Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 4 minutes       PD Place provides a number of search features to aid end users in finding the in-services of interest to them. All of these search methods display their results on what is called the Search Result screen. There are a number of preferences that can be used to customize this screen to your own environment. This blog will look at some of the these preferences in a little more detail. These preferences can be found in the “Class Search & Display – ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 4 minutes       There is an optional field in the in-service detail screen which by default, is labeled as  the “Special Event ID” . This field can be used in conjunction with the “Email Attendee List” report as an effective tool in managing some unique situations. One application is where you wish to extract managerial information about the attendance associated with a number of unique in-services.  The special event ID and Email Attendee List ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 5 minutes       Over the last few months we have been approached, by a number of users, as to how to best utilize PD Place to address the following typical scenario: “We would like to offer a program with a certificate of completion at the end. The program will be made up of twelve (12) courses which the user must complete 6 of the 12.  Three of these are mandatory. ” There a number of ways you can set this up in PD Place. The choice of which method to use basically ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 5 minutes       In my last blog I introduced some of the features for managing External Training in PD Place™ and promised to expand upon these in subsequent posts. In today’s blog I’ll touch on budgets and funding allocation features which, in our latest version of PD Place, have been greatly improved. The budget capabilities have also been extended to the software’s In-Services section. Budget First, to view and maintain budgets, you must have ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 4 minutes       The external training module of PD Place™ v3.8 has been enhanced with new features and greater flexibility to help you customize the associated screens and processes. In this blog, I’ve provided an overview of two major features and give you examples of how you would utilize them. Funding Allocation This new feature allows you to allocate funds to specific groups of individuals within your organization based on employee groups. You can also assign a date ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       I thought that I’d spend a little time this month talking about the Special Event field that currently exists in PD Place’s in-service detail screen. Though not the software’s most commonly-used feature, the Special Event field does provide some very useful reporting and search capabilities that may just fit for your organization. Here are a few ways you can make use of the Special Event field: The Special Event field is controlled through two ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       As of version 3.6 of PD Place™, the capabilities to announce the creation of new in-services to specific groups has been greatly enhanced. This blog examines these new features and will clarify questions recently asked of our team. As a Webmaster, you can edit and maintain Target Groups and the announcement capabilities through fields on the Target Group detail screen shown here: PD Place will send announcements of new in-services if the field “In-service ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 4 minutes       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 ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       In PD Place™ there are a number of preferences which allow you to control the text that is displayed on various screens and in messages displayed to your users. The main log-in screen is a perfect example of where these types of preferences are used. The preference text displayed on this screen is used to welcome your users, make announcements and provide log-in and account creation instructions. One of the special features associated with these preferences is ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 4 – 6 minutes       At a recent PD Place User Group meeting, the subject of the in-service Meta fields was raised and I promised to write a blog to expand on the purpose and usage of these fields. I hope this article sheds some light and helps unravel the mystery surrounding Meta fields. The Meta Field functionality was added in PD Place Version 3.6 to meet the reporting needs of a new client. The client had a number of parameters that they wanted to track for each in-service that ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       In version 3.7, functionality was added at the in-service level, to allow you to specify unique registration restrictions rules. If you have not tried this functionality, I strongly suggest that you do since registration restrictions add a whole new dimension to PD Place™. These registration restrictions rules apply only to the individual in-service where they are entered. They can be applied to all staff from a specific location and/or only those associated ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 5 minutes       Direct Supervisor: An Extension to Site Roles The “Direct Supervisor” functionality was added in version 3.7.1 of PD Place™ and is a very useful tool for extending the functionality associated with Site Roles. First we will look at how “Direct Supervisor” functionality is enabled and then we will take a closer look at how it can be used. To enable “Direct Functionality” the following new preferences have been added to the User preferences. The ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       ContinuED Version 2.2.1 was officially released on the March 15, 2010. A list of the new features and issues addressed can be found in the “release notes” document. ContinuED version 2.2.1 Release Notes Remember that upgrades are included in your support agreement. We encourage everyone to upgrade to version 2.2.1 if it contains fixes to issues that are critical to you or if you see enhancements that will be useful to ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 4 – 6 minutes       Site roles have in reality existed in PD Place™ for a long time but have been limited to Principals, Vice-principals and Managers. In PD Place™ the site roles are not intended to accurately document the reporting structure of site / locations or teams, but rather are used by the system to determine who should be granted the rights to manage staff, print reports and be recipients of approval/ PSIT emails, no show emails, etc. To accommodate the need for ... Read More