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PD Place™ provides two features, Learning Programs and Qualifications, which are similar in nature but have unique capabilities that can be useful in different situations.
Unlike many of the features in PD Place, both Learning Programs and Qualifications are linked to Courses Templates rather than the individual workshop or in-services.
Learning Programs are basically one or more workshops/in-services that specific individuals are required to complete. Learning programs can be assigned an optional time frame in which the workshop(s) must be completed. Learning Programs are not recurrent in nature.
Learning Programs would typically be used in the following situations:
- New staff is required to complete a group of workshops that introduce them to the company, district or board policies, etc. The staff may be required to complete these with the first 2 years.
- Department heads or managers could use this functionality to provide workshops that the departmental staff is required to complete.
- It could be used in conjunction with “Annual Learning Plans” to map out workshops that satisfy the learning goals for an individual for the upcoming year.
Learning Plan Administrators can quickly and easily monitor the assigned staff’s progress and the individuals enrolled in the Learning Program can also quickly and easily monitor their own progress.
Qualifications are more applicable to the recurrent type of training like renewal of qualifications or certifications. Typically these require that individual must collect a specified number of approved credit or credit hours with a specified time frame.
In Qualifications, special rules can be set up to apply to specific groups of individuals within your organization. Such rules specify the credits or credit hours required and the renewal period.
Qualifications would typically be used in the following situations:
- Renewal of health and safety training for all staff or specific groups of staff.
- Teacher re-certification which must occur every “x” years.
- Corporate, District or Board training which much be attended once every “x” number of years.
Supervisors/DEAs can quickly and easily monitor the staff’s progress and the individuals working on renewal of qualifications can also quickly and easily monitor their own progress.
As you can see, both Learning Programs and Qualifications offer powerful tools for both administration and the end users in tracking and managing the required aspect of professional development.
Be sure to contact PD Place support if you have questions about these features or wish to talk to us about your unique requirements.
