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 * VITA-Learn Web Site Committee **
 * Purpose:** Identify a provide for a website, communication and hosting solution for VITA-Learn.

**Current Committee Membership:** Adam Provost, Jon Morris, Sue Monmaney, Ed Bianchi, Linda Brownell, Kristen Courcelle, Steve Webster, Charlie Wilson, Neil Manders (non-voting), Steve Jarrett (chair) **Original Committee Membership:** Adam Provost, BJ Berhendt, Jon Morris, Sue Monmaney, Ed Bianchi, Sandy Lathem, Steve Jarrett (chair),

**October 2011 Process - //Committee meeting to be convened at Montpelier High School from 11am - 3:30pm on October 17, 2011.//**
Notes:
 * The RFP was re-released in August with a response deadline of September 19th. Two full responses were received. One company did not complete the RFP, but says that it offers its product to organizations
 * There is unlikely to be one solution to meet all of our wants. We'll select the best option available.
 * However, if none of the proposals are to our liking, then we may look to re-release the RFP and attempt communicate to a broader set of vendors.

Responses are below. Cell 210.454.3597 Fax 888.894.8469 egebhart@communityschoolbuilder.com || Jim Leedy School Webmasters 888.750.4556 jim@schoolwebmasters.com || **Skip Platt ** (251) 375.2794 direct 800.605.1033 x324 s.platt@schoolinsites.com || The Community School Builder website solution is focused on helping schools and districts strengthen parental involvement and community building initiatives by harnessing the power of the Web 2.0 to provide an effective communication and collaboration platform for the benefit of all educational stakeholders. Community School Builder provides an array of extremely easy to use and intuitive web-based applications. Our package has been designed by educators for educators to provide the tools needed by todays educational institutions. We provide a complete turn-key package for one low price and do not charge for individual applications. What you see is what you get. We encourage you to visit [|our education package] for more details about the communication and collaboration tools included such as: Our services are a bit different from those of other companies you may have worked with in the past. In addition to a custom design, unique to your school or district, we include all copywriting services (by professional writers), and we'll make recommendations about what is considered "best practices" for school websites. In addition, we also manage all ongoing updates so that your site will retain its professional appearance regardless of your staff turnover or their skills sets (writing, design, public relations knowledge). We'll send monthly reminders to the key staff who know the information that will keep the sites current and informative. The benefits to you are that your site remains a vibrant, professional, and current online resource year after year. Your site will represent you in a manner that will make you shine, without burdening your already busy staff. They stay focused on their mission critical tasks and we'll be behind the scenes managing your website. You'll enjoy the benefits of a team of professional Webmasters without the expense. The pricing breakdown (summary) is as follows: Feel free to visit our website and browse through a few of our sites, [|www.samplelinks.schoolwebmasters.com]. Please contact us if you have any questions. We will be following up with a few additional emails that will hopefully help you find the service that best suits your needs. We look forward to hearing from you! || We are actually offering our services and content management software to organizations like Vita-Learn free of charge. Here is one example from an educational service agency: [|www.resa8.org] Because there is no cost, I will not be responding to the RFP. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. //More than a website. . . text msg and email alerts, private network, // //teacher sites, email archiving, offsite backup service, surveys and forms, // //interactive calendars, unlimited size, space, users, and bandwidth // || || ||   ||
 * [|Community School Builder] || [|School Web Masters] || [|School Insites] ||
 * Eric Gebhart Office 888.671.5660 Ext 101
 * Please see included documents for the RFP as requested. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions with the documents provided.
 * Powerful Web-Based Content Editor (WYSIWYG)
 * Individual Teacher Sites with Homework Repository
 * Multi-User Teacher Blogs
 * Online Form and Survey Builder
 * Advanced Calendar System
 * Robust e-Commerce School Store || Thank you for requesting more information about School Webmasters. I've attached a proposal for website design and development, hosting, and updates.
 * $3,980 Design/Development for one website - one-time fee for a custom design
 * $129 per month for hosting/updates for one site ($99 is E-rate eligible)
 * [[file:CSB SLA_Vita_Learn.doc]]
 * **Notes:** || **Notes:** || **Notes:** ||



**Purpose:** Research needed functionality and possible platforms that could provide the functionality. Then report options to the board at the April 2011 meeting. The committee represents different perspectives, and there is no a priori assumptions placed on our work, including that there needs to be a one-size-fits-all solution. The committee will research, get input from stakeholders, measure alternatives, consequences, and report options and costs to the board.

1. Write and put out for bid a request for proposal (rfp) for web site hosting. Notes:

 * =====<span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">includes features and tools outlined in the rfp //(to be included here soon)﻿// =====
 * =====<span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">will be a cloud-based solution hosted by an established company that is independent of any one or few individuals =====
 * =====<span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">existing forums discussions contain little recent content and the content can be dropped if necessary, keeping the structure =====
 * =====<span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">no product may contain all of the requested features, thus the web page may be supplemented with other tools =====
 * =====<span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">move current resources (documents, links, etc) to the new site* =====

=
<span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">2. Create job descriptions through memorandums of understanding (MOU) with stipends (some or all of these positions may be consolidated) =====
 * =====<span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Administrator =====
 * =====<span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Marketer =====
 * <span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Content Provider (who is going to be responsible for keeping up news events and activities, etc. on behalf of VITA-Learn?)

//<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">others to be determined //

 * <span style="color: #c0c0c0; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Membership / Account Management (includes approving Vita-Learn account applications, maintaining VITA-Learn membership database, and producing membership reports to VITA-Learn representations such as region meeting coordinators and professional development program coordinators, upon request.)

//<span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">* The RFP will request a separate quote for moving resources. It is recognized that three possibilities for moving resources exist (shown below). The importance that Vermont contributors to resources attribute to maintaining existing resources may impact the number of viable vendors from which we have to choose. //
 * 1) //<span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">the selected vendor moves all resources and applicable links //
 * 2) //<span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">move and recreate all existing resources piecemeal (by vendor or VITA-Learn contracts someone) //
 * 3) //<span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">start with blank slate and rebuild resources - Note: Steve will talk with Ed Barry and some other major resource contributors to discuss receptiveness to this option, and then may put question out to the list serve. (Note from Sandy -- Ed is certainly a contact for this; Peter Drescher is another person who needs to be contacted. I am another one as I have used the resources in my graduate courses offered through UVM. I think asking SCHOOL-IT listser members is a good idea.) //
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">revert the current Drupal site back to vtcite.com and allow it to be an independent web portal that is not maintained or upgraded. This implies continued financial support for the domain name and server hosting by VITA-Learn. VITA-Learn will create its own website/portal that is separate and independent from vtcite.com. (Note -- this may not be the appropriate place to raise this point and certainly feel free to move it or even remove it from this document. However, in the proposal that finally emerges, there needs to be a decision about what happens to vtcite.com and vtcite.org which are also domains owned by VITA-Learn. (Vtcite.com is free for as long as it stays hosted with siteground, or we could move the current site to a sub-domain like archive.vita-learn.org -bj)


 * Resouces**
 * [[file:Drupall.pdf]]
 * [|Drupall technical version]