Stretching Your Software Budget -- Sunday Software

Strategies for S T R E T C H I N G Your Software Budget
an article by Neil MacQueen, Sunday Software

Christian education budgets can be tight in some churches, and software is more expensive than construction paper. But you've chosen to teach with computers, and hopefully the powers that be realize you can't teach with the screen saver!

In my book, Teaching with Computers in Christian Education, I discuss software budgets and estimate that your first year's software budget in a new computer lab will probably be around $150 per computer. All of the software purchased in the first year will get used again, -some of it quite a lot. Year two you might spend a little less. And by year's 3 and four, you're picking up just a few titles each year to supplement your library.

As I type this, I'm already in my 8th year of using certain programs I purchased back in 1997. And I still have two good programs which I'll be using in the coming year or two that were purchased in 1996!

As you consider your budget, keep the following in mind...

1. Buy based on attendance, not based on the # of computers in your lab.
You may have 4 computers in your lab, but this Spring you may only need to turn on 3 of them due to lower attendance. This means you might only need 3 copies of Life of Paul, instead of 4. And, if you have fewer older students, you may need fewer copies of the programs designed for them.

2. Take into account a program's natural Student-to-PC ratio. Certain programs can have more kids per copy. For example, Abraham & Sarah feels more like a present & discuss program that 3 or 4 students can share, whereas, Kid Pix 3 is best used by just 2 students at a time. Thus, even if I have 4 computers, I might only need to run 3 copies of a certain program that can handle more kids, and leave the 4th computer turned off for those sessions. Over time, this strategy can save large labs hundreds of dollars.

3. Adjust your curriculum.

a) Look at the 'scope and sequence' of lessons over the next two years and rearrange the schedule to require new software at greater intervals. Eventually you may need to buy that extra software, but in the meantime it can give you some time to plan for its purchase.

b) Schedule certain stories near to each other which can use the same software.

c) If money is tight this year, schedule upcoming lessons to take advantage of software you already own.

4. Reuse your software. Look for other places and times where your software purchases can be reused. This summer, rather than buy new software, go back and revisit old favorites again. Odds are not all your summer kids were there the first time you used the software.

An Aside: In points 3 and 4 above I'm also saying that well-used software stretches your budget by putting it to greater use. All of us buy Christian education resources that get rather limited use. We justify their purchase by the quality of their use, not just their quantity. But it sure feels good to have quantity of use too!

5. Slow down your schedule and spend more time with certain programs. For example, if you're going to make the investment in a couple copies of Joseph's Story CD, spend two weeks per class going through it, -not just one. The story of Joseph is certainly big enough and important enough to warrant extra time. And the CD itself, like many of our CDs, has extra content to explore a second or third time through it. "One week and out" is a quick way to burn through your software and your software budget.

6. Control the Number of Computers! This would seem to go without saying, but I am constantly amazed how many churches will install large numbers of computers and then complain about the cost of software. Do not grow your lab beyond your ability to supply it with good software.

It is better to have FEWER computers with the RIGHT SOFTWARE, than MORE computers and a LACK of software. Unfortunately, some churches let their enthusiasm or a large gift get them in trouble. Large labs are also harder to adequately staff with teachers. Beware the fallacy of "more is better."

7. Lend or Trade Your Software. When you're done with Pathways or Daniel, trade it to the church down the street or lend it to your families. As long as the copies are not installed on your computer(s), you can safely lend them to others. *Exceptions: You may not lend or trade a program for which you have purchased a site license. The license is specific to your location.

Please obey God's 8th Commandment and Federal Copyright Law. It is illegal to install or copy one CD software program to more than one computer. The only exception to this is if you have purchased a site license for that specific program. It is very uncool to teach the Gospel with stolen software.

8. Watch for Sales. Sunday Software traditionally puts four or five programs on sale late Spring/early Summer and around Advent. New titles can often be ordered prior to their being released at a substantial discount. Our email newsletter is your source for sales information.

9. Take advantage of our experience. If you find your budget, program and computer lab needs at odds with each other, call me up or email me. I've helped many labs rethink their strategy, set-up and usage ~and save a few bucks. (800-678-1948, neil@sundaysoftware.com)

10. Take advantage of software that has a Site License. If you have 5 or more computers, site licenses will save you a lot of money. Only a few programs have them, however. Read our site licensing article at www.sundaysoftware.com/license.htm

Other Helpful Insights on Stretching your Software Budget

Use Programs in combination with each other whenever possible. This opportunity happens a lot when teaching Jesus stories. Over time, my lab has collected a number of Jesus CDs. Many of them share similar content. So, for example, when I'm teaching about "The man let down through the roof," I pull out two copies of Life of Christ and two copies of Life & Ministry of Jesus, and run them simultaneously because both have content on that story.

Some software CDs have many stories, and some have few or just one. That's pretty obvious, but did you know there's a reason for some of that? Sunday Software's first six CDs cover only one story per CD because we identified those six stories as "essential Bible stories" which deserved special treatment, and had previously NOT been done well, if at all, in other software programs. These CDs are: Good Sam the Good Samaritan, Prodigal Son, Ten Commandments, Abraham & Sarah, Joseph's Story, and Fluffy & God's Amazing Christmas Adventure. Eventually we're going to add to that list "The Exodus," though for now the already existing Life of Moses CD (Interactive Kids Bible Series) adequately covers that story. All our other CDs do and will cover multiple stories.

We know the average church computer lab can't always afford specialized software that only covers one story. But we did feel that THESE SIX stories deserved special attention. So, if you have a tight budget, you may not want to schedule them all into your first year!

Realize you're building a software library you'll be tapping for years to come, and that the first year or two is where your biggest expense will be. Once you build your library, you'll be able to draw upon it for future lessons. I'm still using copies of programs purchases four, five, even seven years ago! Programs like Kid Pix 3 will cost you more than $20 a copy, but they'll get used EVERY year several times a year. Life of Christ is over $30 a copy, but Jesus is your main story. Fluffy & God's Amazing Christmas Adventure is over $23 a copy, but Advent comes every year and the program is designed to be reused. Galilee Flyer's site license is $95. That's steep for some churches, but the program covers four main sets of content from the Sermon on the Mount. There's an article at my website and in my book, Computers, Kids and Christian Education, which describes more software you might want to have at the outset.

Note to Rotation Model Sunday Schools:

In the Rotation Model, a new class comes into the computer lab each week. This schedule drives your software purchasing --and can cause budget problems if the schedule is moving too fast and requiring too many different purchases that year. One solution is to take your computer workshop "off line." Let a class spend two or three weeks at a time in the lab going over a CD or CDs, before moving them out. In effect, this slows down the changeover in software.

You will notice that we've actually designed some of our own special software to give you that added two or three week depth. The Ten Commandments CD, Abraham & Sarah, Bongo, Joseph's Story are excellent examples.

Projecting Software?
A few churches have bought LCD projectors and project single copies of certain programs for all the class to see. This is certainly a way to save on buying extra copies of software, but it essentially guts the reason why you want to teach with computers in the first place. Software is not audience-oriented, it's interactive. It is this interactive component that creates the excitement and takes the learner's engagement to a new level. There is a time and place to project software. Some programs project better than others. I've got an article about this with a list of recommended 'projection titles' at this link.

Purchase only 1 or 2 Copies of Special Programs
Some programs are great just to have available in quantities of 1 or 2. I use Sandals Bible Atlas this way in my lab. Rather than run it on all four of our PCs, I bring it out at a certain point in a lesson and work through it with a group before sending them on to something else. Because Sandals Atlas has so much good Jesus content, I often dovetail my use of it with other Jesus software in our lab. The CD - A Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus also works this way in my lab.

A final comment....
Since 1990 when I first began teaching with computers, I have cautioned churches about the expense of teaching in this medium. Churches need realistically equipped computers that can run most of what is the best software to teach with. Churches must be be prepared to purchase a reasonable quantity of software every year for their computers to meet their teaching objectives. And they must prepare for the day when their equipment and software will need upgraded or replaced. This medium is not standing still. It is moving forward. These realities make teaching with computers a challenge for the willing, not the faint of heart.