Learning Enhancements

Zoom Integration

Functionality

In release 26.04, we have added an integration with Zoom for Virtual Classroom learning modules.  Administrators can configure one or more Zoom accounts, which can then be selected in the Launch Properties of Virtual Classroom modules. 

Zoom accounts will function in the same way as the existing video conferencing integrations. PFL will automatically create meetings and update them when details change. Registering and canceling users will be managed in the same way. Users will be able to launch the Zoom meeting from PFL or from an iCalender link (if configured for the learning module).  The Zoom integration can track attendance and automatically update the PFL transcript.

Details

Set Up a Zoom Virtual Classroom Account

Zoom connection information is required to set up a virtual classroom account. This includes Client ID, Client Secret, Tenant ID and Zoom User ID. Have this information handy.

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > General Catalog Settings > Virtual Classroom Account Setup.
2. Click +Create New.
3. In the Virtual Classroom Type field, select Zoom.
4. Configure the properties with the appropriate Zoom values.
5. Click the Download Recording(s) checkbox if you would like this Zoom virtual classroom account to automatically download recordings of its events/meetings. This will automatically create an archived version of the learning object (for users who could not attend the training, for example)
6. Click Save.
7. Once you have saved the account, you can set the permissions as necessary.

Select a Zoom Account in a Learning Module

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > Catalog General Settings > Learning Modules.
2. Create a new learning Virtual Classroom module or open an existing module for editing.
3. Click the Define Launch Properties option.
4. In the Launch interface field, select Zoom Session.
5. In the Select Zoom Account field, choose the appropriate account.  If only one Zoom account is configured, it is selected by default.
6. Configure the launch properties.
7. Click Save.

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Competency Enhancements

New Competency History Date Fields

Functionality

In release 26.02, we have added the ability to capture and view additional competency history date information. Previously, a single Date field was available, which referenced the date the event was added to the history. In this release, the Date field has been changed to Event Date there are two new dates available when viewing competency history:

• Date Acquired - Provides the date that the competency was acquired.
• Expiry Date - If the event is Expired, this field will also be populated and provide the date that the competency expired.

The new and updated fields are available to learners when they view competency details in their own Career Centers.  They are also available to reviewers/managers when they view competency details in their assigned learners' Career Centers.

Details

Viewing the New Fields in the UI

1. Navigate to the Career Center:

2. Locate the appropriate competency and click the competency name.

The image below shows the fields in the competency details.

Report Wizard Updates

When running the Report Wizard using the User Competency type, the new fields are available as columns for competency history. To select the fields in Report Wizard:

1. Go to Manage Center > Reports > Report Generators > Report Wizard.
2. Create a new report, selecting User Competency in the Report type field.
3. On the Columns tab, expand the Competency History section. The new Date Acquired and Expiry Date fields are available here.
4. Select the fields as necessary and complete report generation.

Competency History Data Loader Updates

To accommodate the new fields, they have been added to the Competency History Data Loader.  
 

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Enhancements to Awarding Competencies in the Career Center

Functionality

Previously, competencies on the Award Competency and Self-Award Competency screens in the Career Center could only be filtered on competency model.  In addition, the pages would load all competencies upon opening, resulting in long load times for organizations with a large number of them.

To enhance use of these pages, we have made the following changes in 26.02:

• Upon opening, the page no longer loads the competencies. You must enter filter criteria and click the Filter button to view competencies. 
• A new Competency Name/Description filter field is available. This is a text entry field that searches the names and descriptions of the competencies and returns items that match the text.

Details

Using the New Filter

1. Navigate to the Competencies screen in Career Center:

2. Click +Award Competency (manager/reviewer) or +Self-Award Competencies (learners).
3. Configure the filter criteria using these guidelines:

4. Click Filter.

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Expiry Date Enhancements for Awarding Competencies in User Review

Functionality

Administrators have the ability to award competencies in the User Review tab of the competency configuration. Previously, when a competency was awarded this way, an expiry date could always be entered, disregarding the Ad-hoc Assessment Expiry configured for the competency. Example below:

In release 26.02, a new system configuration setting is available that enforces the ad hoc assessment expiry configuration. 

Details

Enable the Setting

1. Go to Manage Center > System > General Settings > System Configuration.
2. In the Select a category field, choose Competency Manager.
3. Locate the Administrator assessment via User Review follows Ad-hoc Assessment Expiry settings field.
4. Click the checkbox.
5. Click Save.

When the setting is enabled, the Ad Hoc Assessment Expiry settings will always be available in competency configuration. Previously, they were only available if "Ad Hoc Self-Assessment" or "Ad Hoc Reviewer Assessment" were selected.

Changes to Expiry Date Options when the Setting is Enabled

When the setting is enabled, the options for entering an expiry date depend on what is configured in the Ad-hoc Assessment Expiry settings.

To review the expiry settings, go to the competency "Details" tab and locate "Ad-hoc Assessment Expiry" in the "Recognition" section. 

• If Does Not Expire is selected, the Expiry Date field is grayed out and not editable. The field is not populated.
• If Require assessor to specify expiry date is selected, an expiry date can be entered in the field when awarding the competency.
• If the competency is configured to expire within a specified time period from the issue date, the Expiry Date field is grayed out and not editable. The field is populated based on the Issue Date. In the example below, the competency is configured to expire 365 days from the award date.

If the expiry date is configured based on the issue date, it will be automatically updated if the issue date changes (to backdate the award, for example).

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Ability to Re-Award a Competency that has Not Expired

Functionality

In some cases, it may be necessary for a manager or reviewer to re-award a competency to a learner who has already earned it but for whom it has not expired.  For example, the competency might have no expiration date or have an expiration date that has not been met yet. If competency requirements change, and the learner meets the new requirements, the manager or reviewer needs to be able to re-award the competency. Previously, it was not possible to re-award an unexpired competency. In release 26.02, a new system configuration setting is available to allow this action in the learner's Career Center.

Details

To enable the setting:

1. Go to Manage Center > System > General Settings > System Configuration.
2. In the Select a category field, choose Competency Manager.
3. Locate the Allow reviewer reassessment for existing awarded competencies field.
4. Click the checkbox.
5. Click Save.

When this setting is enabled any awarded, but unexpired, competency, will be available for re-award in the learner's Career Center.  When it is not enabled, the competency will not display as an option for awarding to the learner.

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Certification Enhancements

New Certification History Date Fields

Functionality

In release 26.02, we have added the ability to capture and view additional certification history date information. Previously, a single Date field was available, which referenced the date the event (Awarded, Expired, etc.) was added to the history. In this release, the Date field has been changed to Event Date there are two new dates available when viewing the certification details in the history:

• Award Date - This field provides the date that the certification was awarded.
• Expiration Date - If the event is Expired, this field will also be populated and provide the date of the expiration.

The new and updated fields are available to learners when they view certification details in their own Learning Centers.  They are also available to reviewers/managers when they view certification details in their assigned learners' Learning Centers.

Details

Viewing the New Fields in the UI

1. Navigate to the Certifications screen in Learning Center:

2. Locate the appropriate certification and select View Details from the action menu.

The image below shows the new fields in the certification details. In this example, the event type is Expired, therefore the Expiration Date field is populated as well as the Award Date field.

Report Wizard Updates

When running the Report Wizard using the Certification History type, the new fields are available as columns for certification history. To select the fields in Report Wizard:

1. Go to Manage Center > Reports > Report Generators > Report Wizard.
2. Create a new report, selecting Certification History in the Report type field.
3. On the Columns tab, expand the Certification History section. The new Award Date and Expiration Date fields are available here.
4. Select the fields as necessary and complete report generation.

Certification History Data Loader Updates

To accommodate the new fields, they have been added to the Certification History Data Loader.  

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General Enhancements

Auditing Enhancements

Functionality

PeopleFluent Learning logs various system and user activities for auditing purposes.  Previously, auditing settings were configured on a system-wide level. The ekp.properties file determined the activities to be evaluated.  When the auditing process was run, the audit would evaluate all users for all activities specified in the ekp.properties file. This had the potential to have impact on system performance. In release 26.02, we have shifted auditing to the role level to provide more granularity for logging activities. Meaning, organizations have the ability to determine which activities are audited for specific roles. Only those selected activities are audited and logged, thereby reducing impact on the system.

In addition, we are introducing a tiered system for auditing Manage Center transactions. The tier selected for the role, determines which Manage Center transactions will be audited for that role.

For current customers, the existing ekp.properties audit setting will be migrated and applied for all existing roles. For a new installation the default roles will have the existing default values applied.

Details

System Wide Audit Settings No Longer Available

As auditing configuration has been changed to be role based, the following options have been removed:

• Manage Center > System > Status and Logs > Auditing Settings - Previously, this page allowed you to the system-wide auditing settings. The page has been removed.
• Manage Center > System > System Support Functions > Debug and Tracing Options - Previously, this page had an Auditing field that enabled auditing for the system and managed the auditing level. 

New Role Access Controls

To enable the new role access controls:

1. Go to Manage Center > Users > Roles and Permissions > System Roles.
2. Create a new role or open an existing role for editing.
3. Click Data Access Controls in the left menu.
4. Enable the Audit settings as described below:

Auditing Setting

This setting enables auditing and determines the auditing level for each of the auditing options that are enabled for the role.  

1. In the Auditing field, make a selection.

2. Click Update access control settings.

All auditing options do not have the same available actions. For example, launching a course does not include any delete actions. The level set in this field will only log actions associated with the option.

Auditing Options

Here, you will select the auditing options for the role.

1. Click the Yes radio button for each option you are enabling for the role.

2. Click Update access control settings.

Manage Center Auditing

This setting enables auditing of activities in the Manage Center and determines the level of auditing for the role.  The specific audited transactions are determined by the tier selected in the field.

Download a Guide to the Manage Center Auditing Tiers

1. In the Manage Center Auditing field, make a selection.

2. Click Update access control settings.

Bulk Role Update

The new access control fields are included in bulk role update, to include auditing access controls for the new role.

Changes to R418 Report

The new access control fields are included in the R418- Generate Role Access Control Data Dump in CSV Data Uploader Format report.

User Search Enhancements

Functionality

There are several areas in the application that require users to be selected. You have the ability to apply filters to locate and select the appropriate users by entering a User ID, name or email.  Previously, this filter was "accent sensitive".  Meaning if the user name contained an accent, and the accent was not entered into the field, the user would not be found. For example, if the user's name is "Géne" and the searcher entered "Gene", the user would not be found.

In release 26.02, we have enhanced the filter functionality to return users in the search results that match, regardless if these special characters are entered into the filter field.

 

New Gender Options in the User Profile

Functionality

In release 26.02, we have added two new options to the Gender field in the user profile, including:

• Nonbinary
• Prefer not to say

Details

Setting Gender in the User Profile

1. Go to Manage Center > Users > User Manager > Users. Locate and access the appropriate user profile.
2. Locate the Gender field and make the appropriate gender selection.
3. Click Save.

Setting Gender in the User Data Loader

The new options can be set in the user data loader. In the Gender field, enter N for Nonbinary or P for Prefer not to say.