1 - INTRODUCTION TO THE DATABASE - VIDEO

1a - Key Points About the Database

1b - REGISTERING AND SIGNING IN - VIDEO

1c - Navigating the Database Screens

2 - USING THE PLACEMENT SCREEN - VIDEO

2a -Classifying Placements - Activity Name, Program Checkboxes, Job Title, etc.

2a.1 - FY2024 Placement Screen Definitions and Discussion

2b. Classifying and Defining STEM Placements

2c - Placement and WBLP Screen - Sharing via Email/Username

2d - Participants with more than one work experience

2d - Worksites with multiple participants - Using the COPY WBLP button

2e - Placement Screen - Required and Optional Fields

2g - Work and Learning Program Elements (Preview of FY19 elements)

2h - Career Areas

2z - Deleting Placement Screen Records

3 - USING THE JOB DESCRIPTION AND SKILLS/TASKS SCREENS - VIDEO

4 - USING THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW SCREEN - VIDEO

5 - ACTIVITY SCREEN - VIDEO

6 - Reflection Screen

7 - Importing

8 - REPORTS MENU AND EMPLOYER SCREENS - POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

8a - About the Reports/Admin Menu

8b - Connecting Activities Quarterly Report

8c - Connecting Activities Qualifying Wages Report

8d - Custom Reports

8e - Employer Screens

9 - Sharing, Collaboration and Privacy

9a - UPDATING MY ACCOUNT SETTINGS - VIDEO

9b - Add | Invite New Usernames

9c - Using the "One-Step WBLP Review Screen" for Supervisors

9d: Instructions for students to create their WBLPs online

DATABASE FIELD LIST

What's New in the Database

Winter/Spring 2019 Webinar Series

The Connecting Activities Quarterly "Work and Learning Performance Report" is submitted 15 days after the end of each quarter (or on the following Monday if a weekend). The report provides a count of students and employers participating in Work and Learning experiences, along with a count of placements with the various "Work and Learning Elements" such as:

- placements with a Work-Based Learning Plan;
- placements with a classroom or workshop instruction component;
- STEM placements;
- Innovation pathway placements; 
- OTHER ELEMENTS may also be included, as the report format may vary year-by-year.

The report is cumulative, based on placements with start dates from July 1st to the end of the quarter.

To run the report, open to the Reports/Admin Menu, fill in the dates for the current quarter, such as July 1st to December 30th for a 2nd quarter report, and click APPLY. 

(1.) Preview the report before you write your narrative (Quarterly Report 01 - Connecting Activities Quarterly Report).    After you have previewed the report, you might spend some time using other report screens to carefully look over your data to make sure it is complete and accurate.  Recommended screens for looking over your data include Report 01: Count by Program and Report 02: Placement List.   If you need to make corrections, you can go back to the Placement screen or you can use the "Custom Editing" feature to quickly edit batches of records if needed.  Feel free to reach out for assistance in reviewing and editing your data.  

(2.) Use the screen Quarterky Report 01A - Write Narrative to write (or copy-and-paste) a brief narrative about your work, especially focusing on some of the behind-the-scenes work that you have done to build partnerships with schools and employers in your region. 

(3.) NOTE:  Once per year, use the Quarterly Report 01B - Annual Goals to data enter the annual goals (from your RFP response).   Once you fill in the annual goals, the columns for goals and year-to-date (YTD) percent of goals will be filled in on your quarterly report.

(4.) When you are ready, choose the button for Quarterly Report 01 - Connecting Activities Quarterly Report.   

(5.) You can print the report to a PDF.  On most computers, just File, Print and then choose Print to PDF or similar option).  You can email the report to DESE (to Kerry Akashian) and cc to Skills Library (Jennifer Leonard).   NOTE: You can simply email the report, or there is an also an option, new in FY2020, to upload the report and automatically send an email to Kerry and me.   This option is available within the Quarterly Report section of the Reports/Admin menu and also on the Main Menu page. 

ABOUT THE DATA:

The Work and Learning Performance Report is based on data from the placement screen, and uses the following fields. Before running quarterly reports, please take a few minutes to look over your data to make sure everything is complete.

• Participant name and ID.  The report counts individuals (not placements) based on a unique participant name plus participant ID.  All participants should have a unique Participant ID, either a school ID number or a database record ID number.  This ID should be used consistently if the participant has more than one job or internship.
• Connecting Activities checkbox. Make sure that the Connecting Activities program checkbox is checked (x) for all placements that should be included in Connecting Activities reporting.
• Type of Program. The report is based on work-based learning experiences (that is: jobs, internships, co-ops, etc.). The report uses the "Type of Program" field, which is filled in a "Work-Based Learning" by default.  The report selects all records coded as "Work-Based Learning" (and not Job Shadow, Resumes, Workshops, etc.).
• Type of Pay -- This field must be filled in -- Employer Paid, Subsidized/Sponsored, or Unpaid.
• Start Date and End Date. The start date field is used to determine whether the internship is in the current program year. Both start date and end date are used to determine whether the job is included as summer or school year or both. Placements that start in July or August are counted as summer. Placements that continue past September may be counted as both summer and school year. Placements that start in September or later are counted as school year.
• Employer Name and ID. The Employer Name must be filled in. An Employer ID is assigned automatically by the program.
• Employer Type. The employer type (Private, Public, Nonprofit) must be filled in.
• Work and Learning Program Elements (The program counts all the "Yes" answers for these):
  • Has Workshop or Classroom Component - the work experience program includes a workshop or classroom component, such as a workshop series (including Signal Success or other workshops), a CVTE program, Innovation Pathway or other career pathway program, an internship class, or other instruction. 
  • Has WBL Plan - The field "Has WBL Plan?" should be filled in. If the WBLP is in the database, this field is filled in automatically. The report counts all of the "Yes" answers, including "Yes - In Database" and "Yes - Pen and Paper."
  • STEM Focus - The STEM field should be filled in with yes, no, or unknown
  • INNOVATION PATHWAY - Placements connected with an Innovation Pathway, Early College Pathway or new Chapter 74 CVTE program are counted based on the INNOVATION PATHWAY checkbox in the "Has Workshop or Classroom Component" program element checklist. 

Some reports on the Reports/Admin menu that might be helpful for reviewing data:

• "Check Data for Work and Learning Performance Report"
• "Count by Program"
• "Custom Editing Form"

A memo with report due dates and suggestions for the narrative report is posted on the "STAFF RESOURCES" page on the massconnecting.org website.

FY2022 Instructions: Connecting_Activities_Quarterly_Report_Instructions_Kerry_9_14_22.pdf (masswbl.org)