Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is “Leadership Essentials”?
2. Why should I subscribe to Leadership Essentials?
3. How do I subscribe to Leadership Essentials?
4. Can I watch a sample?
5. How much does a yearly subscription cost?
6. How long will my subscription last?
7. How will I know my staff are watching?
8. How will I know whether my staff understood the content?
9. Can I play the modules during staff training week?
10. Can I burn a DVD copy of the modules?
11. Should I enroll my entire staff or purchase a smaller subscription for my newer staff?
12. Do I need to track statistics?
13. Can my staff create their own accounts?
14. What if I run into technical difficulty?
15. What if I have a suggestion for some new module?
16. What if I'm a camp director and I want to see more before subscribing?
17. What if I want to upload my own materials?
18. What payment methods are available?
19. What are the technical requirements?

Answers

1. What is “Leadership Essentials”?

   Leadership Essentials is a premium online video training system that allows you to begin training staff as soon as they are hired. The library contains a wide array of video modules that your staff can view, followed by online quizzes to verify their knowledge. The Leadership Essentials library provides a realistic look at the responsibilities of a youth development professional and provides in-depth preparation for both international and domestic staff at day and resident camps.
   
   See a full list of Features and Benefits of Leadership Essentials.

2. Why should I subscribe to Leadership Essentials?

   There are many benefits to using the Leadership Essentials library to train your staff:

   1. You can train your staff as soon as they are hired, from the comfort of their homes anywhere in the world! (web-based/internet-accessible)
   2. Jump-starting your staff training with Leadership Essentials can reduce your liability exposure from under-trained staff
   3. Staff will be better prepared by the time they arrive so you can cover key topics in greater depth
   4. The online quizzes are a great tool for testing staff knowledge. Quizzes consist of multiple-choice questions which are automatically marked. Detailed results can be seen from your Camp Director Dashboard.
   
   See a full list of Features and Benefits of Leadership Essentials.
   
   

3. How do I subscribe to Leadership Essentials?

   Subscription is fast and easy with a PayPal account, credit card, or check. Simply click Subscribe and follow the steps. First it will ask you to create a Director account, then continue with the subscription process. You will be asked to confirm that you agree with the Terms of Use, then you will be taken to PayPal's payment page. You don't need a PayPal account to pay; you can use a credit card without a PayPal account.

4. Can I watch a sample?

   Even better! You can watch two full-length training modules for free. Two favorite modules, "Camp Staff and the Internet" and "Campers with Attention Deficits" are available now for you to watch. The video modules are 6-9 minutes long and contain many examples of staff demonstrating how to interact with campers.
   
   Watch the Sample Videos.

5. How much does a yearly subscription cost?

   For 2008, subscription costs vary between $799 (for up to 24 staff) and $1599 (for up to 224 staff). For 225 or more, the cost is $7.00 per staff account. Your actual cost per staff member goes down the more staff you have. For example, if you have between 50 and 74 staff, your subscription will be $999 (approx. $14 per staff). If you have between 100 and 124 staff, your subscription will be $1199 (approx. $10 per staff).
   
   See the full Price table.

   We encourage camps that have a modestly sized staff or budget to find one or two brother or sister camps with whom to share a subscription to Leadership Essentials. If the combined number of staff from two or three camps totals 100 or more, we will be happy to charge you a discounted rate of $10 per staff member, plus a $100 per-camp administrative fee to construct a separate Director Dashboard for each camp. Interested camps should call 877-237-3931 to learn more about this discount subscription program.

6. How long will my subscription last?

   Subscriptions to the Leadership Essentials library can be purchased any time during the year. However, all subscriptions expire on December 31st of the purchase year. You can renew your subscription each January, when new and revised modules come online.

7. How will I know my staff are watching?

   As a director, you will have full access to a dashboard of features, including instant reports that show statistics on each of your staff members. It tells you how many videos they have watched, how many quizzes they have passed, and even how many times they have logged into the system. Marks will indicate who has watched which modules and truly understood the content.

8. How will I know whether my staff understood the content?

   You can monitor your staff's understanding in three ways. First, you'll be able to see their most recent score on the quizzes that accompany each module. Second, you may assign the discussion questions on the site, or write and assign essay questions of your own. Staff can e-mail their answers directly to you for evaluation. Third, you may wish to create a blog on the staff section of your camp's website. Virtual discussions can give you a good sense of how well staff understand the content in the video training modules.

9. Can I play the modules during staff training week?

   Of course. The modules may be downloaded (in MP4 video format) to your computer or mobile device, such as an iPod Video, for use during staff training week and throughout the summer. To play the videos on your computer, you will need the Apple QuickTime Player for Mac or PC. You do not have to be connected to the Internet. Adapters are available to play iPod videos through conventional televisions. You may also play the modules on a laptop computer connected to an LCD projector and loudspeakers. Be sure to follow each module with ample discussion about the unique application of certain skills at your camp.

10. Can I burn a DVD copy of the modules?

    The video training module library is copyrighted, so burning DVD copies is NOT permitted. Instead, download it to a mobile device, such as an iPod Video, or download it to a laptop computer. You have the legal right to watch these videos until the subscription expires on December 31st of the year of purchase and you'll be ready to renew your subscription in January, when new and revised modules come online.

11. Should I enroll my entire staff or purchase a smaller subscription for my newer staff?

    We recommend that you purchase a subscription that covers all staff who will have direct contact with campers. Although your senior staff have considerable experience, there are three reasons why all counseling and leadership staff should be included in your subscription:

    1. Having the entire counseling and leadership staff participate in "Leadership Essentials" training is better for group cohesion and skill consistency. A training program that only certain staff are required to participate in may cause unwanted tension among your staff.
    2. When your older, more experienced staff have learned the material in "Leadership Essentials," they will be in the best possible position to mentor younger staff. Plus, when veteran staff have seen the same material as younger staff, they will have key reference points for leading workshops of their own during staff training week.
    3. It's not that much more expensive to ensure that everyone on your counseling and leadership staff is trained with "Leadership Essentials," rather than incur the liability associated with a small cohort of poorly trained staff.

12. Do I need to track statistics?

    Tracking your staff's visits to the site, views of the videos, and scores on quizzes is optional. You may find that it's easier to simply send your entire staff an e-mail announcing your subscription to Leadership Essentials and then let them create their accounts and explore. However, tracking statistics gives you an excellent sense of who is taking their pre-camp training seriously.

13. Can my staff create their own accounts?

    Once you subscribe, you have two options for creating staff accounts: Option #1: You or your assistant can set up accounts for all your staff, using their e-mail addresses and passwords. (Manually enter a unique password for each user or let the system create a unique password for each staff automatically.) Option #2: You can send an e-mail to all of your staff with the link that has your Camp ID# and a self-registration password already embedded, making self-registration a snap. Your staff do the rest on their own. The link is found in your Camp Director Dashboard.

14. What if I run into technical difficulty?

    If you encounter any technical problems that you cannot work through on your own, please contact the team at MySummerCamps.com by dialing toll-free 877-237-3931.

15. What if I have a suggestion for some new module?

    We welcome your suggestions as we work to expand the Leadership Essentials library to include new topics and even new writers and module hosts. Contact Dr. Thurber using the Contact Form.

16. What if I'm a camp director and I want to see more before subscribing?

    Camp directors can view more of the video library and explore the administrative features of the Director Dashboard by calling the tech team at Leadership Essentials at our toll-free number 877-237-3931. One of our representatives will be happy to create a temporary demo account for you.
    
    In addition, this Leadership Essentials site will soon have a video tutorial that showcases more of the Director Dashboard features, such as tracking quiz statistics, uploading original materials, and creating staff accounts.

17. What if I want to upload my own materials?

    Uploading PDFs, Word documents, or PowerPoint presentations is a great way to customize your camp's account. After subscribing, click on Director Dashboard, then click on Manage Resources. In the light blue Manage Resources box, you'll see "Upload New Resources" at the bottom. Simply browse to and select the file(s) you want to upload (it must be somewhere on your own computer) and then click Upload File. Your material will remain in an Approval Queue for a day to be sure it does not contain inappropriate material and then it will be available to your camp's staff. As with other resources, you may choose to make your additional material accessible or not, simply be clicking the appropriate icon in the Actions column of the Manage Resources box.

18. What payment methods are available?

    
    We accept credit card, (PayPal for instant subscription), but you can also mail a check. Please make the check payable to CampSpirit, LLC and mail it to:
    
    Chris Thurber
    32 Park Street
    Exeter, NH 03833
    USA

19. What are the technical requirements?

    To run Leadership Essentials you will need:

    1. An internet connection (preferably high speed; slower connections will take longer to load the videos)
    2. A modern web browser (we support Firefox, Internet Explorer 6.0/7.0). AOL and Safari browsers are particularly problematic. Mac users should download Firefox. We strongly recommend Firefox for all users:
       
       Download (MAC): Mozilla Firefox for Mac
       Download (Windows): Mozilla Firefox for Windows
       
       NOTE: Javascript must NOT be disabled.
    3. The Adobe Flash plugin installed in your browser. Download the Flash plugin