| This
section is intended to help you answer any questions
you may have regarding the following topics: |
| |
|
|
| |
| General
Product Questions |
| |
| Q. What is GenesisEarth™?
A. GenesisEarth™ is an innovative new tool to empower workers
at every level of your Head Start program with information
technology (IT) for improved efficiency. Our unique
workflow manager and real-time reporting capabilities
will help improve your program’s quality, performance
and outcomes so that you can serve more families, enroll
more children, and become more cost effective. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. What is the GenesisEarth™ Workflow Manager?
A. GenesisEarth™’s unique workflow manager can help you streamline
and automate key Head Start performance standards, without
the time-consuming paperwork.
Most Head Start programs currently manage their
workflow today through a combination of work plans,
weekly meetings, paper calendars and each individual’s
own time management skills. The workflow manager is
a rules-based graphical monitoring tool that indicates
the status of enrollment, health and family services.
In addition, an electronic notification system alerts
users when something requires their attention. As a
result, GenesisEarth™ helps you to identify and
resolve bottlenecks and compliance issues before they
become a problem ... freeing workers to do more value-added
work to support families and improving your overall
quality of services. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. What is Real-Time Reporting?
A. Is your Head Start program still making decisions based on last month's
data? With the GenesisEarth™ platform
for business intelligence, organizations can accelerate the rate at which they
turn information into action. With the
right information at their fingertips, decision-makers
can spot trends and compliance issues in time to act
effectively and improve performance. GenesisEarth™ is
an online web-based application, that allows each authorized
user to view live program data such as center capacity,
enrollment statistics, average daily attendance, screening
status, home visits, incident reports and more – as
that data becomes available, without waiting for scheduled
reports. It helps you make informed decisions based
on accurate and consistent business information that
is collected in real-time and integrated from your program’s
family service workers, health associates, teachers
and site managers. Only GenesisEarth™ provides
Head Start programs with real-time
reporting. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. What does GenesisEarth™ do?
A. GenesisEarth™ is
an online web-based solution, which allows you to organize, manage, and monitor daily workflow activity
in your Head Start program.
The overall goal of GenesisEarth™ is improved operational
efficiency. All elements of child development and family support are easily
viewed and can be appropriately shared with colleagues. Additionally, GenesisEarth™ lets you analyze your workload, track
compliance, and generate valuable reports from your
data. Because GenesisEarth™ runs on the Internet — helpful, time-saving
resources are integrated into the application and made
available in order to provide real-time information
about your community partners and peer programs anywhere in the country. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. How does GenesisEarth™ work?
A. GenesisEarth™ is a Web site hosted in a secure data center. Users simply
connect to GenesisEarth™ via the Internet. In the same way you would log on to your
favorite Web site, you can connect to GenesisEarth™ and enter detailed information about
your Head Start program activities. If you have a Web browser
and an Internet connection, you are ready to start using
GenesisEarth™. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. I'm in Family Services. How can
I benefit from using GenesisEarth™?
A. GenesisEarth™ is beneficial for Family Services professionals in many ways.
Family and child information can be entered into
GenesisEarth™ online or offline – in the
office or at the home of the family. Information is
entered once, and the GenesisEarth Workflow Manager™ enables
distribution of appropriate data for classroom assignment,
health status, developmental screening, family services
referrals, and outcomes reporting.
Now Family Services workers can focus more attention
on providing quality services to families, instead of
juggling time-consuming paperwork. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. I am an Educator. How can I benefit
from GenesisEarth™?
A. Child development is at the heart of all Head Start
programs. GenesisEarth™ is
designed to help reduce the redundancy in classroom. Information that is entered at enrollment
is used by teachers and Site Managers for tracking and
reporting attendance, as well as developing interfaces
to other child development software offerings. The goal of this effort is to reduce redundancy
and increase information sharing. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. I work in Health Services. How
can I use GenesisEarth™?
A. A key benefit of GenesisEarth™ is its ability to share data real-time
and enable all team members to leverage a common set
of information in one easily accessible location. The
health status of every child is entered at enrollment,
then all records are accessible by Health Associates
for maintenance, update, case notes, and referrals. All case notes entered by Health Associates are shared with appropriate
staff members as required. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. My Head Start program operates
across a wide geographic area. Can they access GenesisEarth™ too?
A. Location is not a limitation in accessing GenesisEarth™.
Users simply connect to GenesisEarth™ via the Internet. In the same way
you would log on to your favorite Web site, you can
connect to GenesisEarth™ and enter detailed information about
your program activities. If you have a Web browser
and an Internet connection, you are ready to start using
GenesisEarth™. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. I'm a Head Start program executive. How can I benefit from
using GenesisEarth™?
A. GenesisEarth™ is designed with Head Start executives in mind.
With the right information
at your fingertips, executive decision-makers can spot
trends and compliance issues in time to act effectively
and improve performance.
GenesisEarth™ allows each authorized
user to view live agency data such as center capacity,
enrollment statistics, average daily attendance, screening
status, home visits, incident reports and more – as
that data becomes available, without waiting for scheduled
reports. It helps you make informed decisions based
on accurate and consistent business information that
is collected in real-time and integrated from your Head Start program’s family service workers, health associates, teachers
and site managers. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. I am an IT manager. How can I benefit
from using GenesisEarth™?
A. GenesisEarth™ is designed to complement internal IT operations
in Head Start programs. Our development
and support team is fully responsible for maintaining
and managing the application, removing the burden of
managing the servers that run the application, and the
anxiety of hiring and retaining skilled technical people. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. What platforms do I need to have
in order to run GenesisEarth™?
A. Since GenesisEarth™ hosts the application, all you need is a computer that can
run a Web browser. To access and retain the communications
electronically, the following minimum computer hardware
and software requirements must be met: Windows -- Pentium
processor, Windows XP, Me, 2000, 98, 95, NT 4.0 (Service
Pack 3 or higher) Operating System, 16 MB of RAM, 28800
bps or faster modem and 50 MB of hard disk space. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. How do I get upgrades to GenesisEarth™?
A. Because GenesisEarth™ is a Web site, any
time we add a new feature, you will have access to it
immediately the next time you visit the Web site. There
is no need to download any software or make system adjustments. |
| Back to Top
|
|
|
| Integration
Questions |
| |
| Q.
How is data entered into GenesisEarth™ shared
with other applications? |
| A.We
offer a service to import and export customer information
from your current system using standard comma separated
value (CSV) files. |
Back to Top |
|
|
|
| Customization
Questions |
| |
| Q. What is the customization required
for using GenesisEarth™?
A. GenesisEarth™ provides
several setup functions to customize the application
for your use. Among
the features are: Agency Setup, Site Setup, Classroom
setup, Role Definitions, Management Reporting structure,
Security Access. |
| Back to Top
|
|
|
| Administration
Questions |
| |
| Q.
How does my Head
Start program handle administration of this application? |
| A. Two
roles are important to the successful implementation
of GenesisEarth™. A System Administrator must be assigned
to manage all setup functions, provide local training,
role assignment, and control security access.
Additionally, a Systems Coordinator’s
role is needed to coordinate data sharing with other
applications. This role would normally be performed within the IT department.
In smaller organizations, these roles can be
performed by one person. |
| Back to Top
|
| |
| |
| How
to Get Started Questions |
| |
| Q. How do I get access to GenesisEarth™?
A. Users simply connect to GenesisEarth™ via the Internet. In the same way
you would log on to your favorite Web site, you can
connect to GenesisEarth™ and enter detailed information about
your program activities. If you have a Web browser and
an Internet connection, you are ready to start using
GenesisEarth™. Just point your browser -- Microsoft Internet Explorer (version
5.0 or higher) -- to the log-in page and log-in. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. Is any training required to learn
to use GenesisEarth™?
A. GenesisEarth™ is designed to be used at every level of your organization.
We offer three levels of training.
The first is a three-day in-depth course for
the Systems Administrator and Systems Coordinator at
Application Link in Columbus, Ohio.
This class includes the development of a customized
implementation plan for your Head Start program.
This is followed by online interactive training
for other users at your location, guided by a GenesisEarth™ instructor.
Finally, an online self-guided tutorial is available
at all times for new users. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. Is there training available if
I need it?
A. We provide unlimited online self-guided training,
available 24x7. Online training can be used as often as staff
members require it – at no additional charge. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. What involvement is required from
my Head Start program's IT department?
A. Your Head Start program’s IT department is an important
element in the implementation of GenesisEarth™. The
design of GenesisEarth™ is intended to enable
all key staff members in Family Services, Education,
Health, and Management. In an effort to eliminate redundancy, certain data must be shared
with some existing applications which will remain in
place. Your IT department must facilitate the smooth
transition of data to ensure the most effective implementation. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. How quickly can my Head Start program
be up and running?
A. Your Head Start program
can be up and running within 30 days of signing a subscription
agreement and completing your initial training. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. What is the job of the GenesisEarth™ System Administrator/Systems
Coordinator?
A. The System Administrator is responsible for
setting up GenesisEarth™, which means establishing your Head Start program profile (Agency Setup, Site Setup,
Classroom Setup), adding users, establishing their roles,
assigning user IDs and passwords, assigning security
access controls, and resetting passwords when needed. The Systems Administrator (or Coordinator)
may also manage the process of importing your Head Start program’s initial demographic data for currently
enrolled children. The Systems Coordinator will be responsible for any continuing
requirement to share data with other applications. |
| Back to Top
|
| |
| |
| Offline
Operation Questions |
| |
| Q. How do I work with GenesisEarth™ when I am not connected
to the Internet?
A. GenesisEarth™ includes downloadable PDF data entry forms
which allow data entry when not connected to the Internet
(for example, at an offsite location that doesn’t have
Internet access). These custom designed forms permit easy uploading
of the data to the online application when the user
has access to the Internet. |
| Back to Top
|
| |
| |
| Reporting
Questions |
| |
| Q. Do I need a report writer to create
and run GenesisEarth™ reports?
A. No. GenesisEarth™ includes a number of pre-configured
graphical reports.
Additionally, the query tools allow data to be
displayed in a variety of formats. All outputs from these queries can be printed
locally. |
| Back to Top
|
| |
| |
| Importing
Questions |
| |
| Q. Does GenesisEarth™ offer services to
help me import my data?
A. Yes. Implementation
services are offered to help your organization get up
and running on GenesisEarth™.
|
| Back to Top
|
| |
| |
| Security
and Scalability Questions |
| |
| Q. How can I be sure my data is secure?
A. When you log into GenesisEarth™, you will see a small lock icon at
the bottom of your browser display, indicating that
a secure (SSL) connection has been established to our
server. In addition, the URLs used to access your data
on GenesisEarth™ are all preceded with https instead of http, which also indicates
that a secure connection is being maintained for data
access from GenesisEarth™. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. How can I be assured my data will
be kept private?
A. GenesisEarth™ is committed to keeping your sales data private and secure.
To this end, GenesisEarth™ has expressly stated how we will handle
your private data. For a greater understanding of the
legal obligations GenesisEarth™ adheres to regarding
data privacy, please refer to the GenesisEarth™ Privacy Policy as well as the GenesisEarth™ Terms of Use Agreement. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. Does GenesisEarth™ ever view or use
my data?
A. No. As stated in the GenesisEarth™ Privacy Policy " GenesisEarth™ will not review, share, distribute, print, or reference any such
Data except as provided in the GenesisEarth™ Terms of Use, or as may be required
by law. Individual records may at times be viewed or
accessed only for the purpose of resolving a problem,
support issue, or suspected violation of the Terms of
Use, or as may be required by law. Of course, customers
are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality
and security of their user registration and password." |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. What happens when the GenesisEarth™ database goes down?
A. GenesisEarth™ has built redundancy into all its systems in order to minimize
any system failures that could be perceived as customer
outages. All components of the GenesisEarth™ system are proactively monitored and
managed so that faults are detected before system outages.
GenesisEarth™ realizes there may occasionally be
system outages due to issues beyond our control. GenesisEarth™ has established numerous escalation
procedures to notify the proper personnel in the event
of any system outage and remedy any issues as quickly
as possible. Since the application is managed by GenesisEarth™ for all customers,
the people who best understand the architecture, installation,
and design are immediately available to resolve any
issues. |
| Back to Top
|
| Q. How scalable is GenesisEarth™?
A. GenesisEarth™ has the capacity to scale to the largest of enterprises.
The architecture behind the GenesisEarth™ solution was designed to handle millions
of users. We use Microsoft Windows 2000 servers, and
can scale as rapidly as our customers require. |
| Back to Top
|
| |
| |
| Registration
Questions |
| |
| Q. How do I sign up for GenesisEarth™?
A. Contact GenesisEarth™ at
info@GenesisEarth.com
or 1-614-469-1981 ext 10. Once you complete our
subscription agreement, we begin by scheduling training
for your staff. |
| Back to Top |
