Design Approach

CPALMS is an infrastructure built to support performance and collaboration through access to information and tools. It is being built to be an integrated web-based environment that is available to and easily accessible by each stakeholder and is structured to provide immediate, individualized on-line access to the full range of information, tools, and guidance to enhance job performance and efficiency. The key factors in designing each component of CPALMS are:

• Standards-based
  When appropriate, all the tools and systems are standards-driven to facilitate standards-based instruction. Data and tools are designed to provide support in implementing the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.

• Stakeholder Involvement
  CPALMS is developed collaboratively with Florida’s educators and other stakeholders. The CPALMS team involves representatives from each of the stakeholder groups in the design of each of the systems and tools. As an example, CPALMS has an advisory panel of 180+ teachers representing all districts and providing design input and feedback on teacher related tools and systems.

• Ease-of-Use and Convenient User Experience
  An end-user driven design is necessary for the success of each of the elements. The CPALMS team has access to a state-of-the-art Human Factors Laboratory to select the appropriate navigational structures and designs. In addition, the CPALMS team solicits user feedback on a regular basis and monitors system activities to enhance the user experience. The specification for each element includes a user-experience phase that simulates options for user interfaces.

• Generate Process Efficiencies for the User and the Department of Education
  The CPALMS team consults with users and administrators from the Department of Education to understand the business process for each of the activities and design a more effective and efficient process. For example, the course request process will be transformed from a paper-based process to an electronic process that enforces timely processing, adds enhanced accuracy, and provides tracking functionalities. Numerous identified efficiencies will save effort and cost at the department level, district level and all the way to the individual user.

• Data Fusion Opportunities
  The use of techniques that combine data from multiple sources and gather that information in order to achieve inferences, which will be more efficient and potentially more accurate than if they were achieved by means of a single source. An example on utilizing data fusion techniques: in the past years the following systems were maintained independently and communicated to the public as documents: Standards, Course Code Directory and Course Descriptions. CPALMS provides a Standards Database, a modern Course Code Directory, and integrates both of them to provide Course Descriptions. CPALMS provides the information of three systems, using only two of them. These are simple techniques providing more efficiencies and additional needed information.

Technical Approach

We realize that the best of web technologies are yet to come. Our main technical guideline is to employ the latest adaptive technologies that can facilitate easy transitions in the future. We utilize industry-standard programming structure and develop the applications using the Microsoft ASP.NET framework. In order to achieve the essence of CPALMS to create a flexible infrastructure that can dynamically change and expand, the following technical factors will be adopted as guiding objectives when designing new components:

• Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
  The SOA model will be adopted in the development of all systems within CPALMS. In computing, SOA provides a set of governing concepts used during phases of systems development and integration. Such architecture will package functionality as interoperable services. CPALMS will provide services to the different systems within and to third-party (e.g., District course registration or publisher) systems even if their respective client systems are substantially different.

• Use of Web 2.0 Technologies
  "Web 2.0" is commonly associated with web development and web design that facilitates interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web. When appropriate, CPALMS will be developed using Web 2.0 technologies.

• One-Source Initiative
  As explained in the Service Oriented Architecture, the plan for CPALMS is to provide access to most of the core information systems using Web Services and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), thus providing third-party systems the ability to  connect to CPALMS and access the latest information without having to duplicate programming and information maintenance costs. Systems can be set to automatically synchronize with the official source of information reducing manual import and duplication costs. This initiative will facilitate creating additional efficiencies and maintaining consistent up-to-date information. For example, a district can program their system to automatically download the entire course code directory, avoiding the manual processes they currently perform four times per year. Some of the district information technology administrators take 2-4 weeks of man-hours for each import. CPALMS will provide the information in different formats allowing districts to save many weeks of labor every year. The CPALMS team developed an example of using the One-Source Initiative and was able to create a cross-platform desktop application called QuickConnect, which duplicates the standards database on the local desktop of the user. An effort that would have taken months of programming took approximately 20 hours, because the information was shared from the CPALMS database.

• Application Programming Interfaces (API) and Web Services
  An API is an interface in programming that defines the ways by which an external application program may request services and information from CPALMS. CPALMS will also use Web Services to disseminate information to other systems. A Web Service is defined as a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over the Internet or network. Together, APIs and Web Services will provide means for third-party systems to access information from the source.

• Built for Integration and Expansion
  Last but not least, the system needs to be designed for adaption, modifications, integration with others and future expansion. This is an important guideline for CPALMS to create a set of tools that provide an infrastructure to serve future needs and integrate other opportunities.