CPDAnswers

CPDFind is devised to give a fair ‘crack at the whip’ to all providers. If a user types in a search term (eg behaviour) it will return first those opportunities with:

• behaviour in the title
• then behaviour  in the key words
• then behaviour in any other part of the opportunity

To optimise the search results, make sure that you use your 5 key words wisely!

If you can improve on this advice, please leave a comment, thanks!

It’s pretty straightforward. Have a look at the information in the providers’ area of our web site and drop us a line at cpdregister@ltscotland.org.uk.

Generally, they will be ‘satisfied customers’ of your CPD provision. There are no hard and fast rules but these are some of the features of referees we have accepted in the past:

• involved in education
• working at a local authority or national level (although school leaders are also acceptable)
• have been responsible for commissioning and evaluating your CPD provision.

Please get in touch at cpdanswers@ltscotland.org.uk if you need further advice in this area.

I’m afraid we can’t have 2 different entries for the same provider.  You are of course free to edit the name of the provider to best suit your needs but it really isn’t that important as the key use will be through search terms.

The system depends on contact by email.  The admin email can’t be changed without our intervention (ie the one we use to communicate with you) but the contact one can (the one that the users of the system see).

I’m afraid the the National CPD Team doesn’t offer such a service, our work is mainly strategic in nature at a national level. If you are thinking of an email campaign, it may not be a particularly effective way to publicise CPD as many unsolicited emails end up unread or in spam lists.  I would urge you to use CPDFind.  We have hundreds of educators visiting CPDFind every week looking for CPD opportunities.  If your opportunities are not on the system , then you may be missing potential customers.

Steps taken:

1  Regular reports to CPD managers at authority level.

2  Almost all of the 32 local authorities has a direct link to CPDFind from their own CPD web sites

3  An email has been sent to every CPD coordinator at school level in Scotland to let them know about CPDFind.

4. There are feeds from CPDFind into many of the CPD communities in Glow

The CPDFind database is being developed in several stages:

Stage 1 – building on the Register of CPD Providers which already exists. This work was completed by April 2007.

Stage 2 – extending the number of CPD providers by:

• Identifying and working with CPD providers (not on the Register) to make their opportunities available
• Working with local authority providers of CPD to make links between their local online CPD systems and CPDFind.
• allow RSS feeds from the system
• linking CPDFind to CPDReflect
• improve the search mechanism to concentrate on key words field
• allow user friendly ‘narrowing down’ of searches
• generate feedback on popular and no-hit search terms

Much of stage 2 is now complete but we continue to reach out to new providers.

Stage 3 – localising and personalising with Glow.  This stage is linked to the work on Glow. Using the Glow log-in details will allow us to:

• set up CPD providers at establishment, learning community and local authority level
• endorse CPD opportunities on the system
• provide a direct link to CPDFind from the staff home page of Glow
• set ‘alerts’ for areas of CPD that interest you.

In addition, we continue to respond to feedback from users and CPD providers. We always like to hear from you so please drop us a line at cpdanswers@ltscotland.org.uk and let us know how to do better!

CPD managers, in local authorities or establishments, may require evidence of satisfactory disclosure for certain types of CPD.  Thus, we would advise that you Read more…

A CPD provider is an individual or organisation that has the knowledge and the ability to provide CPD opportunities to educators.