Girl Scout Leaders and Technology

 A few years ago I brought my laptop with me to my Daisy meeting for the first time.  I was teaching a song and well, let's just say that I hope I make up in enthusiasm what I lack in musical talent.  Since that time I've  shown more than a few videos and of course, in the last year have become Zoom-competent.  That and the discussions we have been having about VTK got me wondering about technology Girl Scout leaders use, and how GSUSA might be able to learn from us to produce a product that will actually be helpful, so I did a survey.  Here are my results.

Who Replied?

I got 335 responses.  4.8% said they were Daisy leaders, 16.4% Brownie leaders, 9.6% Junior leaders, 13.1% were multi-level with younger girls only, 14.3% were multi-level, older girls only, 17.6% were older girl leaders, and 15.5% were multi-level with all ages.  50.9% had been leaders for seven or more years and only 4.5% were in their first year.  Like most of my surveys, respondents seem to have more than the average amount of experience as Girl Scout leaders.

Besides asking about their Girl Scout experience, I asked about how they used computers outside of Girl Scouts.  Of course people who didn't like using computers probably never saw my survey, but 12.2% identified themselves as IT professionals or serious hobbyists.  53.9% said they were good at office software like Microsoft Office and the software common in their industry.  27.2% said they could use office software and the software common in their industry but that they may need help with things out of the ordinary.  6.3% said they could surf the web and send emails if they had to.  

Computer Access

Particularly with older girls, most of the badges have a research or "learn about" component and the VTK plans often mention internet research, so I wondered what type of internet access was common for troops.  5.4% of those who responded said that they could easily make arrangements to use devices and internet that is already there---like an after school troop using the school computer lab.  34.4% said that wi-fi was available and they had the password, but that they had to bring their own devices.  44.7% said they did not have access to wi-fi or devices other than those they brought themselves.  15.4% said all or most of their girls had phones with internet access.  

What About Zoom?

Because of the pandemic I went from never hearing about Zoom to being one of the office experts on it, thanks to reading about it on GS Facebook groups and learning to make it work for my girls.  I wondered what people thought about Zoom meetings, so I asked: "Assume the pandemic is over tomorrow.  Will you ever hold another Zoom meeting?".  17.7% of people said no.  42.1 said they don't plan to, but wouldn't rule it out.  28.7% plan to use it periodically for specific purposes.  1.2% said they were going to use it for planning badges, and then get together for activities.  4.5% planned to meet in person but keep regular Zoom meetings too.  

What Are People Using?

GSUSA would like you think that VTK is a dashboard from which you can manage  your troop.  I doubt many leaders would agree, given responses to a previous survey.  Since we aren't using VTK to run our troops, what are we using?  47.75 of us make use of Office-type programs.  Not surprisingly for a group that was recruited on Facebook, 69.7% use it for their troop.  26% use a communications app like Band.  13.1% have a troop webpage.  40.4% use payment apps like Paypal or Venmo.  31.2% use Dropbox, Sharefile, Google Files or similar and 23% use software designed for Scouts.  

My Comments:

As Girl Scout leaders we are people of our times and people of our times use computers for more functions that people ever considered thirty years ago.  I can remember when management at our law office debated whether employees should have internet access and the only reason they said "yes" to giving it to everyone was because it was so much trouble to turn in on for some and off for others.  Originally we had all sorts of blockers on it but those have all disappeared as people kept asking for needed exceptions.  Originally we were told our cell phones were only to be used in emergencies or for personal long distance calls.  Now if my boss wants me and he's out of the office (and even sometimes when he isn't) he calls my cell or texts me on it.  

It should be no surprise that Girl Scout leaders who use resources wisely have decided to use the resources of the internet and app store for their troops.  What is unfortunate is that GSUSA, while spending a fortune on computer systems, hasn't been able to come up with one that actually works well for leaders.  My troop debit card works fine anywhere I use it--except for the GSUSA website and my council's website.  Go figure.