Minutes of the January 3, 2008 Executive Committee
Meeting of the
10:00 am President
Meeting agenda, per display on classroom instructor computer was available, as well
as online (link Here). See also, attachment one: Jan2008 exec Meeting
agenda.
In attendance:
Request for additions or
corrections to the minutes of the September2007 Executive Committee Meeting
resulted in no additions
or corrections. Minutes were approved
as written and posted on the Roswell SeniorNet website by motion and second
motion.
Treasurer’s report: (Brian
Perry) – assuming duties as newly- elected treasurer, Brian reports that the
treasury is in good condition. Written copies of his report were distributed to
members present. See attachment two: Jan
2008 treasurer. He states treasury
info is in MS Access file, and he is still in the process of familiarizing
himself with this program.
Some treasury reports are
created with Quicken, per Don H.
There was discussion of
backing up files, and suggested that the president be forwarded a backup copy
of all files as they become available, stored on a dedicated flash drive. This method can also be used to transfer
files securely to a large external drive file for SeniorNet archive files. This plan was agreed upon by Brian and all
present.
President’s Report: Don H. states 58 persons are currently registered
for the Spring quarter classes. Registration
was reported as up-to-date as of today.
In discussion, Jessica B. states we can expect as many as 20 more people
to sign up the week classes start (next week).
It was decided by Brian P. that he will stop
by the bank to verify current balance amount in the organization’s account, as
well as the status of the Certificate of Deposit holding surplus funds. Brian says he does not receive a bank
statement.
As regards registration,
per Don, Lois Deen (sp) is currently helping with
publicity. Our former publicity
chairman, Fred Wooten, has returned to full-time employment, and has not had
the opportunity to distribute flyers or make necessary phone calls. Suggested by Julie F., the president or
treasurer should publish an end-of-year report, with registration statistics
such as numbers of males, females, residence info, that will help in developing
class schedules and content and aid publicity.
Per Emory R. registration data can be used to create lists useful to
publicity or other Executive Committee members, using queries and reports. Prior sessions’ registration data can be used
to add information to current rosters.
Due to the absence next week of John Szedon due to
illness, and
Curriculum report:
Julie F. states that
course evaluations were again, very positive.
There are issues with MS Works that need to be addressed this
quarter by omitting Lesson 9 in the currently printed manual. This is necessary due to modifications in
access and appearance of the national SeniorNet website used to teach this
lesson in online discussions. It is
suggested that dropping the 9th lesson will be not be crucial to
teaching MS Works skills, and the discussion page described in the manual is
difficult to access, if not impossible during class time. Registration on the SeniorNet website is also
very difficult to accomplish on classroom computers. Elimination of the 9th lesson
should be reflected in the new 2008 course catalog for Summer. Don states he and Bert saw similar issues in
the Internet and Email class manual
– manual revisions would reflect the modified SeniorNet website – or omit that
part of the lesson. Re-writing of the
Internet/Email class manual is not currently ongoing. Some classes have handled website issues by
instructing students to write in corrections to the text. Per discussion, the SeniorNet has archived
the old website and there is a link to that on the new site, just search for
it.
Course reports
Digital camera: Julie reports plans to conduct
the course are still active, but not yet executable. The manual is being written and revised with
the help of photo expert, Jerry Moore.
Jerry is having health issues, which is slowing work on the course.
Therefore, there is no set date to introduce that course.
PowerPoint: Brian P. reports he is still at work on the manual, but also is
thinking about whether there is any market for such a class at our center. PP is aimed at professionals still active in
the workplace; seniors using computers at home only would not find such a
course useful. The Exec. Comm. agrees –
indicating the question will continue to be open to discussion. Consideration of adding course material from
the national SeniorNet, including very good student exercises and instructor
notes, will be included when Julie and Brian meet to continue course
development.
Tech report: Don reports that George Fuller
is cloning systems and programs onto new replacement PCs for the classroom.
There will be new laser printers installed as classes get underway, and new flat – panel monitors. Older flat panel monitors will be added to
the alcove computers. Bert and Don work
with George when they are able. It is
noted by the group that most instructors recognize problems with some computers
displaying web pages or program windows (such as MS Word menu bar
configuration) differently, and request the tech committee to help
“standardize” how all computers are set up.
Don notes this is an ongoing problem, which may be made worse when some
users, having the Go-Back password, have saved email or homepages with Go-Back
disabled. There is a plan to install a
classroom server at some future date – then all programs and settings would be
on the intra-classroom network, and changes could be better controlled. Don requests all members, especially Exec.
Comm. members report problems or “different” computers: notify him by email (drhogan@bellsouth.net). Plans to install a server may include
enlisting outside tech support.
There is a test computer
now at the front of the classroom – it may be used by instructors to test
programs or help illustrate differences in lessons using Windows Vista to
students having new home computers. The
new version of Generations Online can be tested on this computer before
revising the manual. Generations Online
may also be installed on the external hard drive of the instructor computer.
Generations Online: Julie
states there is a new version which is supposed to be different, however she
has not loaded it on any of the classroom computers. She will ask George F’s
help to install it so classes this quarter can take advantage of improvements
(and instructors can have time to preview it.)
Annoyances: Classroom computers have dialog boxes with IE6 and Adobe
Photoshop/Adobe Acrobat which seek to organize files, especially when inserting
removable media such as CDs or flash drives.
These dialog boxes need to be disabled.
Manual report: Don states George Fuller will have new manuals printed and placed in
the file cabinet next week. The key to open the file cabinet with manuals (only
this cabinet) will be at the front desk in Jessica’s office.
From now on the software
file cabinet will be locked, and the president will have the key.
Lab report: Bob N. reports we averaged 3
coaches each Friday during Fall session.
Having a Photoshop coach present was extremely helpful. There will
be a sign-up sheet for lab volunteers: Please sign up. See or email Bob. (bobnel@earthlink.net)
Winter Staffing: Don reports Jack Thompson (coordinator) is still looking for 10 more
coaches. This reflects the volunteer
issues, lack of participation, failure to fulfill requirements for a certain
number of coaches in some classes.
Volunteers: Don H. is taking over from
Beth Korn as volunteer coordinator.
Student CDs: Bob N. states student discs are copied and ready to be labeled, and
badges are ready, per current class rosters.
Other business:
There are issues with
Excel, using flash drives instead of CDs, which might better serve the
exercises, which require frequent file revision. CDs make this difficult. Suggestions were put forward to purchase
inexpensive small capacity flash drives for each student and add a small
amount to the class fee to cover that,
or suggest each student bring a flash drive of their own. Most instructors do
not want to go back to using 3 ½ inch floppies.
Don states the
Publicity report: Don reports on behalf of Lois
Dean that written ads/articles are being sent to local (
Course issues:
Internet/Email – per Don, the browser IE7 has been installed on classroom computers,
and manuals should be revised to reflect that.
Remember to include instructions for using tabbed browsing. The class manual changes include rearranging
the email sessions which are now “back to back”.
EBay –
no issues.
Excel
– no issues.
Quicken
- (
Fundamentals – (Julie) – With the loss of John Sz. and
Computers for the Terrified – (Julie) – there are 4 students enrolled!
Exploring Windows – no issues.
Word –
no issues.
Anti Virus
–
Graphics
– no instructor,
Photoshop Elements – (Emory) – There are enough coaches, and the
class is still using the Elements A-Z text, purchased from local bookstores,
rather than a printed manual. Suggestion
to recruit new coaches is to approach members one-on-one, so they are less likely to refuse. For upgrading to the newest version of PhotoShop Elements, 6.0, we need to find out if it is available through national
SeniorNet. As an Adobe product, will we
only be able to license 5 computers? (SeniorNet does not provide this
software.)
Memoirs
– (Tony) – He has a sufficient number of coaches for those students registered.
No manual is planned, only
handouts. This class is different from
most others we teach: computer skills are not really taught, it is more similar
to a writing skills seminar, using Word and photo scanning techniques with our
HP scanner, photo manipulation and inclusion of graphics in the design of
booklet pages. Students will learn a lot
from each other. It is suggested that
the SeniorNet site offers a link to a template for course manuals. Memoir examples from any members are welcome
to be presented in this class.
Installation of new officers:
From the Exec. Committee
group: Thanks to all outgoing officers, especially
Congrats to the new officers: John Szedon, president.
Brian
Perry, treasurer
Jerry
Moore, vice president
Other business:
Don is training
instructors for the
Update on Ed Glynn – he and Kathy are in
Photos
of new officers for the website were obtained.
Meeting adjourned, 11:55PM
Respectfully submitted by
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Attachment "2" to January 3, 2008 minutes |
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Treasurer's |
Report |
Thursday |
January Third |
2008 |
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Treasurer – Brian
Perry |
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Session |
of |
Fall |
2007 |
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Total |
Student |
Class |
Registered |
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Bank |
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$7,095.57 |
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Anti Virus |
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2 |
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Our Registration Fees Were |
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$3,524.00 |
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Ebay |
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7 |
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Excel |
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7 |
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Our Returns & Expenses Were |
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-$2,398.09 |
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Fundamentals |
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14 |
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Internet/Email |
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11 |
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Check Book Balance |
As OF |
12/29/2007 |
$8,221.48 |
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MicroSoft Word |
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4 |
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MicroSoft Works |
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13 |
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CD Investmt 9/28/06 |
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$10,000.00 |
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Photo Shop |
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11 Months @ 5.25% Interest |
Earned |
8/29/2007 |
479.63 |
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Quicken |
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Computers for the Terrified |
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2 |
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Total Value of CD Investment |
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$10,479.63 |
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Exploring Windows |
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7 |
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Typing & Keyboarding |
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0 |
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Total |
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81 |
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Total Cash Available |
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$18,701.11 |
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Session |
of |
Winter |
2007 |
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Summer |
Session |
Classes |
2007 |
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AS OF |
Saturday |
12/29/2007 |
1:30PM |
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Total |
Students |
Classes |
Registered |
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CheckBook Balance Forward |
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$8,221.48 |
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Our Returns & Expenses |
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Computers for the Terrified |
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4 |
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Ebay |
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Checkbook Balance |
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01/03/2008 |
$8,221.48 |
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Excel |
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1 |
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Fundamentals |
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12 |
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Undeposited Winter Registration |
Fees |
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$2,435.00 |
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Quicken |
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0 |
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Internet/Email Graphics |
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6 4 |
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CD Investment |
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$10,479.63 |
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MicroSoft Works |
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6 |
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Photo Shop |
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14 |
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Intro to Windows |
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3 |
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Word Processing |
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3 |
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Typing |
Keyboarding |
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Memoirs 4
1 |
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Total |
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58 |
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Actual Cash Position |
8/31/2007 |
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$21,136.11 |
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