Terms and Acronyms
Page: G-2 Appendix G - M-DCPS IT Strategic Plan
Terms Definitions
A+ "Assistance + for Low Performing Schools" Program - Targets additional support to D and F schools within the state of Florida, based on FCAT scores
ARRA The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted in February 2009 to provide federal aid to education.
Blog According to Wikipedia, a blog is a contraction of the term "Web log,” is a type of Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.
Capital Within the context of the District, Capital has significance as a separate funding source.
CM Change Management – Managing changes in the technology environment when and as they occur. Technology changes are according to best practices submitted to the Change Advisory Board (CAB) for approval before implementation.
Data In Your Hands
Data In Your Hands is an Intranet, interactive, Web-reporting application built and maintained by the Data Systems division of the Assessment, Research and Data Analysis department to provide adult and secondary career technical education data to decision makers in a more timely and user-friendly manner. Differentiated
Accountability
A federal program also referred to as DA initiated in 2008 that allows Florida greater flexibility in providing the needed technical assistance and interventions to the schools with greatest need. . . Low performing schools are identified for Differentiated
Accountability based on schools' performance as measured by school grades and Adequate Yearly Progress.
Digital Divide Gap between information rich and information poor citizens within the U.S; based on computer availability
DW Data Warehouse – A copy of operational data specifically structured for querying and reporting
Education Fund’s FamilyTech
Since 1985, The Education Fund has worked side-by-side with the private sector to direct resources where they are needed most in Miami-Dade schools. In cooperation with Citibank, the FamilyTech program has given to date approximately 10,000 refurbished Internet-ready computers to parents and students, who are also trained in their use. Additionally, teachers received instruction to incorporate computer technology into the classroom curricula.
Terms and Acronyms
Page: G-3 Appendix G - M-DCPS IT Strategic Plan
Terms Definitions
Elevate Miami – Rites of Passage
A partnership between M-DCPS and the City of Miami through the Education Compact that resulted in the creation of the Elevate Miami life skills course taught to sixth grade students who attend schools within the city. Students who complete the required coursework and also meet important academic and behavioral benchmarks during the school year earn a free computer and Internet access for their homes.
E-Rate Federal Government program that provides $2.25 billion funds to connect public school classrooms to the Internet as well as telecommunications infrastructure upgrades.
E-Ratable A project that could be funded wholly or partially due to E-Rate eligibility (Federal Program)
ERP Enterprise Resource Planning is a software architecture whose purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all
business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise-wide system environment.
FASA Florida Association of School Administrators who publish the Annual Florida Education Directory
FCAT Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test – Assesses student achievement of the high-order cognitive skills represented in the Sunshine State Standards (SSS) in reading, writing,
mathematics, and science. A secondary purpose is to compare the performance of Florida students to the reading and
mathematics performance of students across the nation using a norm-referenced test (NRT). All students in Grades 3-10 take the FCAT Reading and Mathematics tests in the spring of each year. All students in Grades 4, 8, and 10 take FCAT Writing; FCAT Science is administered to all students in Grades 5, 8, and 10. FY Fiscal Year – Is an organization's year-long accounting calendar
and can vary from a calendar year. M-DCPS’ fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
IT Information Technology – Refers to the collection of products and services that turn data into useful, meaningful, accessible
information. IT also refers to the District’s Instructional Technology department.
ITS Information Technology Services – Department within M-DCPS focused on delivering and maintaining information technology solutions for the District
LAN Local Area Network – A group of computers and associated devices that shares a common communications line or wireless link and typically shares the resources of a single processor or server within a small geographic area (e.g., a single school)
Terms and Acronyms
Page: G-4 Appendix G - M-DCPS IT Strategic Plan
Terms Definitions
Legacy System
An information system currently used in the District, which has been in existence for a long time. An example is the District’s mainframe.
Links to Learning
Originally called Beyond the Bell, this program accessed through the Portal targets students in grades 3 to 11 and provides
enrichment activities in reading, math, and science.
M-DCPS Miami-Dade County Public Schools – 4th largest K to12 school district in the United States, referred to as the “District”
throughout the IT Strategic Plan
MSAF Management Science of America Finance – M-DCPS’ accounting / financial system replaced by ERP. It is better known as MSA. MSID The Florida DOE maintains a Master School Identification
(MSID) file containing information on every public school in the state, such as active school status, school ID number, school type(s), grade levels taught, and other data that can be used to amplify school-based analyses.
NCLB No Child Left Behind Act – Reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) enacted in 1965. It redefines the federal role in K to 12 education. Intent is to improve
education in public schools. Specific District IT initiatives to address NCLB reporting requirements efficiently include the District’s Data Warehouse project and Gradebook application. PC Personal Computer – PCs are used in classrooms, for business
operations, and administration within the District.
PM Project Manager – Manages the delivery of one or several IT projects and/or IT programs assigned to his/her area of responsibility. Project managers are responsible for overall project success in broad areas of cost, schedule, and quality. PMO Project Management Office – Supports IT related project
management within M-DCPS including process improvement and training.
Race to the Top (RTTT)
Federal program offering $4 billion to states that implement coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform. Reforms must include 1. standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace; 2. building data systems that measure student growth and success and informs stakeholders; 3. recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and 4. turning around lowest-achieving schools.
RFP Request for Proposal – Issued by the District’s Procurement Department in order to obtain bids from District-approved vendors
ROI Return on Investment – Financial metric commonly used in business case analysis
Terms and Acronyms
Page: G-5 Appendix G - M-DCPS IT Strategic Plan
Terms Definitions
Safe FTP A secure File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to copy a file from one host to another over a TCP/IP-based network, such as the Internet. TCP refers to Transmission
Control Protocol and IP refers to Internet Protocol, both are communication protocols.
SAN A storage area network is an architecture to attach remote computer storage devices (such as tape libraries) to servers in such a way that the devices appear as locally attached to the operating system. A SAN typically is its own network of storage devices that is generally not accessible through the regular network by regular devices.
SAP Systems, Applications and Products is a suite of business software products to support all processes, including financial and human resource management. M-DCPS is currently implementing selected modules from the SAP Business Suite. SAP Basis Business Application Software Integrated Solution is a SAP
(Systems, Applications and Products) component which allows several applications to interact and communicate among them. SQL Structured Query Language is a database computer language
designed for managing data in relational database management systems (RDBMS). Its scope includes data query and update, data access control, etc.
SUS Systems User Support – Department within M-DCPS which provides support to IT users through the HEAT ticket system and follow-ups.
TCO Total Cost of Ownership – Includes initial costs plus recurring costs (typically maintenance)
Virtual School Course(s) delivered through the Internet commonly called "on- line" courses
VPN Virtual Private Network – A way to use a public
telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organization's network. VPN structure is important to protect the information’s integrity and confidentiality.