Indiana District Revamps Data Management -- THE Journal

Administrative and Business

Indiana District Revamps Data Management

By Scott Aronowitz
03/18/10

Carmel Clay Schools of Carmel, IN, is moving to GlobalScholar's Pinnacle Insight as its data management system in an ongoing effort to improve data-driven decision making in the district.

Geared toward heavy users of data for educational planning and related needs, the system's features include capabilities for reporting on class and student trends, as well as key indices of performance and progress.

"Our past data warehouse and reporting system experiences never fulfilled our district's vision of how data could be used. Only power users had the background knowledge to extract needed data," said Christi Cloud, technology specialist for CCS. "After implementing Pinnacle Insight, we immediately saw an increase in usage of data throughout the district." She added that educators, administrators, and counselors with a vast range of data-related needs began using the system to monitor student progress.

Pinnacle Insight offers features that allow for customization of data access and reporting according to individual users' needs. It enables administrators to create and modify onscreen "dashboards" that allow them to give provide access to the data and tools fulfill the individual requirements of each end-user. In addition, it offers the company's proprietary "data cloud" technology, which allows users to modify the components and presentation of a report without having to modify the data structure or reporting process. "Our users were empowered and eager to see data in new ways to make better instructional decisions," said Cloud.

The district said it also plans to extend access to Pinnacle Insight to educators and parents for such purposes as monitoring student progress and determining necessary changes in long-term educational planning.

About the Author

Scott Aronowitz is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas. He has covered the technology, advertising, and entertainment sectors for seven years. He can be reached here.

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