NW Scheduler/Publisher - Updates, Support, and Suggestions

[computerwiz]

14 hours ago, Aja said:

Now if we can just get the talk coordinators to switch from KHS to JWS... 🙄

 

It might be helpful to schedule a Zoom meeting with the COBE, Secretary, and talk coordinators of other congregations, giving them an introduction to NWS.

 

We were fortunate that on the last "COVID update" meeting on Zoom with our CO as a whole circuit, he actually gave another brother the spotlight so as to introduce the entire circuit to NWS.  He went over the most useful and most unique features that set it apart from KHS, and we got a lot of congregations on board from that.

 

It might be worth asking your CO if you can arrange something like that...

Edited May 3, 2023 by computerwiz

[Aja]

54 minutes ago, computerwiz said:

 

It might be helpful to schedule a Zoom meeting with the COBE, Secretary, and talk coordinators of other congregations, giving them an introduction to NWS.

 

We were fortunate that on the last "COVID update" meeting on Zoom with our CO as a whole circuit, he actually gave another brother the spotlight so as to introduce the entire circuit to NWS.  He went over the most useful and most unique features that set it apart from KHS, and we got a lot of congregations on board from that.

 

It might be worth asking your CO if you can arrange something like that...

I asked our CO a couple weeks ago about using the JWS for CO's feature and he wasn't interested so I don't think he'll be endorsing JWS anytime soon😅. I try to be mindful/cautious about advocating for third party, paid services (not saying you weren't). I do let other secretaries know about the program but just in a one on one setting and try to inform them their are other (and possibly better) options out there. But that is awesome that you were able to get most everyone in your circuit on the same page!

 

I know the Branch is mindful about advocating specific services but there is precedent like when they, for all intents and purposes, encouraged the use of Zoom during the pandemic. I wonder if they are more hesitant to do it in this case because by advocating for JWS vs Lightbox vs KHS vs Hourglass they would be essentially taking sides with one of our Christian brothers over another since these are all created and run by fellow Jehovah's Witnesses.

[computerwiz]

3 minutes ago, Aja said:

I wonder if they are more hesitant to do it in this case because by advocating for JWS vs Lightbox vs KHS vs Hourglass they would be essentially taking sides with one of our Christian brothers over another since these are all created and run by fellow Jehovah's Witnesses.

 

Probably so.  No doubt there would be hurt feelings and whatnot....even though we are all supposed to be humble & view others as superior to us.  

[More4me2do]

Talk Coordination for me is still easier to handle in KHS and I do all my pre-planning and scheduling in KHS and than update in NWS the Local and Away speaker/talk assignments. This way I get the benefits of the more familiar way of handling the talk coordination in KHS and the congregation gets the benefit of the NWP scheduling. In addition I don't have to contact our outgoing speakers reminding them and passing on contact information a plus for NWS.

 

The other day I wanted to find out who had given a particular talk in 2020 plus what the CO public talks were for the past 3 years and in KHS it was intuitive plus took only seconds. Best of both worlds.

[Aja]

I have never been a talk coordinator so that is a huge caveat in my opinion. I love simplicity and accuracy. My thought was that if each talk coordinator maintained there own database well and shared with everyone else in the circuit, each talk coordinator would have an up-to-date list of speakers and all the talks they give and could seamlessly request speakers and there wouldn't be a need to maintain two separate programs. But I also recognize everyone has a different workflow and what works for one person may not work for another. Thanks for sharing your perspective James.

[Cruzer]

45 minutes ago, Aja said:

I have never been a talk coordinator so that is a huge caveat in my opinion. I love simplicity and accuracy. My thought was that if each talk coordinator maintained there own database well and shared with everyone else in the circuit, each talk coordinator would have an up-to-date list of speakers and all the talks they give and could seamlessly request speakers and there wouldn't be a need to maintain two separate programs. But I also recognize everyone has a different workflow and what works for one person may not work for another. Thanks for sharing your perspective James.

 

Theoretical question.. what if KHS also had a "publishers" app? Do you think there would still be a possible need to work off 2 separate programs? I love the simplicity of NWS as well but the points James brought out are some of my same thoughts regarding talk coordinator scheduling.

[Aja]

My biggest issues with using KHS were the clunky steps you had to go through to keep the database sync'd up. Every month (as the secretary) trying to import all the data from all the different coordinators invariably led to a cumbersome process of trying to untangle what data was correct and what wasn't, trying to create a "Master" file and hoping that everyone would properly import those changes and get everyone on the same page. Rinse and repeat almost every... single... month. It became exhausting and eventually myself and the COBE began seeking out alternative solutions which led us to NWS->JWS. Ultimately, JWS solved my pain points from KHS, while at the same time being an upgrade by means of the publisher app and having better pricing. It's been a no brainer for us.

 

But for the sake of your question, lets assume KHS "caught up" (I think a lot of the issues I had with the way KHS operated weren't mistakes but were intentional design choices) and had complete feature parity with JWS. From my perspective, it wouldn't be worth the effort unless they somehow brought features that surpassed JWS. To me, they stagnated too long (for reasons unknown) on the program so now that ship has sailed...

[computerwiz]

32 minutes ago, Aja said:

they stagnated too long (for reasons unknown) on the program so now that ship has sailed...

 

KHS could use a complete overhaul. It's UI is antiquated and glitchy (from a new, modern user perspective)

 

The problem with that is it is a massive program and would take a ton of time. It would also upset a very large user base used to years of the same design. Making significant structural changes always introduces all kinds of new bugs. So really, they're kinda stuck with their overall design. 

 

That's why NWS is the perfect transition to a modern app. You can take your time, use both, and make a pleasant transition at your leisure. I really like how they're trying to be a one-stop-shop for everything. Literally...everything.

 

As the developer of LRO...I'd be happy to share my code & strategies with them to buff up their literature module. I don't have time to really work on my own program. But then again, maybe they'll come up with a better design than me.  Would be cool if the KHS crew and the NWS crew could collaborate. But they are very different technologies... 

[Gimestr]

6 hours ago, Aja said:

I wonder if they are more hesitant to do it in this case because by advocating for JWS vs Lightbox vs KHS vs Hourglass they would be essentially taking sides with one of our Christian brothers over another since these are all created and run by fellow Jehovah's Witnesses.

I would really like it if they produced their own software for this, but I understand that it is a huge undertaking.  Additionally I think they only focus on software that pushes the preaching work.  ie. JWL and MEPS.  However, there is a clear need for scheduling software's to exist.  

[Floyd]

I wish it would work on a Mac.

[Cruzer]

1 hour ago, Floyd said:

I wish it would work on a Mac.

 

It does, not directly but it can by using Parallels, Boot Camp, UTM, etc (https://nwscheduler.com/jw-scheduler-for-mac/). I'm a PC guy, never really used Mac but I was able to successfully install NWS on Mac systems for a couple of brothers in my congregation. On one I used Boot Camp, easy setup. On the other, because it has an M1 chip, I used UTM. Parallels is nice but it required a subscription to use (not free).

 

[More4me2do]

12 hours ago, Aja said:

I have never been a talk coordinator so that is a huge caveat in my opinion. I love simplicity and accuracy. My thought was that if each talk coordinator maintained there own database well and shared with everyone else in the circuit, each talk coordinator would have an up-to-date list of speakers and all the talks they give and could seamlessly request speakers and there wouldn't be a need to maintain two separate programs. But I also recognize everyone has a different workflow and what works for one person may not work for another. Thanks for sharing your perspective James.

Aja, your assumption would work in the New World put not in the one we live in. You have no idea how often Talk Coordinators change or how often I get calls for last minute speaking assignments for any number of reasons some legitimate and sad, and others because of negligence by the previous talk coordinator. Real life events, like COVID, have a way of making it difficult for presenting a problem free weekend meeting. 

 

Sometimes I am wondering if the brothers handling public talk assignments are not realizing how serious their responsibility is. Basically they are responsible for the entire congregation's theocratic education of 30 minutes of the weekly 3 hour allocated program.

 

On the other hand, by now I know the talk coordinators in a few congregations that are very diligently discharging their responsibilities and I don't have to worry about a speaker from their congregation not showing up. The software is ONLY as good as the ones using it. Old IT phrase GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out) and this does not yet include being free of "Error is between Keyboard and Chair"

Edited May 4, 2023 by More4me2do

[Floyd]

I thought I read somewhere the meeting attendance could be recorded on the app but not seeing it.

[Floyd]

20 minutes ago, Floyd said:

I thought I read somewhere the meeting attendance could be recorded on the app but not seeing it.

 

I found it here 

 

 

I am a Linux guy and do some programming and I am finding several things that don't seem logical to me. I would never have thought that submitting the attendance would be in the section with the schedules. I would have thought it would be under Duties / Attendants since recording meeting attendance is a duty. So I am finding I have to memorize things instead of thinking about them logically. Maybe the way I think is in the minority. 

[Floyd]

NWS seems to close automatically.

[Floyd]

On 4/24/2023 at 11:04 AM, Aja said:

Not at this time and I doubt it would happen as it would necessitate the storing of data online. 

 

Data is stored online anyway. When a new elder installs NWS and connects to our congregation all of the publisher information and schedules and so forth are downloaded automatically. Where is that coming from? Its not coming from my computer. It must be coming from a server online somewhere.

[slammers]

Greetings,

 

KHS allowed me to configure a school student if needed to be used say every 4 months or every 6 months. I can't seem to find that in JW Scheduler. We have a couple students that need some adjustments to how often they are used based on their circumstances. Is that option available? 

 

Thanks,

Stephen

[Floyd]

11 hours ago, Floyd said:

NWS seems to close automatically.

 

Any way to stop it from closing automatically?

[Floyd]

I was looking at the schedule for Duties and saw there are separate columns for Zoom Host and Video. Branch direction says this is the same person. The video operator is supposed to start the videoconference.

[Aja]

2 hours ago, Floyd said:

Branch direction says this is the same person. The video operator is supposed to start the videoconference.

Review the S-179. It has a very nice breakdown in the box at the end of what the 2 roles (Audio/Video Support and [Videoconference] Attendant) are responsible for before, during, and after the meeting.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Aja

[Aja]

13 hours ago, Floyd said:

 

Any way to stop it from closing automatically?

It was an intentional design choice by the programmer(s). There is not a way to turn it off.

[Aja]

17 hours ago, slammers said:

KHS allowed me to configure a school student if needed to be used say every 4 months or every 6 months. I can't seem to find that in JW Scheduler. We have a couple students that need some adjustments to how often they are used based on their circumstances. Is that option available? 

It will definitely tell you when their last assignment was but I haven't seen a feature that allows you to set a timer of sorts for how soon they can give their next talk. I'm not the Life and Ministry overseer though so maybe someone who is would have more experience with this matter. Alternatively, whoever the scheduler is could set a reminder in their phone when to assign the person the next talk. 

[molnarj]

You can find it under Me / Settings. But you can not do it individually (yet?).

 

[Floyd]

3 hours ago, Aja said:

Review the S-179. It has a very nice breakdown in the box at the end of what the 2 roles (Audio/Video Support and [Videoconference] Attendant) are responsible for before, during, and after the meeting.

 

Yep that is where I got my information as well as the newer S-261. The brother who handles the media also starts the videoconference. The S-179 also mentions it could be the organizer who starts the meeting but that is not a rotated position.

 

[molnarj]

Please note that Duties are adjustable fields. You can name them according to your needs. You can rearrange them the way you want. We use Attendant Entrance, Attedant Main hall and Attendant Zoom. So the Video Operator is the one to Start Zoom. But the Attendant Zoom is co_host and is looking after things at Zoom. He and the Video Operator are two different persons in our Hall.

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by molnarj