools under Reports for members of the Ward council. This is a new feature as of this spring.

You can also ask your missionaries to print off the Progress Record from the Missionary Portal (missionary.lds.org) that only they have access to. As stated several times before, this same progress report is available from Leader and Clerk Resources.

It looks like for now, only the missionaries will have edit access to their area books, as I have never been told otherwise.

I will keep replying on this page if anyone has additional questions about what a missionary can access and about what the Ward council can see.

tomcatt wrote:Hello everyone,It looks like for now, only the missionaries will have edit access to their area books, as I have never been told otherwise.

Are you stating that from knowledge of the entire mission field or is that how your mission has it set up? Each mission area can be different and it may be possible that each mission president decides accessibility for their mission.

The AreaBook planner app is currently only in the "App Catalog" store provided in the configuration for the IPads/Samsung S2 tablets.

AreaBook is set up to follow Preach My Gospel and the missionary broadcast from earlier this year, with a "progress report" that shows the same information from the paper form, just automatically generated, and filterable. Our leaders can see our key indicators, but not our AreaBook. On page 140 of Preach My Gospel, it has a graphic under the heading "The Area Book and Planning and Reporting tools" that shows that there is less and less information shared from the area book as you get further up the chain of command. The Area Book for Missionaries, The Progress Record for the Ward Council, and so on up.

So until we see an addendum to Preach My Gospel to that effect, the current information policies will apply. This is my reasoning behind my earlier statement. I'm not saying that they won't change it, or aren't changing it, just that I have not seen any hint of this policy changing.

The area book is a wonderful tool, and it helps us as missionaries so much. I have yet to see a Ward Council follow up on the limited Progress Record. It is just the information they need, and if they have questions, they can ask the missionaries for more information and background. I hope this information is helpful and relevant.