Comments on: Annual Report http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15 Where Mr. K shares about learning about learning. Thu, 26 Aug 2010 05:29:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: A. Mercer http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-18 A. Mercer Sat, 12 Jan 2008 07:03:58 +0000 http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-18 Hey, I used AVOCADO green man. That is so 1970s! Hey, I used AVOCADO green man. That is so 1970s!

]]> By: Mrs. K http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-16 Mrs. K Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:51:37 +0000 http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-16 Although it's not a great solution, scanning with OCR and importing into a spreadsheet would at least make the data available electronically. It'd probably be a 30-60 minute process for each set of reports, but it's better than trying to retype them. Or expecting the district to embrace technology in a way that's useful to you. And I do have a lot of experience with trying to get paper-based data into databases, if you need assistance. Although it's not a great solution, scanning with OCR and importing into a spreadsheet would at least make the data available electronically. It'd probably be a 30-60 minute process for each set of reports, but it's better than trying to retype them. Or expecting the district to embrace technology in a way that's useful to you.

And I do have a lot of experience with trying to get paper-based data into databases, if you need assistance.

]]> By: Tom http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-14 Tom Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:20:19 +0000 http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-14 I was fighting that battle up until the day I left public school for my new job. We'd get a lot of data as either paper or pdfs (copy protected pdfs!). It was a hassle to break the protection, strip out the data and then try to attach some sort of schema to the xml to make it into something I could use in a spreadsheet. They promised to fix that- in a year or two. I did have some luck getting the data in Excel through the state DOE. Might work for you. I'm in VA so I've got no idea what LA might/might not do but someone's got to have that raw data right? I was fighting that battle up until the day I left public school for my new job. We'd get a lot of data as either paper or pdfs (copy protected pdfs!). It was a hassle to break the protection, strip out the data and then try to attach some sort of schema to the xml to make it into something I could use in a spreadsheet. They promised to fix that- in a year or two.

I did have some luck getting the data in Excel through the state DOE. Might work for you. I'm in VA so I've got no idea what LA might/might not do but someone's got to have that raw data right?

]]> By: Mr K. http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-13 Mr K. Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:46:07 +0000 http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-13 > impressed by how well you and Dan kept track of things heh. I didn't really. Some of the data was estimated (the time expenditures). Other data was sporadic (for example, I'd post my workout stats every couple weeks or so to a bbs I frequent - the graphs there are very interpolated). It did make me realize though, that the data i really wanted - how my kids do on the battery of tests they're presented with - is always presented to me in hardcopy form. Usually it's several pages worth of stuff for each assessment. I never, however, get it in soft format. I can't compile it together with previous data, I can't compare it to their previous performances, I can't put it all into a big pile and throw various graphic representations at it until something shows itself. I can't collect it and analyze my combined history. All I ever get is 15 sheets of paper stapled together, presenting the data in a format that someone else thought I might be able to do something with, and no way to connect it to the last bundle of paper that i got, or to the bundles of paper that those student's teachers got last year. I need more raw in my life. > impressed by how well you and Dan kept track of things

heh.

I didn't really. Some of the data was estimated (the time expenditures). Other data was sporadic (for example, I'd post my workout stats every couple weeks or so to a bbs I frequent - the graphs there are very interpolated).

It did make me realize though, that the data i really wanted - how my kids do on the battery of tests they're presented with - is always presented to me in hardcopy form. Usually it's several pages worth of stuff for each assessment. I never, however, get it in soft format. I can't compile it together with previous data, I can't compare it to their previous performances, I can't put it all into a big pile and throw various graphic representations at it until something shows itself. I can't collect it and analyze my combined history. All I ever get is 15 sheets of paper stapled together, presenting the data in a format that someone else thought I might be able to do something with, and no way to connect it to the last bundle of paper that i got, or to the bundles of paper that those student's teachers got last year.

I need more raw in my life.

]]> By: Tom http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-12 Tom Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:09:31 +0000 http://blog.mathsage.com/?p=15#comment-12 I like the time visual (although the 80s colors create frightening flashbacks). I'm most impressed by how well you and Dan kept track of things. I'm totally erratic so that was the worst part for me. I am attempting to do better. I like the time visual (although the 80s colors create frightening flashbacks). I'm most impressed by how well you and Dan kept track of things. I'm totally erratic so that was the worst part for me. I am attempting to do better.

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