Evaluation Approach

We’ve done our best to keep the evaluation simple yet effective. After starting with a long list of evaluation criteria, we simplified that down to some “knockout criteria” and
a manageable number of evaluation categories from the perspectives of (1) Teachers and (2) IT Staff.

These are explained in the next sections, but first a brief description of our 4-step approach to evaluating solution options and narrowing our choices.

1. Evaluate each solution based on a few (5-10) "knock out" criteria -- things that the solution must absolutely be able to meet or it's not worth pursuing.

2. Evaluate remaining solutions based on a set of Teacher usage based evaluation categories (5-15). If we find that none of the solutions adequately cover these criteria, we will also consider combinations as noted above.

3. Finally, for the solutions (or solution combinations) that pass the Teacher evaluation, we'll determine which ones best meet the IT Staff evaluation criteria. This is critical to ensure long-term maintenance and support of anything that gets implemented.

4. Narrow our choice down to one or two recommended options and discuss these with our key stakeholders to reach a consensus. Those key stakeholders will include NNHS Teachers, NPS? IT Staff, Others?

Knockout Criteria

Here is a brief list of criteria that MUST be supported by any solution or combination of solutions.

• A manageable degree of data integration with Pearson SMS
  
  • Frequency – daily synchronization of key data
  • Teacher/Class/Parent relationships (SMS <--> Portal)
  • Contact information (SMSàPortal, perhaps some SMSßPortal)

• Individual login for teachers, NPS staff, students and parents with a reasonable level of access control not only for content types, but also for content areas (classes, student groups, etc.)

• Syndicate public content which can be subscribed to via RSS? feeds (by individuals or external sites like a PTO)

• Aggregate external/disparate content (e.g., from PTO sites) for access in a centralized place

• Publish general school information to the public, including generic content, news, events

• Publish grades and attendance imported from Pearson SMS

• Publish Teacher/Class pages with homework assignments and relevant attachments

Evaluation Categories – Teachers’ Perspective

• Ease of Use
• Flexibility
• Calendar & Events
• Content/Doc Management
• Project/IEP Mgmt
• Class Management
• Grades Management
• Media Management
• Social Networking
• User/Contact/Communication Mgmt

Many of these categories are described through typical scenarios in which the school portal would be used (also called “used cases”). These are done from the view point of several personas: Teacher, Student, Parent and System Administrator.

Evaluation Categories – IT Staff Perspective

• Cost Standards/Open Source?
• Systems Integration with Existing Technologies
• Security/ACL
• Community & Support

• 1/31 NOTE: Just attached NPS Portal Requirements 01-30.xls that Arnold and Erik produced in their requirements session together.
• 2/12 NOTE: Attached latest versions of NPS Portal Requirements 02-12.xls and NPS Portal UseCases_021308 EBW.doc.
• 2/25 NOTE: Erik elevated this page from child of Story v1 to child of School Portal Evaluation
• 3/10 NOTE: Updated to reflect content from School Portal Story v6