In this episode, Silvia Brunet-Jones, Technical Program Director of the K-12 Technology portfolio at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, gives us the origin story of Ed-Fi, which goes all the way back to Hurricane Katrina and student relocations from Louisiana to Texas. She highlights the early focus in the development of Ed-Fi of providing value both for state accountability reporting and for local district operational data use for teaching, learning, intervention, research allocation, and other purposes. In discussing current needs and priorities, Silvia speaks about humanizing the data, providing agency and empowerment for data owners and users, and the need for cross-sectional teams and empathy among different stakeholders. Listen to the end to enjoy a brief blooper reel.
Correction: The number of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina and relocated to Texas is cited as at least 46,000 (exact number unknown due to record keeping). https://www.edweek.org/leadership/post-katrina-some-students-gave-up-home-for-a-better-school/2015/08
Show notes and resources:
Silvia Brunet-Jones: https://www.dell.org/employee/silvia-brunet-jones/
The Ed-Fi Academy: https://academy.ed-fi.org/
Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., & Mac Iver, D. J. (2007). Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle-grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist, 42(4), 223-235.
Acronyms:
XML (6:12): https://www.howtogeek.com/357092/what-is-an-xml-file-and-how-do-i-open-one/
ODBC (13:59): https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/odbc/microsoft-open-database-connectivity-odbc?view=sql-server-ver15
SQL (14:26): https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming/sql
CSV (22:19) and comma delimited files: https://kb.blackbaud.com/knowledgebase/Article/75155
FTP (23:06): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Transfer_Protocol
API (23:35): https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/api
SIS (38:44): Student Information System (student information databases within school districts)
Music: Exploring The World by Vlad Gluschenko is licensed under a Creative Commons License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... https://soundcloud.com/vgl9Support by RFM - NCM: https://bit.ly/2xGHypM