Questions and Answers 1.docx

Questions and Answers 1

Question 1: How often does the Department of Defense Library Consortium envision students will be using this database? We are asking this question in regards to the requirement that the offeror must provide weekly progress reports. This requirement implies students will be using the database on a weekly basis at least.

Answer 1: This product will be used by DoD Library customer families to help support early childhood home education. Reports on usage help the DoD Library Consortium track how much the product is being used. The DoD Library Consortium need stats for the each branch of service due to each branch needing to account for usage by their members and their families in monthly/yearly reports. This is a top layer usage report not in depth that parents will want.

Progress reports are for parents to track how their child is doing. Children will be using the product on a daily/weekly/monthly basis as this is available 24/7 online for usage.

Question 2: How many users (adult users and student users) does the Department of Defense Library Consortium envision will be using this database? We will be preparing the quote based on providing individual log-ins to adults and students. Individual log-ins will allow for ease of use and for monitoring progress and undergoing assessments. Also we will better be able to draft an end user license agreement if we know the total estimated number of users wanted.

Answer 2: This product will be used by DoD Library customer families to help support early childhood home education. The DoD Library Consortium has a customer base of 1.05 million between the 4 branch base libraries. Therefore, the DoD Library Consortium envision the database to cover the entire customer base and offer access to an unlimited amount of users. While the DoD Library Consortium does not have a youth count as they are not registered borrowers, individual logins are required to be provided for customers to create an account with it being broken down stats wise by branch for users. This needs to be an easy online access/registration.

Question 3: What percentage interactive games and learning experiences would the Department of Defense Library Consortium like to see included in the database?

Answer 3: The DoD Library Consortium is not requesting that a certain percentage of interactive games and learning experiences be included in the database. The focus of the interactive games and learning experiences is that it is included throughout the learning classroom environment and that it is made apart of the learning lessons provided for ages 3-6. Therefore, interactive games and learning experiences should run throughout the lesson plans.

Question 4: Is there a preference for type of learning experiences besides interactive games?

Answer 4: While there is no preference, the DoD Library Consortium expects the product to include additional learning experiences that help to build skills and knowledge of various subjects such as: interactive ebooks and guided lessons with sound cues across many disciplines, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in the curriculum that will include animations, songs, ebooks and offline activities, and a printables section that can offer hundreds of practice worksheets and flash cards that parents can print to supplement and reinforce online learning.

Question 5: How does the Department of Defense Library Consortium define interactive games?

Answer 5: Tools should offer opportunities for creativity and interaction, not just passive learning, such as watching videos, ebooks and suggested offline activities. Lessons should be content that uses both sound and visual cues to support diverse learning styles. Must provide hundreds of lessons spanning all major academic subjects including social and emotional learning. Content should be age-appropriate educational games and activities in math, science, reading, and more. Games and such should also be ways of assessing youth skills and knowledge base and help them advance to better skills and knowledge. Content/lessons should advance as youth advance.

Question 6: Who should these weekly progress reports be made available to? Libraries, teachers, parents, adults, etc?

Answer 6: Weekly progress reports on usage help the DoD Library Consortium to track how much the product is being used. The DoD Library Consortium need stats for each branch of service due to each branch needing to account for usage by their members and their families in monthly/yearly reports. Progress reports are for parents to track how their child is doing. Children will be using the product on a daily/weekly/monthly basis as this is available 24/7 online for usage.

Question 7: Please clarify what you mean re: the mobile application requirement. Does mobile application mean an app that can be downloaded onto a phone and/or tablet and students/libraries can sign-in and access the database off the app? Or by mobile application do you mean being able to access the database via web browser on a laptop/phone and/or tablet?

Answer 7: Mobile application needs to be all of the above. Library customers must be able to access via an app, laptop, tablet, etc.

Question 8: Can the Department of Defense Library Consortium elaborate on this requirement of password embedded URL's. Would the Department of Defense Library Consortium like to access the database through an individual sign-in and password embedded sign-in system at a URL / hyperlink?

Answer 8: The landing page for authentication for usage should be an embedded URL for DoD Library Customers, SIP2 Connection may also be used. But not all DoD Library ILS’s are SIP2 capable, must provide an alternate registration process/sign in to SIP2. Once registered customers would use an individual login. Registration for access should include having customers choose their branch of service for stats purposes.