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11:39 pm
December 16, 2009
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IndianaScouter
| | Northwest Indiana | |
| PTC Bobcat | posts 2 | |
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Our Pack currently uses PackMaster (I think) to track the boys' registrations and advancement. Unfortunately, it "lives" at our Advancement Chair's house, so registration and advancement info has to travel through many hands to get there, and the info is hard to get to if she happens to get busy.
What do other Packs use? Does anyone use web-based software? Can you recommend or warn against any software in particular?
Thanks!
…Ralph Johnston
Cubmaster, Pack 902
Valparaiso, IN
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12:37 am
December 17, 2009
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crminniear
| | Mason, OH | |
| PTC Wolf | posts 27 | 
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I'm still looking for something similar – also started working with a couple other people on putting together a home-brew option that would be web-based – ideally moving to an open-source offering. Most of what I've seen out there had something about it that made it less than ideal – be it price, options, locked-down proprietary formatting, or something else just made me cringe. Thankfully our Pack isn't that big that we require it, but it would be really nice.
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Chris Minniear, Cubmaster, Pack 998, Mason OH; Hopewell District Roundtable Staff; Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 194; Hopewell Cub Klondike Chair; General Lunatic
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11:44 am
December 17, 2009
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Scouter_Garry
| | SATX | |
| PTC Boy Scout | posts 106 | 
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We use the dotnet option for Packmaster. We haven't had any issues so far. But limit it's use to denleaders, cubmaster and committee.
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7:36 pm
December 30, 2009
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mbeyke
| | Carterville, IL. | |
| PTC Bear | posts 56 |
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We use the dot.net option for Packmaster also. Den leaders post advancements and attendance there and the advancement chair runs a report each month. I am the Pack Trainer and I keep all of the training record updated there also. It works well for our Pack.
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God Bless, nMark L. Beyken"Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words!" St. Francis of Assisi
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7:39 pm
December 30, 2009
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SM Shawn
| | Green Bay, WI | |
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Um, ditto to almost all that Mark said, the only difference is to get the Den Leaders to use it 
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Host of the True North Podcast
Co-Host of Scout Nation
Scoutmaster
Dad and Husband…
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Hi all,
We are a very new pack and I have been looking on the net for software. There are a lot out there. What is the best? What would you recommend for a newbie? Please help. Thanks.
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Committee Chairwoman for pack 35
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3:47 pm
January 27, 2010
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MISS Liberty
| | California | |
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We don't use it anymore, but I really loved http://www.scouttrack.com/ when we used it. I don't know how it compares to Packmaster, but I know that several other packs in our area used Scouttrack.com and liked what it did. The biggest issue we found (and why we stopped using it) was that we didn't get all of the den leaders on board with entering the info, which left huge gaps in tracking things.
If you've got a relatively tech savvy group, it's worth looking into.
I personally enjoyed it because at the time I was a den leader and parents would know what we were GOING to work on, what we HAD worked on, and what they could freely work on at home without stepping on den leader toes. There's nothing worse than having a boy come in and sigh, "I'm BORED. I already did this at home!"
I also was keen on being able to print out cards with all the awards a boy had won between certain times to make it easier for advancement ceremonies, etc.
I hope you find what you're looking for!
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"[S]He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which." ~ Douglas Adams
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11:01 am
April 16, 2010
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smwalker_oh
| | Middletown, Ohio | |
| PTC Star Scout | posts 596 |
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I'm with MISS Liberty on Scouttrack. It has been great for tracking attendance, setting calendars and tracking advancement (and leader training). To get the dens on board with entering the data online, we pretty much just went with, "Okay folks, this is how we're doing advancement tracking now, you have to do it this way to make sure your boys get their awards." All the leaders eventually got on board.
What is also nice is that the parents can log in and see their son's progress. But that's not all! They can also add in their son's progress as they go, greatly reducing the den leader's workload. You have the option to turn this off (say for Webelos) if you want to as well.
We were using scoutdata which I also thought was good but they got bought out by SOAR who kept their web hosting portion but eliminated the advancement tracking.
If you're looking for an online solution so the data doesn't live with just one person, I would highly recommend scouttrack.
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PT – Pack 19 Middletown
CR/CC – Pack, Troop & Crew 801 Middletown
MC, Packs 321, 418 & 468, Middletown
Hopewell District Cub Roundtable Commissioner
Hopewell 2011 Fall Recruitment Coordinator – Middletown
Dan Beard Council Certified Trainer
GSWO NOVA #449 Service Unit Camping Coordinator
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9:13 am
April 23, 2010
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Scouter Doug
| | Kenilworth, NJ | |
| PTC Webelos | posts 91 | 
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Our Pack has used ScoutTrack for 3 years now. We used it exclusively for the advancement tracking which to me is worth the price of the product. Being the web-nerd that I am we already had website, calendaring, email etc. in place with our website. From the get go we had it open to the parents and emphasized that all award ceremonies were based on ScoutTrack and that helped with the adoption. The only issue was with the couple of families that "aren't into that computer stuff." In those situations I asked them to document achievements in whatever means they were comfortable with and make sure they got that information to the Den Leader who could update for them.
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12:23 am
April 30, 2010
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IndianaScouter
| | Northwest Indiana | |
| PTC Bobcat | posts 2 | |
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Thank you to everyone who responded.
We tried several web-based solutions and decided on ScoutTrack. It's been a little rough transitioning in the middle of the year, at the same time as breaking in a new advancement chair, but several dens are going great guns with it. As of June 1st, that will be our primary advancement tracking system.
Again, thanks!
…Ralph Johnston
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7:39 pm
April 30, 2010
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ArvadaScout
| | Arvada, CO | |
| PTC Boy Scout | posts 186 |
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For advancement tracking, PackMaster (with the dot net option) is probably the better solution. But, the communication tools in ScoutTrack (calendar, email, etc.) make it a better all-around solution.
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Steve Waltz — Asst. Council Commissioner – Roundtables, Denver Area Council
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8:57 am
May 3, 2010
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SM Shawn
| | Green Bay, WI | |
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Just wanted to throw another comment in here…
With the new troop, I have yet to find something that I want to use. I like Scouttrack.com, as it's easy on the eyes, simplistic and cost effective.
I am leaning towards Troopmaster, as I don't need an active internet connection to use it. The cost is about the same, but the add-ons are a bit more. The dotnet feature is $20 per year, the web access is $60 per year…so in the long run, Troopmaster can run you about $110 per year.
So which one is worth it? Whatever your unit finds value in…
Our troop will probably venture into Troopmaster, for me, it's the offline stuff that I can do with it, and the ease of sharing information with those who need to be in the loop…the CC, the treasurer, the Advancement Chair, ASMs, etc…
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Host of the True North Podcast
Co-Host of Scout Nation
Scoutmaster
Dad and Husband…
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11:51 am
May 4, 2010
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MISS Emily
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We just filled the advancement chair position this weekend! I'm so excited, but she has never done Excel or any spreadsheet, and is very nervous. Would that factor change any of your opinions?
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MISS Emily, Committee Chair and DL Pack 103, Atlanta, GA **A proud Mother in Scouting Service along with MISS Sonia, MISS Liberty, and MISS Shannon**
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12:09 pm
May 4, 2010
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smwalker_oh
| | Middletown, Ohio | |
| PTC Star Scout | posts 596 |
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Not being familiar with spreadsheets could make doing a custom thing or doing the Trax series of stuff a bit daunting. I would still suggest Scouttrack because of several reasons, the main one being that the Advancement Chair doesn't have to be the person to put in all the data! It can be done by den leaders, asst. den leaders or even parents. Then the Advancement Chair can print out a simple report that lists everything earned in a specified date range (the last month for instance), and know what to purchase at the Scout Shop. It also will pre-print the advancement report that can be turned straight into council too which can save a good deal of time depending on the number of boys in the unit.
The other plus is that being completely online if the new advancement person gets into a bind or flustered and needs assistance, someone else who knows what they're doing can help out without having to make a trip to that person's house.
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PT – Pack 19 Middletown
CR/CC – Pack, Troop & Crew 801 Middletown
MC, Packs 321, 418 & 468, Middletown
Hopewell District Cub Roundtable Commissioner
Hopewell 2011 Fall Recruitment Coordinator – Middletown
Dan Beard Council Certified Trainer
GSWO NOVA #449 Service Unit Camping Coordinator
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