Recently organizations have begun to realize the potential value in the huge amounts of raw, constantly fluctuating data sets that they generate and, with the help of advances in storage and processing technologies, collect. This leads to the phenomenon of big data. This data may be stored in structured format in relational database systems, but…

The word "data" connotes math, science, and technology: digits and quantifiable units. Data imply objectification--reducing ideas, and perhaps even students and teachers, to products that can be measured and compared. Ironically, however, this conception of data is itself reductive, and it minimizes the richness and potential of data.…

Detailed descriptions of the data analysis procedures used in Project EDNEED (Empirical Determination of Nationally Essential Educational Data) are contained in this volume, the last of a five-volume final report. Results of the application of procedures and a narrative interpretation of the results are included. Priority rankings of 323 questions…

Synthesis can take many forms at the high school level and from a Big6 perspective. Synthesis means purposeful, valuable and interesting assignments. It is very important for a classroom teacher to recognize that students can synthesize information several times during a project and that there are many different ways to present information.

School systems can be data rich and information poor if they do not understand and manage their data effectively. The task for school leaders is to put existing data into a format that lends itself to answering questions and improving outcomes for the students. Common barriers to transforming data into knowledge in education settings often include…

Presents an information visualization workspace in which users are able to explore data presented in diverse but coordinated formats using related systems called Visage, SAGE, and selective dynamic manipulation (SDM). Discusses four dimensions for analyzing user interfaces that reveal the combination of design approaches needed for visualizations…

A rationale is presented for viewing the decision-making process inherent in determining budget reductions for educational programs as most effectively modeled by a graduated funding approach. The major tenets of the graduated budget reduction approach to educational fiscal policy include the development of multiple alternative reduction plans, or…

Describes and lists currently available software useful in social studies classes. Such software (including spreadsheets, databases, survey questionnaires) helps students apply quantitative methods and information-handling skills that are currently used in solving complex real-world problems. (JN)

Relevant conceptual frameworks must guide data collection and analysis if data are to be useful to service program planners and administrators. Such frameworks are increasingly important in the systematic assessment of the total array of services in a planning region. This paper describes a two-dimensional classification matrix developed in…

This report describes and analyzes statistical indicators of educational knowledge production and dissemination capability, presenting data at both the state and regional levels of aggregation. Three factors underlie 12 statistical indicators: a document production and access factor, a human-based linkage and exemplary practices factor, and a…

Trends affecting information systems and decisions of college administrators are traced, and specific types of technologies currently available are reviewed. Information systems support routine operations decisions or planning and policy decisions. The primary advantage of computerized information systems is rapid access to data and rapid…

Development of a basic information system for vocational education through Project EDNEED (Empirical Determination of Nationally Essential Educational Data) is summarized in this first volume of a five-volume final report. Objectives of the project were to (1) determine the extent to which selected data questions represent the vocational education…

This compendium compiles in one volume brief descriptions of federally-supported data collection programs that provide national statistical information on children and their families. As a review of the data indicates, statistics on children vary greatly in availability, quality, adequacy of population coverage, geographic scope and detail, and…

Describes good sources of real-time science data available on the World Wide Web for grades 5-12 classrooms. Highlights include preparation and software tools; ways to integrate scientific investigations into classroom instruction; data manipulation, including trend analysis, animation, enhancement, and measurement; and student assessment. (LRW)

The project was designed to develop a data interface system which would (1) improve the quality of vocational data, (2) provide vocational data in a more timely manner, (3) provide meaningful analyses of data (particularly in the worker demand-supply area), and (4) provide the capability of interacting different data bases. Procedures were…