Databases in Schools

Anuj Apte

Mt. Hebron High School

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Did you know the library of
congress if considered one
of the largest databases in
the world?

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My Internship and Focus

Intern at Ciena Corp.

Networking company that sells optical networking equipment
and the software to manage the networks
Mentor: Donald Lauer
Research: Centralized Databases

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Research Question and Hypothesis
Question: How do centralized databases make school
processes more efficient and how can they be improved
upon?
Analyzing impact on school system databases
Analyzing current problems
Hypothesis: Centralized databases make school systems
more organized as long as the databases are strategically
developed.

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What is a database?
Database stored and structured data
Centralized Database a database that is located, stored, and
maintained in a single location
Keeps information tidy and organized
Different businesses and organizations have different needs,
therefore their databases will be structured differently.
An application is used as a front for the databases
information.

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Types of Centralized Databases
Personal Computer Database - small database maintained
by one entity on a personal computer. Usually used in a
small business and can be stored on database servers in
local area network, so that many people can access it
Client/Server Database - used by medium sized
businesses or organizations to share information in the
local area network
Central Computer Databases - maintained in a central
computer and used by large organizations, users from
remote areas can access the information from it
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Why use Databases in Schools?
They make teachers jobs much easier, teachers can go
to one application or site to get all the information they
need on a student.
More accurate information that is already checked for
accuracy and credibility
It is easier to find the information you are looking for
since there are more specified search tools

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Current Leaders in School Database Market
Google Apps for Education (GAFE)
Blackboard universities
Both successful due to the ease of their interface and the
variety of different functions
Ex: grading, posting assignments, comments, documents on
cloud, etc

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Issues with School Databases
Privacy
Many universities and schools have been hacked into by
criminals, Sensitive information such as names and important
numbers were released
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Synchronization
Applications within Databases do not talk
Adding data to one app does not mean the data will be
transferred to a correlating app

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Research Collection
Interviews
Professor Graham Peace
Professor Virginia Kleist
Dr. Nanda Surendra
IT Professionals

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Final Product
A website that will interactively showcase my years research
I will not regurgitate information

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Conclusion
I plan to:
Interview more professionals and teachers
Gather information on how the issues with school databases
can be fixed from the interviews
Transcribe interviews

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 Questions

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 Thank You

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