Verso

1
Versos Evolution

• Key Features and Benefits
• By CTE Resource Center
• Richmond, Virginia

2
Our Pre-Verso Vision

• Reduction of printed copies and printing cost
• 1- to 3-year update on curricula
• Consistency among curricula
• Functionality of data focused on formatting
  through a customizable database
• Access for Web-based users with limited login
  requirements

3
What VERSO Became

• Responded to Perkins requirements
• Provided consistent frameworks at a faster rate
• Disseminated information quickly and cheaply
• Allowed for editorial changes without incurring
  additional costs
• Helped to link academic standards to task lists
• Linked industry standards to task lists
• Became an online gathering place for all
  state-required and helpful curriculum resources
• Gained attention from administrators and teachers

4
Growth

• We have been able to track hits to our site and
  the numbers of registered users weve gained, and
  there has been noticeable growth since release in
  April 2003.

5
Growth in Hits
6
Growth in Registered Users
7
Growth in Training
8
Rollout

• Offer supporting materials (brochures, quick
  users guide, full users manual)
• Attend conferences and physically assist
  registration
• Follow up with timely VERSO e-mail messages to
  all registrants
• Offer in-services/training sessions
• Present the system at state functions
• Make VERSO the sole site for state validated
  curriculum information

9
Training for Remote Users

• CTEresource.orggtVersogtTraining Resources

10
Evolution

• The current version of Verso has accomplished our
  initial goals, but because of its data growth,
  and our processes, we needed another generation
  of this system to handle and reuse data in
  different ways.

11
Evolution Rigidity v. Flexibility

• Rigidity
• creates uniform documents
• links standards easily
• omits data that doesnt conform
• Flexibility
• creates multiple types of documents
• arranges a hierarchy
• links data in multiple ways

12
Evolution Rigidity v. Flexibility

• Data
• The evolving management system will store each
  piece of information with all connections
  attached to it. It will also connect in a number
  of different ways, rather than in just one
  instance or occurrence.

Document
Data
Data
Data
13
Evolution Rigidity v. Flexibility

• Reports
• The evolving management system will store each
  piece of information with all connections
  attached to it. It will also connect in a number
  of different ways, rather than in just one
  instance or occurrence.

Data
Reports
Document
14
Evolution Document-Driven v. Element-Driven

• Because the next generation of Verso will be
  flexible and allow for different types of
  documents to be created and managed within the
  system, we have learned to focus on connections
  at the element level rather than the document
  level. It is the collaboration of these variously
  connected elements that eventually form the
  document.

15
Evolution System Isolation v. System Integration

• The current Verso connects outwardly to other
  systems through hyperlinks, but it does not make
  real-time connections between shared data types
  therefore, these connections are static.
• The new Verso could connect to other important
  Virginia systems career planning, tracking, and
  reporting.

16
Evolution System Integration

• Career Planning
• The integration with the new Virginia Career
  Planning Guide (CPG) will be produced as part of
  the production of the new Verso system.
• The arrangement of the CPG is based upon the
  career cluster hierarchy.
• The CPG allows students, parents, teachers and
  administrators access to top-level planning
  tools, such as courses, completer sequences, and
  certification opportunities linked to courses.

17
Evolution System Integration

• Tracking
• CanDo is a Web-based, freely-distributed skills
  tracking program developed by master teachers and
  their students in Arlington, Virginia. Students
  actually programmed this system, using Zope.
• CanDo will change the paper and pen tracking
  approach into a Web-based solution (Web-based
  Excel sheets).
• CanDo uses Versos SCRs, making the important
  link with curriculum.
• CanDo was programmed with the same software as
  the new Verso.

18
Evolution System Integration

• Administrative Reporting
• Plans budgets
• Prepares planning documents to meet the state
  Standards of Quality (SOQ)
• Supplies Career and Technical Education
  enrollment data to agencies or individuals who
  request this information
• Determines financial disbursements of state and
  federal funds
• Speaks the same language as Verso and the
  tracking system

19
Speaking the Same Language

• Zope
• Zope is an open-source, object-oriented Web
  application server written in the programming
  language Python.
• Zope stands for "Z Object Publishing
  Environment."
• The open-source model can allow for the
  concurrent use of different agendas and
  approaches in production, in contrast with more
  centralized models of development such as those
  typically used in commercial software companies
  (from wikipedia.com)

20
Safe and Accessible

• The new, revised VERSO system will be opened up
  to allow non-Virginia educators to register in
  VERSO.  
• All patrons, regardless of affiliation, will be
  asked to register and will need to do so to
  obtain any data beyond the task lists.
• This modification better reflects Virginias
  long-term policy of selling its CTE publications
  only to recapture printing costs.

21
In Closing

• Verso has evolved
• from a white paper in October of 2001 to a new
  generation of Verso.
• from a rigid, document-driven system to a
  flexible, open-source system that can grow
  exponentially and integrate with other useful
  systems.
• from a system with somewhat limited access, to
  access for all.