Proposed Uses for a Personal Computer in the Chicago Center

Tim Fairbank
LEC Technology Team, Chicago Center
November 2, 1993

The LEC Technology Team is currently working on a project to create a new, comprehensive computer system to replace the current manual system used to administer a Center. This will require purchasing somewhere between $10,000 and $50,000 worth of hardware and software (per Center), creating a sophisticated, integrated database system, training the staff and assistants, and radically redesigning the policies, procedures and accountabilities of the Centers. Obviously, this is not something we can do quickly or easily.

The best way to get started is with a smaller, quicker and less expensive project, one that will bring immediate practical results. I suggest that we purchase a single modern, powerful personal computer, and use it to create simpler and more limited applications that will still be extremely useful.

Specifically, I suggest we buy a Macintosh Quadra 605, in the configuration with
8 megabytes of RAM and a 160 megabyte hard drive. This sells for $1,299 at CompUSA in Skokie. Another graduate, Rita Knorr, has donated a suitable monitor and keyboard, which saves us approximately $300. Geordie Korper, a graduate who owns a computer store, has said he's willing to donate a laser printer, which saves us another $500. (I still need to finalize the details on this, however.)

What could we do with such a system? Several problems could be solved in a matter of weeks:

REGISTRATION DATABASES

The crucial reason for buying a Quadra 605 is that it's fast enough to support a relational database program, such as Helix Express. (That happens to be the software that my consulting business is based upon. It's probably not the best long-term solution for Landmark as a whole...but it's something I know I can make work, and quickly.)

I see a need for three separate databases: one for Seamus, to handle all open Forums and Advanced Courses, one for Darren, to handle all open seminars, and a much smaller one for Pamela, for the Communication Courses. These will replace the present crude, semi-manual system based on Microsoft Works, and would create the same output: class lists, in and out of area lists, invoices, transfer letters, and so on. In many other ways, however, this new system will be far superior.

First, this will be a fully programmable database application that we could customize in any way needed. It would be much more "intelligent" than the one we have now; all the standard reports, such as class lists, would be completely predefined. To print one, a user would simply chose it from a menu. It will be easier to learn and use, because it will have a push-button user-interface, in which all your options are visible on the screen. And because we will have control of the software, we will have the ability to create whatever ad-hoc, unexpected reports are necessary, and to export the data to other programs, such as the spreadsheets that the Finance Department needs.

This is not the place for a complete systems analysis of what a registration database should do. Suffice it to say, however, that even the elementary uses of a personal computer database application should cut in half the time now spent managing the registration cards by hand.

GRADUATE RECORD ID NUMBER LOOKUP

We should have Blaine Kinnebrew send us a copy, on diskettes, of the graduate records database for the Heartland cities. (This will be tens of thousands of records; one concern here is whether the computer's hard drive will be big enough to store all this information.)

Once this data is loaded, it will be possible to search for a graduate's ID by typing their first and last name, and pressing the tab key. All possible matches will be found in a few seconds. Obviously, this is much faster than paging through the graduate records binder. An additional advantage is the possibility of password protecting the database, to ensure privacy.

DESKTOP PUBLISHING AND A COPY MASTERS LIBRARY

Production has a need to create copy masters for handouts in the Forum, Advanced Course, seminars, and so on. In many cases, these handouts have a standard format and content which does not vary from event to event, along with date information which must be changed every time. In the past, we have dealt with this by running to Kinko's every time we need to change something, print something, or found a typo.

It would be extremely convenient to have all our standard handouts collected together in one place, organized as a library in the computer, right here in the center. They could revised, updated and printed on the spot, if necessary right up to the last possible moment. Typographical errors could no longer create a frantic, last minute breakdown.

The next step would be to create a team of assistants to manage the desktop publishing needs of the center. Among other things, they could rework the format and layout of our handouts to give them an attractive, consistent, professional look and feel, one based on a suitable choice of fonts, use of upper and lower case characters, and so on. Naturally, the simple fact that we will have our own laser printer will make an enormous difference by itself.
Finance Department Spreadsheets

I am not yet familiar with the details of the Finance Department's information requirements, but it is clear that we could easily replace the paper ledgers and hand calculators with a suitable spreadsheet program, such as Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel, or the spreadsheet module of ClarisWorks. All these programs come in both a Macintosh version and a Microsoft Windows version.

If nothing else, these spreadsheets would let the computer start doing the arithmetic, and would produce neatly formatted output.

UTILITY PROGRAMS

There are other, smaller, miscellaneous applications for a computer in the Center. For example, at the end of every Forum, we pass out a questionaire to all the participants. Tallying these questionaires by hand can take 2 or 3 hours (at the worst possible moment; everyone is eager to go home).

To speed this up, we could write a quick and dirty little program, possibly using a tool that Apple has provided called HyperCard. It would work like this: one person would read off the responses from the questionaire ("5, 5, 4, 3, 5....4, 5.") The other person would simply type those digits as quickly as possible. The computer would be responsible for keeping track of which responses go with which question, as well as totaling up the responses and printing a summary report. With this system, it should be possible to handle each questionaire only once, and process it in less than 30 seconds. This means that the entire batch could be done in less than an hour.

CALENDAR PROGRAMS

There are several cheap but excellent calendar and scheduling programs available for both Macintosh and Microsoft Windows. We could use these to build a comprehensive master calendar of all events scheduled throughout the Heartland, as then print them in a variety of formats: all events in Chicago, all seminars throughout the region, all events that use the West Room, and so on.

CONCLUSION

This is by no means a comprehensive list of applications we could create. Production could certainly use a database of assistants' names and phone numbers; the Enrollment department undoubtedly has needs; and perhaps also the Center Manager. Perhaps the greatest benefit of this first, powerfull personal computer will be the way it opens our eyes to what is possible.