Choices® Planner FAQ
Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Choices Planner.
Have a question we haven't answered yet? E-mail us as support@bridges.com.
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eChoices Transitions to Choices Planner |
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When will eChoices be turned off? |
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Will my eChoices login work for Choices Planner? |
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If I subscribe to eChoices, will I just automatically be switched over to Choices Planner, or do I have to re-subscribe? |
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What information will I receive to help my school make the transition from eChoices to Choices Planner? When will I receive this information? |
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Do all
users who have eChoices accounts need to set up new accounts with "Choices Planner" or will you
migrate existing accounts? |
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I want to customize eChoices for next year's courses right away. Should I spend the time doing the customization now and then transfer that into Choices Planner?
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Getting Technical
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I used to get a backup CD
with eChoices. Will I get a backup CD for Choices Planner? |
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We have CX Online as well. Can I use the same password for both products? |
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We are currently using the Choices CD and eChoices together. Can we just use Choices Planner alone without the CD and get a full experience? eChoices has its limitations. |
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Will Choices Planner be compatible with Linux or Mozilla? |
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Choices Planner Portfolio |
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Will I be able to move my portfolio from Choices CD, eChoices or CX Online to Choices Planner?
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Which parts of my Choices CD, eChoices, or CX Online portfolio will I be able to move over to Choices Planner?
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How will I be able to move my Choices CD, eChoices or CX Online portfolio into the Choices Planner portfolio system? |
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Can I transfer my Choices CD, eChoices or CX Online portfolio into the Choices Planner portfolio system after August 31,
2004? |
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Will
users be able to save their Career Finder results in the portfolio that will be in Choices Planner? |
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Can we send portfolio data back and forth between Choices CD and Choices Planner? |
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Feature FAQs |
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Why are you not putting all the new features on CD-ROM? |
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Is
the Choices Planner going to have an Occupation search facility? |
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Can I increase the 'video window
size' for Choices Planner? |
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Can the names of Career Pathways (e.g. Agriculture and Natural Resources) be changed to reflect specific courses offered at the school? |
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Will Choices
Planner have bookmarks? |
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Will the four-year
High School plan pages allow for much customization? |
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Can we push state
outlooks and earnings above the national information in the career
profiles? |
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Renewal Issues |
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If I renewed
Choices CD already, will it cost extra to switch to Choices Planner? |
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If I have a
November renewal, can I switch to Choices Planner at no additional
cost at renewal time? |
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eChoices Transitions to Choices Planner
Q:
When will eChoices be turned off?
A: eChoices will be turned off and replaced by Choices Planner on August 31, 2004.
Q: Will my eChoices login work for Choices Planner?
A: Yes. Your existing site-level login will work. New individual accounts will need to be created by anyone using Choices Planner portfolio and accountability tracking features.
Q: If I subscribe to eChoices, will I just automatically be switched over to Choices Planner, or do I have to re-subscribe?
A:
If you have a current
eChoices subscription, you will have access to the US National version of
Choices Planner July 1, 2004, whereas customized state versions will be ready in
August.
Q: What information will I receive to help my school make the transition from eChoices to Choices Planner? When will I receive this information?
A: To assist your school with an easy transition from eChoices to Choices Planner, Bridges will provide:
- A Special E-Mail Newsletter
Choices Planner information will be provided to anyone who signs up for the special e-mail newsletter called "The Daily Plan-It". This newsletter will describe Choices Planner in greater detail, as we get closer to
the July 1, 2004
soft launch, and the August 31, 2004 official launch date. The first edition will cover Choices Planner's navigation sections, and information about the Choices Planner Portfolio.
- Details on the Web
As well, more details about Choices Planner are available on the Choices Planner product profile page, on the Bridges Web site.
A two page description of Choices Planner is also available from the Web site.
- Notification to All eChoices Sites
Bridges is using e-mail and regular mail to contact every eChoices site during the month of April to make customers aware of the eChoices replacement on August 31, 2004.
- Resource Kits for Choices Planner
eChoices customers will receive a Choices Planner resource kit in the fall. Kits will contain a Quick Reference Guide, welcome letter and poster.
Q: Do all the users who have eChoices accounts need to set up new accounts with "Choices Planner" or will you
migrate existing accounts?
A:
Choices Planner will include easy paths to move
eChoices or Choices CD portfolio contents into the expanded Choices Planner
portfolio system. Even after
eChoices has been turned off on August 31, 2004, old portfolio information will
still be available for users to migrate it to their new Choices Planner
accounts. Users will create a new account in Choices Planner, then import their
data from their old Choices CD session file or eChoices account. The new
"stored online" portfolio system means that once a portfolio has been created in
Choices Planner, users have secure and hassle-free access any time, anywhere --
no disks or local server storage required!
Q: I want to customize eChoices for next year's courses right away. Should I spend the time doing the customization now and then transfer that into Choices Planner?
A: It is better to wait until you can do the customization in Choices Planner itself. Although some user data will be moved between portfolios, the format will change, making it more difficult to move site
customized data.
Getting Technical
Q: I used to get a backup CD with eChoices. Will I get a backup CD for Choices Planner?
A: No, due to the interactive nature of Choices Planner, there will be no backup CD.
Q: We have CX Online as well. Can I use the same password for both products?
A: Yes, you
can use the same password for both products, as they will share a common
authentication page,
a shared portfolio and shared user accounts.
Q: We are currently using the Choices CD and eChoices together. Can we just use Choices Planner alone without the CD and get a full experience? eChoices has its limitations.
A:
Choices Planner offers the
same features you use in Choices CD, plus more.
Q:
Will Choices Planner be
compatible with Linux or Mozilla?
A:
Choices Planner will not be supported with
Linux and Mozilla. Although these platforms may work, technical issues are more
likely to arise when the program is being run with an incompatible browser. for
complete details, view the
technical requirements.
Choices Planner Portfolio
Q: Will I be able to move my portfolio from Choices CD, eChoices or CX Online to Choices Planner?
A: Yes, it will be possible to move your portfolio from Choices CD, eChoices and CX Online to the expanded Choices Planner portfolio system.
Q: Which parts of my Choices CD, eChoices, or CX Online portfolio will I be able to move over to Choices Planner?
A: We are currently researching design strategies to determine which parts will map to the portfolio, and to create the most effective method of transferring portfolios from Choices CD, eChoices and CX Online. Full details will be available soon.
Q: How will I be able to move my Choices CD, eChoices or CX Online portfolio into the Choices Planner portfolio system?
A: Choices Planner will include easy paths allowing you to easily transfer your Choices CD, eChoices and CX Online portfolios into the expanded Choices Portfolio system.
Q: Can I transfer my Choices CD, eChoices or CX Online portfolio into the Choices Planner portfolio system after August 31,
2004?
A: Absolutely! However, you will probably want to transfer your Choices CD, eChoices and CX Online portfolios as soon as you experience Choices Planner's enhanced portfolio.
Q: Will users be able to save their Career Finder results in the portfolio that will be in Choices Planner?
A: We are currently researching design strategies to provide users with the easiest implementation of portfolio features. Full details will be available as soon.
Q: Can we send portfolio data back and forth between Choices CD and Choices Planner?
A: No, it is only a one-way migration
from Choices CD to Choices Planner
to set up a new
Choices Planner account. You will not be able to send portfolio data back and
forth between Choices CD and Choices Planner. If you want to provide the best
user experience, and therefore want to save user information between sessions,
you should standardize on one of either Choices CD or Choices Planner. Of course
Choices Planner will provide the additional flexibility of being available from
any Internet connected computer.
Feature FAQs
Q: Why are you not putting all the new features on CD-ROM?
A:
Bridges feels that we can
provide better overall products and services to career and educational planners
and their guidance professionals using Internet-based solutions. The most
innovative future product developments will be found in our Internet products.
Some of the new features like rolled up accountability reports are unable to be
implemented on Choices CD.
Q:
Is the Choices Planner
going to have an Occupation search facility?
A:
Yes, the Choices Planner will provide many
ways to search for occupations. Students can choose specific criteria and use
assessment results in the Career Finder to find their most compatible
occupations. In addition, they can browse the extensive careers database by
Department of Education (DOE) clusters, zones, alphabetically, and by careers
with videos. Each occupation includes a detailed report presented in
east-to-read, easy-to-print sections including Career Description, Is This For
You?, Skills You Need, What to Learn, Money and Outlook, as well as relevant Web
sites and mailing address connection.
Q:
Can I increase the 'video window size' for Choices Planner?
A:
Although you can increase the size of the window, you cannot increase the size of the video. The videos
have been compressed in order to take up less bandwidth on both your school and
Bridges' end of the service. As a result of this compression, the videos can not
be increased to full screen size.
Q: Can the names of Career Pathways (e.g. Agriculture and Natural Resources) be changed to reflect specific courses offered at the school?
A: Although individual course titles can be changed (e.g. Math 12,) the ability to change the grouping names of Career Pathways is currently not available; however, it will be taken into consideration.
Q:
Will Choices Planner have bookmarks?
A:
Instead of bookmarks,
Choices Planner will have an "Add to Portfolio" button on almost every page,
allowing users to save careers, programs, schools, finder results, and more. In
addition, while working within the portfolio, assessments results (or
half-completed assessments) will be automatically saved. If the user is not
working within their portfolio, the results will be lost once they have finished
their session.
Q:
Will the four-year High School plan pages allow for much
customization?
A:
Yes, the High School
plan pages offer enough flexibility to allow for any extent of customization
that you wish.
Q:
Can we push state outlooks and earnings above the national
information in the career profiles?
A:
Yes, results for state
outlooks and earnings can be displayed above national information
in the career profiles.
Renewal Issues
Q:
If I
renewed Choices CD already, will it cost extra to switch to Choices Planner?
A:
No, it will not cost extra
to switch mid-year.
Q:
If I
have a November renewal, can I switch to Choices Planner at no additional cost
at renewal time?
A:
Yes, you can switch to
Choices Planner at no additional cost.
Choices is a registered trademark of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) and is used under license by Bridges Transitions Inc.
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