NWEA Spark Community

I'm really looking forward to the new release.

We are excited about the progress we are making with the new Web-based MAP system, and understand your need to get information to inform your planning.  We would encourage you to please connect with your Partner Relations Representative, as they can help address your questions and guide your planning accordingly.

Thank you for your thoughtful post and gracious comments about NWEA!

Now that some time has passed since kfraser's original post, I would just like to reiterate the the desire for information regarding the release of MAP 2.0.  As we move into spring we are already budgeting and planning for the 2010-11 school year.   My Technology Department is concerned about whether their computer images will need to be modified; what plugins will need to be tested; and what the process will be (in anticipation of HelpDesk calls).  My staff developers are concerned about how and when they will train 800+ staff in how to proctor and access reports.  My supervisor is concerned about possible unplanned costs from network or software updates, or from unplanned (uncontracted) staff development time.

We are once again planning to send staff to the June NWEA Users Conference in Portland, and are anticipating that many of our questions will be answered then.  Because of that anticipation, we are planning to send a pure techie person this year, whose purpose would be to gather all the info regarding the MAP 2.0 release.  We *hope* that we are anticipating correctly, and are not spending unnecessary money to send a tech expert to the conference. 

So basically, ANY information you can send our way regarding changes we will need to make to current testing infrastructure; computer images; and training strategies would be much appreciated.  Even assurance that sending a tech person to the conference is a good plan would be appreciated.

As always, I do want to thank NWEA for their continued awesomeness and client support!

Thank you for the comment and questions. Before responding, I spoke with the leadership in our Product Department about this. It’s important to call out that we are NOT currently in Beta with MAP 2.0 and are still amidst building the application.

We are, however, currently on track to release MAP 2.0 during the 2010-2011 school year and will be conducting a beta in the spring, followed by a small targeted roll-out in the fall of 2010.  Assuming all goes as planned (and all indications to this point are good), we will continue to roll-out MAP 2.0 incrementally.  We intend to provide more detailed information regarding the MAP 2.0 functionality and timetables as we get closer to the fall release.  We’ll keep you up to speed as we know more.

Your idea about using the Community to collect feedback is an excellent one and right on target with our thinking. SPARK will be a great resource with the small target group in fall 2010 to share experiences and collect feedback. And of course for the larger group following.

Thanks again for raising the questions.