Schools Interoperability Framework - SIF

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Improving State and Local Data Systems Dr. Larry
Fruth II Executive Director
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Change Management
Vision
Skills
Incentives
Resources
Action Plan
Change Confusion Anxiety Gradual Change
Frustration Not Implemented
Resources
Skills
Incentives
Action Plan
Incentives
Resources
Vision
Action Plan
Resources
Vision
Skills
Action Plan
Vision
Skills
Incentives
Action Plan
Skills
Resources
Vision
Incentives
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Sub-Committees Executive Finance HR Legal
SIF Board of Directors
Executive Director
Committees
Education Advisory Panel
Technical Board
International Membership / Marketing Policy /
Procedures Certification
Task Forces Vertical Reporting
TF Features/Functionality TF Implementation
TF Meta-Data TF SIIA Transition TF
Vertical Working Groups Administration
Applications (9) Infrastructure (1) Learning
Applications (6) Learning Communities (2)
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Vertical Reporting Task Force E-Transcript Task
Force Implementation Task Force Meta-Data Task
Force SIIA Transition Task Force
Technical Board
WORK GROUPS (18) Administrative Applications (9
workgroups) Infrastructure (1 workgroup) Student
Information System (SIS) ZIS
Agents Gradebook Special Programs Food
Service Learning Community (2
workgroups) Library Management Communication /
Collaboration / Portal Tools Transportation Dat
a Warehouse / Decision Support HR
Finance Professional Development Facilitie
s Management Learning Applications (6
workgroups) Academic Standards /
Curriculum Assessment Instructional / Course /
Learning Management Systems Student Work
Portfolio Digital Library Online Tutoring
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SIF Components Working Together
Student Information Services

• Zone Integration Server (ZIS)
• SIF Agents
• Applications
• SIF Data Objects

Network Account
Library Automation
H.R. Finance
Food Services
Data Analysis Reporting
Grade Book
Instructional Services
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Utilizing SIF Can

• Distribute Functionality
• (1) Empower local systems with respect to
  technology
• (2) Encourage innovation by vendors and local
  districts
• (3) Allow local systems to be heterogeneous
• (4) Make salient the need for data standards
• (5) Address the 'local control' issue
• (6) Provide local entities with technical
  capabilities that can be applied in other
  applications of SIF that can save money when
  implementing other systems
• (7) Redistribute cost to the local districts and
  vendors. Redistribute does not mean that it will
  be more. It could even be less to achieve the
  same benefits.

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SIF School Success Story Anoka-Hennepin School
District

• 45,000 students in Anoka and Hennepin Counties,
  Minnesota
• The SIF solution
• - eliminates redundant entry of student data
• - saving significant staff time district-wide
• - indirect savings in eliminating the movement
  of paper between offices
• - greater coordination and reconciliation by
  keeping data in different systems synchronized
  and secure
• When a new student is enrolled
• Data is inputted in the SASIxp Student
  Information System
• The Edustructures SIF Agent for SASIxp sends SIF
  Add events to the SIFWorks ZIS
• The SIFWorks ZIS then distributes these events,
  containing the enrollment date, name, phone
  number and other data, to the Follett Circulation
  Plus SIF Agent (library) and Parlant ParentLink
  SIF Agent (attendance office)
• Each agent then updates its application database.
• Today, data is exchanged in real time between the
  district office and each schools main office,
  media center and attendance offices.

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SIF School Success Story Brownsburg Community
Schools

• 6,800 students outside of Indianapolis, IN
• In 2002 Brownsburg became the first district to
  implement SIF district wide.
• When a new student is enrolled
• Data is entered in the SASIxp Student Information
  System.
• Novell Network Portal E-Mail accounts
• School Link Technologies WinSnap - Café System
• School Link Technologies MyCard ID Card
• Parlant Technologies ParentLinkXP Telephony
  Web-Based Grades
• Follett Destiny Library System
• VersaTrans Transportation System
• Today, data is exchanged in real time allowing
  us to have one point of data entry says Laurie
  Collins, Mew Media Tech. We can now concentrate
  on the business of educating our students not
  data entry.

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SIF School Success Story Duvall County Florida

• 130,000 students
• Utilized SIF because they wanted to control
  account management activities.
• IT Cost Avoidance
• 113,464 in account creation costs
• 379,340 in account change costs
• 14,300 in account deletion costs
• 509,286 total yearly cost avoidance
• Equivalent to 8 FTE!
• Indirect Cost Avoidance (estimate)
• 200,000 lost productivity time for employees,
  teachers and students.

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SIF School Success Story Holmen School District

• Transport over 2700 students from 5 schools over
  88 miles
• Whenever new student information is entered in
  SASIxp, the VersaTrans database is automatically
  updated. Staff no longer have to spend time
  tracking down parents only to find that their
  phone numbers have changed, and they spend much
  less time calling the schools to look for updated
  information.
• Increased departmental and district efficiency,
  improved service to the customer, more powerful
  reporting centralized network architecture and
  improved level of safety
• One of my ongoing goals for the district has
  been to reduce the amount of redundant data
  entry. When I learned about SIF compliance, that
  goal was the first thing that came to mind.
  There were both immediate benefits as well as
  benefits reaped at the end of the year.

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Vertical Interoperability

• Seamless reporting - district, state, federal
• Reduce burden on schools districts
• Use management data as core data set for
  reporting
• Responding to changes as they occur rather than
  reacting to on an annual basis
• Data driven decision making
• Collecting analyzing information as it is
  developed
• Data warehousing and data mining
• Using business tools to analyze administrative
  functions

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State Configuration Example
Data Warehouse
State DB
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Local ZIS
State ZIS
State Agent
SIS
Library
Zone to Zone Routing Agent
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Transportation
Data Consolidator Agent
1
SIS
Local ZIS
Local ZIS
SIS
Library
Foodservice
Library
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SIF Implementation Tools

• Implementation Readiness Assessment Toolkit
• Implementation Planning Kit
• RFP Language
• SIF Discussion Forum
• EdSTART
• SIF Certification web site

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Who Should Use These Tools?

• Persons who will be providing executive
  leadership to the data integration initiative.
• Persons who have been given the responsibility to
  manage the data integration in an education
  organization.
• Persons who will be responsible for data
  integrity within any applications which will be
  part of the implementation.

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Implementation Readiness Assessment Tool Kit

• Designed to help schools determine their current
  state of data management and help them create a
  plan for future data interoperability involving
  the SIF Implementations
• Schools answering the questions in the toolkit
  will obtain an editable output document that will
  include assessment and next steps for district's
  interoperability planning.
• http//siftoolkit.espsg.com

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SIF Implementation Planning Kit

• This toolkit was designed to provide educators
  with a process for getting the best possible
  Enterprise Information Management System (EIMS)
  for their school and/or district
• What is addressed in this toolkit?
• Project planning
• Data management strategies
• Computer hardware, software, networking needs
• Budgetary and human resource concerns
• Political issues and work flow impact
• www.sifinfo.org/tool_kit.asp

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SIF Discussion Forum

• Top 3 reasons to be a part of the SIF Discussion
  Forum.
• 3. One place that connects both SIF vendors and
  users.
• 2. One place to share experiences and gather
  information for your SIF project.
• 1. One place to find answers, support and advice
  for your SIF inquiries.
• http//bburgsif.brownsburg.k12.in.us

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SIF EdSTART

• SIF's Educational Software and Technology
  Application Registry Tool
• Allows schools and states to access provider
  products and best practices aligned with SIF's
  vision.
• Provides end users and vendors with accurate and
  up-to-date information on data initiatives, tools
  and procurement opportunities.
• www.sifinfo.org/edstart

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SIF Certification

• Officially launched on April 25, 2003
• Provides 3rd party validation of application
  conformance with the specification
• Provides confidence for purchasers
• Provides validation for vendors
• Tests application functionality
• Verifies data delivery
• There are currently 50 applications certified
  with many more in the testing stage

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SIF Certification Web Site

• The SIF Certification program is administered on
  behalf of the Schools Interoperability Framework
  Association by its designated Certification
  Authority, The Open Group
• The SIF Certification program is a voluntary
  program of the Schools Interoperability Framework
  Association, open to any product meeting the
  conformance requirements.
• SIF Certification is a formal process built
  around the SIF Certification Policy document.
  Suppliers of certified products warrant and
  represent that the product meets all the
  applicable conformance requirements.
• www.opengroup.org/sif/cert

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For More Information

• SIF websitewww.sifinfo.org
• Laurie Collins Larry Fruth, Ph.D.
• Project Strategist Executive Director
• lcollins_at_sifinfo.org lfruth_at_sifinfo.org
• Mark Reichert
• Chief Technical Officer
• mreichert_at_sifinfo.org