I gave a gigantic old DOS-based suitcase computer to someone here a couple of years ago. Does anyone remember that, and if so, has it been of any use to you?

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Hi guys. I have a tech question for the database people in the class.

Next year, I'm going to be the Data Specialist for my school. My job consists of taking ALL the data we have on our students (biographical, transcript numbers, attendance data, grade data, assessment data (in-class and external), and so forth), analyzing it, looking for patterns, and making it available in useful forms for teachers so that they can use the data in the implementation of their curriculum. Data-driven instruction is a big push in the NYC board of ed right now, and I bow to that push.

The technological end: As a major part of this, I'd like to be able to create a database of my students, kind of a super-transcript, to which I can attach and organize any data we gather.

My needs:
1) It should be easy to add new data to the database, either one student at a time or by importing Excel files. I'm willing to create programs (or at least Excel VBA macros) to make this process simpler.
2) It should be easy to export data into Excel based on a variety of categories, so that I can easily do comparisons between arbitrary data points (Attendance for this month vs. Final Grades, for example, to blow up into a big chart and be all "Look! You should come to school!")
3) I would like most of the data to be accessible online for teachers to view. Built-in web access tools would be great, though I'm willing to do some significant web programming myself if need be.

For the desktop stuff, it seems obvious that I should use Access + Excel for everything, especially since I'm already comfortable with VBA and could easily create a large variety of templates, custom reports, and macros that worked across the two, which could then be passed on to future data specialists. The only thing I'm unsure about there would be the web side. Would I have to keep a separate MySQL database on a server somewhere with the same information, for web accessibility? If so, is it easy to sync data from Access to MySQL? If not, does it make more sense to make a server-side MySQL database the primary database, and use desktop tools to pull information from it for my Excel work? Is there already stuff out there that can make all of this a lot easier, so I don't have to reinvent the wheel?

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Gris,

I'm not sure if this answers your question, but I think you have essentially 2 groups of needs: a) need to do broad research on educational outcomes across the students in the school; b) what information is useful to teachers for their students.

For a, I would actually use SPSS, STATA or other related statistical software for research at the school level.

For b, what kinds of things do teachers need? They may just need an excel sheet of key indicators. Maybe what you need is for them to generate their own reports (e.g. give them a web interface that allows them to select particular students and particular data points and generate tables or charts).

SPSS/STATA data can be stored as excel (you can import data into these software program from excel) and then you can run more complicated analyses - regressions, etc.

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For part a, thanks, I'll definitely look into SPSS and STATA for any advanced statistical analysis stuff I do, for sure. I'm not sure how much of that I'll need - really, with a maximum student population of 300 across four grades, the sample sizes aren't usually so huge as to require complicated analysis.

For part b, that's exactly the sort of thing I'd love to offer.

I guess the main question I have is, what's the best way to STORE the information so that I can get it in and out in useful ways. It seems to me a database is the best bet, but should I go the simple route for me and use Access, or look into something else in order to make your part b work better?

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There's definitely a way for Access to uhh... access SQL tables stored elsewhere. My company does that sort of thing all the time. But that's the extent of my knowledge.

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Gris, you might want to research Moodle. It's an online program that is database driven and written for schools. It can be used for everything from online classes, to appointment setting, to grade management, to collaborative work amongst teachers, to various kinds of reporting and is highly customizable.

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Gris,

you are right. with those sample sizes, excel (and access) should be sufficient.

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Daniel, when i get home tonight, I'll see if it boots (its been years). If you pay shipping, I'm happy to give it to you. Would you want the yamaha 2x external burner with 2 gig drive?

Omnis, thanks, It's very tempting but I'm trying to focus on Mac laptops made after 2000, to update my skillset. Basically G3 and up.

I had a couple people with dead ones say they might be willing to send them to me, but I've still got to follow up on that.

As much as my greedy little subconscious wants another working mac laptop, I think the 5300 has a 14 inch TFT screen, I've got to get rid of a bunch of old stuff myself.

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I've got to get rid of a bunch of old stuff myself.

I know that feeling all too well. Why is it so hard toss old gear? Oh, I know. Cuz ya look at it and say "I paid $xxxx for that, I can't throw it away".

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Why is it so hard toss old gear? Oh, I know. Cuz ya look at it and say "I paid $xxxx for that, I can't throw it away".

It's hard not to think that (I have that problem with clothes), but a key thing in getting rid of stuff is asking "What would I pay for that today?" instead.

Of course, some things are naturally easier to get rid of because they are either easily recyclable or usable for someone else and you can feel good about getting rid of it. Tech gear is often neither.

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