The main priority of the Data Service Center is to provide the best service possible to our Member-Districts and to reduce the administrative burden they face in daily operations. Working closely with administrators, the DSC continues to develop applications and provide services to assist district staff. DSC customizes the services and products for the districts, and thereby offers each district the flexibility to meet their individual needs. DSC is continually creating and updating new products and services designed with the specific input from our Member-Districts. DSC is proud to announce the release of its newest application – Professional Development.
The new application goes beyond the nuts and bolts of planning and organizing a professional development workshop. The web-based application provides a user-friendly system to track employee professional development, organize workshops, manage online registrations, and provide reports at the district, school, and employee level. Colonial and Red Clay Consolidated School Districts are now utilizing the system.
The application can be accessed on three levels: by the organizer, by an administrator, and by teachers. As with all of DSC’s applications access is restricted according to district utilization as defined by the administration. At the organizer level, a person can add a workshop including information such as time and location, a workshop description, equipment requirements, and contact information. When the workshop has been added to the system an e-mail is sent to the appropriate administrator for approval. The administrator can give feedback on the proposed workshop and then approve it. The system also allows administrators to track employee professional development to date and recommend workshops to employees.
Workshop registration is also very easy to do through the Professional Development application. Participants can search for professional development opportunities directly on the system and register for appropriate opportunities online. Participants receive a confirmation e-mail when their application is accepted or wait-listed. Acceptance is based on participants meeting any workshop prerequisites as defined by the organizer or on the number of seats available in the program. Once accepted into the workshop, participants are able to download any of the course materials posted by the organizer.
Finally, the Workshop Evaluation subsystem allows workshop participants to complete a scan-able or online survey that is directly linked to the workshop ID, to workshop information within the base Professional Development system. Once forms are scanned or participants complete the online form, dynamic online analysis reports are available to administrators.
For more information about the Professional Development System, please call Steve Reynolds at (302) 504-7228 or e-mail at sreynolds@dataservice.org.
