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FBO DAILY ISSUE OF AUGUST 15, 2004 FBO #0993
MODIFICATION

R -- DISTRIBUTED LEARNING COURSE

Notice Date
8/13/2004
 
Notice Type
Modification
 
NAICS
611710 — Educational Support Services
 
Contracting Office
Department of State, Foreign Service Institute, Office of Acquisitions, M/FSI/EX/GSACQ, 4000 Arlington Boulevard Room F-2129, SA-42, Arlington, VA, 22204
 
ZIP Code
22204
 
Solicitation Number
SFSIAQ04R3011
 
Response Due
8/25/2004
 
Archive Date
9/9/2004
 
Point of Contact
Colleen Lewis, Acquisitions Officer, Phone 703-302-7233, Fax null,
 
E-Mail Address
lewisce@state.gov
 
Small Business Set-Aside
Total Small Business
 
Description
Questions and Answers SFSIAQ-04-R-3011 Question: Does the Department of State (DoS) have a specific format or minimum > requirements for technical specification documents? Or would the vendor's > format be acceptable? Answer: We have an established format, and the technical specifications have already been established via the first two courses that were programmed this year. Subsequent development will follow the established models. > Question: Does the DoS have any agency specific SCORM 1.2 and/or Section 508 (of the 1973 Disability Act) compliance specifications? If so, could this information be provided to the offerors before the proposal submission deadline? Answer: Yes to both questions. Unfortunately not. Question: Is the FSI LearnCenter a physical location or virtual entity? Could you expand on the statement "Online learning courses that run in the FSI LearnCenter"? Additionally, are there any technical-oriented specifications for courses that run in the FSI LearnCenter at present? Answer: FSI LearnCenter is an LMS acquired through learn.com and not customized in any way (other than the graphical interface). I don't understand the second question. Yes, there are technical specifications. Question: Regarding the possibility of contractor personnel potentially having to work some "nights and weekends" (See number 4-Time of Performance in the Task Objective section on Page 12 of the solicitation), is there a rough estimate as to how frequent of an occurrence that would be and how much time per occurrence may be necessary? Answer: This occurs only very rarely -- it is stated in order for this to be allowed should the project require it. Question: Is the DoS's objective, as derived from the purpose to "develop a database for a series of related distributed learning Trade Courses", to create a database to serve as a SCORM 1.2 compliant Learning Management System (LMS) in conjunction with the online course development? Or is there a LMS in use and the courses would need to be integrated into the existing LMS? Are there any specifications available if the latter scenario applies to this project? Answer: The latter applies. FSI LearnCenter is learn.com's LMS product. Question: The DoS provides that "The application will be written against SQL Server 2000. The client's desktops are Windows 2000." Could the DoS also provide information regarding the web browsers, including versions, in use at DoS? Is there a desktop minimum system requirement specification in place that would serve as the platform basis for design purposes? (Some advanced web technologies rely on the availability of certain web browser versions or higher.) Answer: The course must run in IE 5.5 or higher, minimum desktop requirement is Pentium III. Question: Are there any web technologies, such as Macromedia Flash Player, that are prohibited or restricted in use per DoS policies and standards? Would any browser plug-ins be allowed? Answer: No browser plug-ins will be allowed in this course. I believe the RFP specifies the acceptable programming languages. Question: The RFQ indicates the place of performance will be the FSI in Arlington, VA. Does this mean that all development and testing hardware and software will be provided by the DoS? Will the offeror have any input in the selection of development and testing hardware and software? Answer: All hardware and software will be provided, and the offeror has no input in the hardware. Question: Will the DoS IRM IT support infrastructure provide technical assistance and maintenance services for the project development environment? Will there be a liaison between project staff and IRM staff? Answer: Absolutely -- the project staff will work within the IRM team. Question: Does the Foreign Service Institute currently using any Learning Management System(LMS) for the courseware? Answer: FSI LearnCenter is learn.com's LMS product. Question: Are current existing courseware that are MS SQL Server 2000 based? What are the technical specifications for the current courseware? Answer: Yes. The course must run in IE 5.5 or higher, minimum desktop requirement is Pentium III. Question: What are the Foreign Service Institute guidelines and standards for courseware development that are applicable to this contract/requirement? Answer: In general terms, they are already stated in the RFP. Question: What are the hours on Page 3 of 16 for the multimedia programmer and graphic designer based on? Answer: Current workload analysis Question: What is the size standard for this contract? Is this a 6 mil or 21 mil? Answer: The size standard is 541512 at $21.0 million. Question: Does the Foreign Service Institute currently using any Learning Management System(LMS) for the courseware? Answer: FSI LearnCenter is learn.com's LMS product. Question: May we submit both government and non-government examples of past performance? Answer: Yes. Question: Will any special consideration be given to 8(a), woman-owned SDBs? Answer: This is a small business set-aside. Question: Is there an incumbent? If so, who is the incumbent? Answer: Dys-Tech Question: Can you provide a list of all interested bidders? Answer: No. Solicitation is posted online for anyone interested to bid on. Question: In the list of Essential Personnel, there is no mention of an instructional systems designer, or any personnel with ISD experience. In our extensive experience with ILT-to-WBT conversion, there is a strong need for instructional design expertise to ensure the creation and fulfillment of instructional objectives, which often change when conducting such a conversion. The essential personnel listed focus exclusively on the programming and design aspects, and do not address the development or modification of content, which is critical to the success of the project. How will this need be fulfilled to ensure the creation of performance-based, instructionally sound deliverables? Answer: We have in-house ISD staff who will work with the programmer and graphics designer. Question: The typical ratio for ILT-to-WBT conversion is 3:1. That is, 3 hours of ILT typically convert to 1 hour of WBT. Knowing the length of the current ILT will enable us to accurately assess the final amount of seat time in the WBT. Can you provide an estimate of the number of ILT hours we will need to convert? Answer: No - the current, week-long face-to-face course is undergoing radical change as we convert the content to a series of mini-courses. This RFP is for one or more of those mini-courses. We have calculated the conversion based on our knowledge of the Government requirements.
 
Place of Performance
Address: 4000 Arlington Boulevard, Arlington, VA
Zip Code: 22204
Country: USA
 
Record
SN00643418-W 20040815/040813211939 (fbodaily.com)
 
Source
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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