Technology Committee

technology Chair: John Limb
Members: Janet Dolan, Walter Ensign, Roy Kindell, Adam Marx, Steve Weyer
Ministry: Administration

Background: The Technology Committee is one of the supporting committees fulfilling various functions of the Fellowship (Bylaws 14.1B). The chair is elected by the members of the committee for a period of three years, subject to confirmation by the Board (Bylaws 14.6). The Technology Committee is partly responsible for implementing the Ashland Facility Initiative of RVUUF’s Strategic Plan.

Purpose:

To anticipate and meet the technological needs of RVUUF.
To stimulate the effective use of new technology in fulfilling the Mission of RVUUF.

Responsibilities:

Deploy and maintain all technology used by RVUUF, including telecommunications, data networks, computers, databases, web site, e-mail, social networking systems, telephone systems, conferencing systems, and audio/video/multimedia systems.
Develop a unified policy with other relevant committees regarding the publication of material in all forms.
Consult on technology issues for other RVUUF entities.
Provide appropriate backup of electronically stored information
Train backup operators and administrators of critical systems.
Promote good design, security, training and documentation practices.
Provide education and a limited level of technical support to RVUUF Members.
Explore the use of new technology in the conduct of our Mission.

Membership:

The committee will include those with a strong technical background in one of the areas of committee responsibility, as well as user representatives.

Policies:

700.x: Building Use (sound system)
704.x: Using Fellowship Computers, Networks and Data

Newsletter articles (PDF):
Dec 2010 Online Sermons; Accessing Internet at RVUUF
Nov 2010 Sermons on CD and online
Aug 2010 New Phone System
Jan 2009 Sound System

Computer Training, Donations, Recycling

RVUUF does not offer any computer training or troubleshooting help, though such services may be available through the Auction, or if enough technically-savvy volunteers appear someday... -- talk to our Technology Committee.

If you're interested in participating in an introductory or in-depth demonstration of RVUUF's web site after a Sunday service, Contact: Web Administrator.

Training. The following local organizations may be able to help you learn more about your computer, the web, mail and other applications:

Senior Adult Computer Education Society (ACES)
Ashland Macintosh Users Group (AshMUG)
Rogue Community College (RCC) Community Education: Computer Training
Jackson County Library Free Basic Computer Classes
Southern Oregon University (SOU) Extended Campus Programs Education to Go: Online Computers & Tech
SOU Community Programs Continuing Education
Ashland Senior Center
Rogue Area Senior Computer Assistance League (RASCAL) Grants Pass
Net for Beginners
How Stuff Works
How-to videos (Wydea)
online courses
Tech Support (short videos)
other sources: local computer stores, retirement communities, etc.

Donations:

If your computer is relatively new, consider donating it to RVUUF -- contact Technology Committee
National Cristina Foundation

Recycling:

Apple: iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC
Oregon E-Cycles: environmentally responsible recycling program for computers, monitors and TVs
E-cycling Central (OR)
Reconnect Partnership
Jackson County Recycling Directory
Catalog Choice eliminate unwanted catalogs, phone books, credit card offers
Green Guide to Recycling Appliances and Electronics
BestBuy: OR
Earth 911.com
Intl. Assoc. of Electronics Recyclers
homeownersinsurance.org: [recycling]

Technology Committee

Technology

technology Geek-speak Alert!

Our site uses Drupal, a free, open-source Content Management System (CMS). A CMS typically stores different kinds of information items, e.g., menus, events, topics, stories, newsfeeds, sermons, blogs and forms in a database; it then applies a theme (via a template/style sheet) for fonts, colors, layout to generate web pages automatically.

Since the Drupal interface for updating the web site is entirely browser-based, it's relatively easy (once everything has been setup) for anyone (with the appropriate access role) to add/edit stories or events, add comments, or even administer the web site (change menus, appearance, modules, settings) -- just by filling out forms. No HTML (or programming) experience is required, though it does come in handy sometimes; those with CSS (Cascading Style Sheet), PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor), JavaScript (jQuery, a JavaScript library), mySQL or graphic design experience could help us customize the site even more.

Drupal (and RVUUF's webadmin) generate standards-compliant HTML & CSS; some of these validation logos are included in the page footer; see Browsers page for more acryonyms & jargon.

Although a lot of functionality comes built-in with Drupal, our site adds many (free) 3rd-party modules; many themes are available for page layout/appearance -- our site uses the (boring) built-in Garland fluid-width theme. We are currently using Drupal version 6.x in a multi-site configuration. We plan to upgrade to Drupal 7 once several necessary modules are available and stable. Hostgator.com provides our certified green web hosting using Apache web server software.

email E-mail lists are handled separately via Google Apps, for non-profits: Groups.