 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Embracing the vision of a Best Practice Learning Community, an administrative team and the IS director can become a driving force in a school district through the creation of a data warehouse. What is a data warehouse? A data warehouse brings all your data together in one place where you can explore the relationships over time between things like student achievement and attendance or teachers' professional development and teacher effectiveness. If built correctly, a data warehouse is definitely not just an "add-on" to a district's student information system. Ultimately and gradually over time a district's warehouse grows and evolves into a learning hub for all to access, use, and improve over time.
The IS director in collaboration with the district's leadership team creates and stewards the district's data warehouse by developing an information services plan. This plan defines how data is collected, maintained, and processed. A data warehouse is like a bank account for the district. There should be daily, meaningful transactions "in and out" all day long. But, constructing a quality data warehouse requires that the leadership team stay focused upon several key concepts:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Centralization |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keep your data pools as centrally managed as possible. A limited number of personnel should be able to manipulate or change the data. REMEMBER: Many hands can make a mess! Collapse or consolidate data pools whenever possible. One database would be an ideal goal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Clean Data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We all know "garbage in, garbage out" is a basic maxim. It is critical, absolutely critical, that specific rules be established so that all data entered into your databases be done "the same way by all." For example, every number, letter, or word (such as, "Do we input the word street or use the abbreviation "st.?") must be considered? Dirty data is not an option. Clean data is a prerequisite to a clean data warehouse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Standardization |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Establish and enforce common "work flow" procedures. Everyone in the district must "know" who does what to which data set and when. Document in writing your work flow procedures the same way most technology directors document their networks. Get everybody on the same page! Think like a strict and very picky librarian. Every book and magazine must be coded correctly, checked in and out per common procedure, and everything in its place.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accessibility |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Make sure that your data pools and information reports are securely and accessible to the widest audience as possible. Teachers, administrators, and parents should have access to their slice of the data anytime, anywhere regardless of the type of computer they have, or their physical location. If you're thinking the Internet is a key component of your data warehouse, you're right on!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mobility |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Your data and information should be accessible from portable or handheld devices. Think about it! How much of instructional leadership work or teaching is done from behind a desk? Very little.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Maximization |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Perhaps you're heard Jim Collins' statement from his popular book, Good To Great, "Get the bus headed in the right direction, get right people on the bus in the right seat!" Keep in mind that you hired teachers to teach, not to be data entry specialists or data warehouse workers. While some data entry is undoubtedly part of a teacher's job, it is important to consider how well your data warehouse serves them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Incremental |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Think incrementally! High quality data warehouses are not built overnight. Ask yourself: "What basic data do we already have and how is it used?" If your data is used by only a few people who complete reports for the Department of Education, then consider the following questions: "How can we expand the use of our student information system to include current and historical student achievement data on every teacher's classroom roster? How would we expect to use this roster-based data?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transparency |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All in their daily work naturally add their data to the warehouse through daily lesson design, attendance taking, grading, and achievement data. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
