Our final week of CEDO 540 draws to a close. When we started the autumn leaves were beginning to turn and now just a few cling to the trees. I have been investigating Web-sites that provide statistical information - some supplied by our instructor - and a few we had to find on our own. Have any of you explored the
National Archives site? It's really quite fascinating how much information is on this site. Links to genealogy, military records and even archival photographs. The site is hierarchically organized so one needs to reflect on each search before hopping down the rabbit trail.
The
National Health Safety Network (NHSN) is a site I worked with in the past. NHSN collates data from participating hospitals and agencies but the data is kept with 'the family' of participants. I used this site before when I worked with Infection Preventionists on Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAIs) and the H1N1 pandemic. I did a little light research on MRSA but most of the data is in summary format. If I were still doing work in epidemiological surveillance I would use this site every day to report local information and learn about what was happening in my region.
One of the more interesting and highly interactive sites I examined is the
Wisconsin Information Network for Successful Schools. The Site contains a rich amount of performance data across Wisconsin school districts. The site is very easy to use and almost immediately I found myself running performance reports on the Madison-Metropolitan school districts. I could examine student performance by area of study, ACT, attendance, etc. The ensuing reports allowed me to change parameters without having to initiate a brand new search. I was able to change one radio button to apply Madison’s performance against the Top Ten Enrollment districts in the state. The ability to print the report and graphics separately was a nice touch. Although I could not find an option to download the data to Excel or CSV formats, one can readily copy and paste the array of data for further analysis. If any parent has questions about school district performance I will direct them to WINNS.
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI think you summed up the class pretty darn well. There was a lot of information on these websites that we were given and one could spend hours or even days on them if they really like that kind of thing.
I liked your idea about using WINSS as a parent to see the performance of schools in any district. Schools also use this data to compare other schools; usually in their conference.
Time could be spent on these sites. I found myself searching for things, just to see what I could find. It is good to know what is out there, how to use it and how to present it. WINSS is a very useful site. Many people use this data when house hunting or planning a move.
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