Aeries, Awkward First Dates, and Student Teaching: Exploring The Data Bases

"Just be sure to take role on Aeries. It's important."

I remember the first day I took over my Cooperating teacher's classroom.  It was my second week as a student teacher, and my cooperating teacher was out for the day attending a district training.  We had a substitute, who gave me full freedom to follow my CT's lesson plans for the day.  I was scheduled to teach all six periods, and with the nervousness of a new student teacher, I planned frantically and arrived early to set everything up.  I greeted the young substitute, set up the classroom, opened my CT's iPad, and logged into Aeries.  Everything was working beautifully.

Until, of course, the moment I tried to submit attendance for first period.  Slowly the spinning pinwheel of death waltzed across the clean lines of the Aeries interface.  And then it was no more.  "Aeries has encountered a problem..."  Why yes, apparently it has.

We submitted attendance manually the entire day.  I survived my first takeover day as a student teacher, and eventually got over my nerves and throughly enjoyed each period (and collapsed from exhaustion at the end of the day).  But I never got over that first experience with the district-wide data base.  Like a terrible first date that never goes away, Aeries and I still have a somewhat strained relationship.  Maybe it's more of an awkwardly arranged marriage.

Aeries is the Santa Barbara School district's Student Data Base.  Through the Aeries browser, teachers and school administration can access students' class schedules, medical information, testing information, grades, and parent contact information.  The student's previous education (elementary, junior high) is visible, as are the parent's levels of education and the student's intervention and discipline histories.  Teachers generally use Aeries to take attendance and check student grades and histories.

Partnered with the Aeries browser interface is EDU 2.0, the district wide "online learning management system".  EDU 2.0 is designed for teachers to be able to create and give assignments, grade with imbedded rubrics, create online forums and chat groups, message parents or guardians, and record student progress, assignment specific grades, and missing or late work.  While Aeries stores student information, EDU is the tool with which teachers are most likely spend the majority of their working time.  EDU 2.0 is a powerful program, but is (as are all technologies in the public school system) heavily prone to constant slowness, random crashing, and irrational failures.

Rumor has it that several states are now creating massive and incredibly inclusive databases of student learning records.  This information is slated to be used to further student learning through informing teachers and (wouldn't you know it) curriculum providers of student needs and ideal strategies to reach students who might otherwise be falling behind.  And while the beauty of clearly organized and complete data on each of my students could very well be an excellent resource in my teaching practice, I feel reluctant to allow the siren song of this new possibility drawn me in.  Though the software companies project their interests towards the good of the "working class" (teachers), I know that we are fairly low on the economic food chain.  Rarely are programs created merely for the good of teachers.  We know who creates these programs, and that we are not the only ones with access to this goldmine of information.  And even lower on the food chain?  Our students.  I feel that this baring of student information could very well violate students and families' right to privacy.

  While I see the appeal of these high tech programs, I still don't know enough about the safety of centralized data to make a decided statement at this point.  And that causes me to shy away from any centrally available collection of personal data on students.   For this added insight, I call on my colleagues.  What do you think of central data collection interfaces?