THE Journal — Data Management
MPISD Deploys Data, Portal Systems
Mount Pleasant Independent School District in Texas is integrating student data and adding new tools to meet state reporting requirements with the help of Mizuni, which is providing the district with its Motiv suite. The district is also using Motiv to set up a portal to make student information available to parents and administrators and to help "inform instruction" with the use of Motiv assessment tools.
(10/31/2007)
5 States Deploy NTC Transcript Exchange
The National Transcript Center (NTC) reported late last week that five states have adopted its preK-20 electronic transcript exchange system over the last year. These include Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming. NTC handled the development and deployment of the records systems.
(10/23/2007)
ShareLoader Appliance Automates Remote Backups
Crossroads Systems has started shipping a new appliance designed to automate backups of both on site and remote systems--SurePath ShareLoader. The appliance allows for backups of saved files on user machines (Windows-based) and also allows those users to retrieve lost data themselves, with the aim of reducing "IT overhead."
(10/22/2007)
Portsmouth To Deploy Web-Based SIS
Portsmouth Public Schools in New Hampshire is deploying a new, district-wide student information system to replace its 10-year-old system in an effort to consolidate disparate databases and improve efficiency for state reporting purposes. The district will be using Infinite Campus District Edition.
(10/5/2007)
VMware Says Academic Program Attracting Schools, Releases Tools as Open Source
Virtual infrastructure software company VMware says that more than 300 schools are now participating in its free Academic Program, which provides products, resources, and source code at no cost to schools for research and publication.
(9/19/2007)
FileMaker Releases Free K-12 Training
FileMaker has released a set of training materials for K-12 educators using the company's FileMaker Pro database solution. The training materials, collectively known as "FileMaker Pro Basics," are available free, along with a FileMaker 9 trial edition.
(9/19/2007)
Netchemia Intros SchoolRecruiter 2.0
Netchemia, a K-12 software developer, has announced version 2.0 of its SchoolRecruiter system. SchoolRecruiter is a Web-based tool used for tracking, recruiting, screening, interviewing, and hiring applicants in K-12 organizations.
(9/17/2007)
Paradise Valley Expands eLearning with Wireless System
Paradise Valley Unified School District in Arizona is deploying a high-capacity wireless system to enable IPTV and VoIP applications and expand the district's electronic learning capabilities. The system is being supplied by Ceragon Networks and implemented by Network Infrastructure Corp.
(8/6/2007)
L3RN: Seattle Public Schools Brings Social Networking In House
The video-sharing site YouTube clearly engages young users, but content and participation can't be controlled, making it difficult for K-12 to use the site for educational opportunities.
(8/2/2007)
Leveraging E-Content at Charles County Public Schools
As any new teacher finds out, putting together lesson plans when you're first starting out is an immense amount of work. A pilot program at Charles County Public Schools, located in Maryland just south of Washington, DC, reduces that time hugely by allowing teachers to easily share their course curriculums online.
(7/26/2007)
ClassLink Releases Free ClassSync
K-12 software developer ClassLink has released a free version of ClassSync, the company's Active Directory synchronization tool.
(7/25/2007)
FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced & Server Editions Launched
FileMaker has released four new versions of FileMaker Pro, a database widely used in education. The new FileMaker Pro 9 family, which launched July 10, includes FileMaker Pro 9, FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced, FileMaker Server 9, and FileMaker Server 9 Advanced.
(7/12/2007)
Can IT Turn Around Teacher Turnover?
Teacher turnover (also known to some as "teachers quitting their jobs") is becoming a critical concern for school and district administrators. Not only can it have a negative impact on student learning, especially in troubled districts, but it's emerging as a fairly major financial drain on districts in all regions, according to findings released last month by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF). So is there anything school and district technology leaders can do about it? According to the NCTAF report, there is.
(7/5/2007)
Tacoma SD Swaps Back-Office Systems
Tacoma School District in Washington state recently made plans to deploy a number of business software applications from Lawson Software to replace the district's current financial, human resources, and payroll systems. The installation of the software systems will be completed by July 2008, according to Lawson.
(6/4/2007)
Review: Google Mini 2.2
"Deploy and forget." That's the phrase that comes to mind to describe the Google Mini, the 1U rackmount appliance from Google. Now at version 2.2, the Google Mini provides key intranet and Internet search functionality, coupled with Google Analytics and document security integration, that make it, essentially, a complete "Google in a box," tailored just for you. And it's so simple and worry-free to operate and maintain that you might just forget you ever deployed it in the first place.
(5/23/2007)
Biometrics in K-12: Vendor Claims and Your Business Plan
My own quest for "The Truth about Biometric Devices in Schools" led to this three-part series on biometrics in K-12. It's a controversial topic, not just in the United States, but in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, which has its own concerned citizens fighting to ban fingerprinting of children in schools. My premise has been that before you decide to ban its use or buy into biometrics, you need to have an understanding of the technology itself and applications available, knowledge of key issues and concerns that have been raised, a keen eye for vendor claims, and then a sound business plan of action that leads to a security solution you really need.
(5/2/2007)
Michigan School District Launches Online Student Information System
Ann Arbor Public School District, in Ann Arbor, MI, said it plans to launch PowerSchool Premier, a Web-based student information system from Pearson School Systems, this spring. The technology will provide parents and students with daily access to student information online, according to Pearson.
(4/30/2007)
Irvine USD Extends Data Management, Analytics
Irvine Unified School District in California is extending its subscription to Plato Learning's assessment, data management, and analytics software.
(4/26/2007)
Marion County Deploys SMS
Marion County Public Schools in Ocala, FL has selected Chancery SMS, a program to manage school information from Pearson School Systems. Chancery SMS is designed to manage student and educator data online for the entire district.
(4/24/2007)
Perry Adopts Infinite SIS
Perry Local Schools in Ohio has deployed Infinite Campus as its new student information system (SIS) across the district. The district--the first in Ohio to adopt Infinite Campus--went live with the new system earlier this month.
(3/29/2007)
Study: Schools Head Toward Enterprise Data Management
According to a new study released by education consulting firm Eduventures, school districts in the United States are leaning toward an enterprise-based approach to data management, fueled in large part by NCLB reporting demands.
(3/19/2007)
Massive Illinois High School District To Move Back Office from IMS to SQL
To reduce IT costs and improve productivity, the Township High School District 211 in Illinois has migrated its student information, payroll, personnel and security database systems from a mainframe IMS environment to a Microsoft SQL Server platform.
(3/14/2007)
New York City DOE Contracts with IBM for Student Data Management System
The New York City Department of Education has signed IBM to develop and deploy a new data management system for New York City Schools, which serves some 1.1 million students and employs more than 90,000 teachers. The system will be designed to measure student performance and progress in real time and provide that information to educators and parents.
(3/6/2007)
Angel Learning Previews Angel LMS 7.2
Education software developer Angel Learning has announced a new version of its learning management system, Angel LMS 7.2.
(3/2/2007)
Document Management at Blue Valley USD
Document management systems usually work quietly behind the scenes, but their effects can be noticeable in many school operations. Good document management can streamline accounts payable processes, make human resources more efficient, and--perhaps most important--improve student services.
(2/21/2007)
