Tech Committee Opportunity Update #1

Tech Committee is excited to bring forward several powerful software systems!

Also a powerful web portal infrastructure to assist our General Assembly!

Also innovative solutions as we speed up the effort to boot-up our Four Pillars!

Try out the new concept platform! There are 6 parts to all of this!

The first thought you might be having is this: Whoa! This concept portal looks nothing at all like our current website!

You are correct. It is vastly different. The content is dynamic. Anyone can be granted higher level access to then be able to author your ideas. Once you begin creating the context of your ideas, you can then bring in other assembly members to work together in bringing your ideas into fruition. 

Part 1 - Web Hosting that is based on Open Source (not expensive to own and use)

Run by the Tech Committee, this hosting platform is located inside a professional industrial-strength Data Center which is staffed by technology support people 24/7/365 inside a fee of $35 per quarter, paid thus far by Jim. Our shared access to this comes to us by way of Linux, Apache, cPanel, MySQL, PHP and other associated technical jargon on a webserver that is powering nearly 500 other websites.

The goal is for the Assembly to not have to wait their turn to get new content into focus, but to have D-I-Y capability.

The result is not having to be a technical person and not having to be proficient in any technology. As long as you can use your device to access the internet, then you are qualified to partake in these endeavors and learn to use our new 'tiny editor' as your word processor.

Part 2 - Joomla! version 5.1.1 (revision being updated to a new 'dot rev' soon to 5.1.2)

Begin with an Open Source Content Management System where anyone can download the whole package for free to install on a Web Host -- provided said web host is affordably geared toward such an effort.  Affordable means less than $500 per year. 

The Joomla! system allows us to create various groups and access levels regarding what everyone can see as they log in. 

For example:   Let's say you are in the Standing Committees and you're working together to draft a Notice.

With the participation from any member of our standing committees, as authors of the Notice, for example, you can produce the content and keep it to any group until ready to advance the work up in the workflow to the point where it can be seen by anyone who is logged in, but not seen by anyone who is not logged in.

That content can also then be seen by anyone in a particular committee they are an author in, but not yet seen by those logged in who aren't in that particular committee. Why?

We are all busy and not wanting to distract members of other various committees prior to our being ready with our works. Then we can publish our work to then report it to the Committees and to the General Assembly. 

Part 3 - Moodle version 4.3.3 (revision being updated soon to 4.3.5)

An Open Source Learning Management System where anyone can author and create a text based education course to make available to the audience of people who log on to the system for getting an education about the topics being presented. 

The same can be said about generating educational/learning content.  You don't make a course available until you have gotten all your points covered and tested and verified. Producing a Learning Course can be a daunting task without such easy and user-friendly toolsets.  Once you click on the links to 'Virtual Training Center' or the 'Education and Outreach Data Center' you will then be inside of Moodle within Joomla. 

Part 4 - Community Builder 2.9.2 (revision was just updated) 

A Social Media Platform running inside Joomla for people to see and connect with other members. To then be able to share ideas and work on authoring their proposals or assembly focused discussion.  At the left side of the screen once you are logged in, you will see a box titled as 'Building Our Assembly' and all of those links are part of this CB sub-system. The trail of where you are at in this system will change to 'TMA Vounteers' once you go into these areas.

All together, we are able to use these systems as follows:

1. Stand-up our Four Pillars
   
   
2. Create the context for all of us to learn and grow together and to organize every effort
   
   
3. Disseminate The American States Assembly works and the authorship of our Fiduciary Anna Maria.
   
   
4. Empower us to self-governed at the 'commications platform level' (provided we have electricity, printer paper, etc.)
   
   
5. To aide anyone in creating their status correction documents.  
   
   
6. To offer our Assembly the ability to stad up our County levels and put them on the Web herein.
   
   
7. So much more..   the sky is the limit! 
    

Part 5 - The brunt of our initial Joomla! setup includes all of the following:

1. All the categories created in Joomla for every committee, every role, every major topic taken to the floor; past and present
   
   
2. All the User Access Groups in order to facilitate seeing content organized by committee as entered into committee lists
   
   
3. All the categories are ready to accept content being transferred from the existing webside
   
   
4. Document Editor functions and automatic text to PDF for downloading content to hard copy
   
   
5. Ability to add, edit or remove any content seen now in order to tailor the system exactly as any committee will need
   
   
6. Automated system utilities such as backups, updates to software and email communications for statuses of user actions
   
   
7. A social Network style community web interface to connect with other members over the portal, to share in working together
   
   
8. Areas of the system content which will display for anyone logged in, also areas to be seen by limited groups as needed
   
   
9. Automatic workflow guidance which can be selected during stages of authorship, editing and publisihing to communicate the status
   
   

Part 6 - Learning the administrative roles for these systems