Reflecting on STATS-DC 2008

Over the past two days I have spent much time preparing for talks, presenting, thinking, and talking with the nation's pK-20 data leaders. LEA's, SEA's, the U.S. Department of Education, and many commercial enterprises are represented here, each with ideas about the sharing of data and information. The concept of connectedness entered my mind many times, seeming to be the gravity-binder that keeps these ideas loosely interacting like masses at great distances. I was fortunate to be invited to participate in four talks: 1) Race/Ethnicity: It's all in the codes, or is it? 2) Implementation Forum: District Level Models 3) Using the Education Data Model in Longitudinal Data Systems and 4) The Evolution of the SIF Standard--Where We Are and Where We Are Going.
For the first presentation, I presented with Judi Barnett (CSIU), Barbara Andrepont (ESP Solutions Group), and Laurie Collins (SIF Association) on the work that the SIF Association has done to decipher the collection, sharing, and reporting of race and ethnicity. The crux of the issue is that states must transition to a new model for reporting race and ethnicity as separate concepts by 2010. My conclusion from all of the background work done is that we need to encourage storing race and ethnicity data at the maximum possible resolution.
The second presentation focused on trends experienced by a panel of SIF Association members. Consensus among this group, which is not generally achieved without much deliberation, was that the market is incredibly strong for SIF (and other interoperability solutions) and that all external factors are positive.
Although some would consider data models an extremely dry topic, the third presentation was actually a lot of fun for me. For the past several weeks I have been working with Vince Paredes, the SIF Association's Data Model Architect, on using the National Education Data Model in our work. We essentially conducted a gap analysis for a data mart that we are designing for a client against the National Education Data Model. I will post the paper developed for this presentation in a separate blog entry. Vince introduced the National Data Model and its concepts, and I followed up by going through our gap analysis step-by-step.
The final session punctuating my participative responsibilities in the conference focused on the Oklahoma Department of Education's SIF Profile proof of concept. A Profile is an extension of the SIF Implementation Specification that will be used, initially by SEA's, to fine tune the SIF Data Model and interoperability business rules to meet specific needs.
Through the acts of preparing, presenting, and communicating with colleagues at this conference, I feel as if I have had my eyes opened in new ways to the accomplishments of the present, and to huge potential on the horizon.

SIF_Header Diagram

SIF_Header is present in every SIF Message. Below is a diagram of SIF_Header that contains its elements, their corresponding data types, and explanations drawn primarily from the specification. An XML example from the specification is also shown with a particular explanation regarding the use of SIF_DestinationId.
(I have decided to post this and future diagrams as GIF's because they tend to render more cleanly than PNG's.)

New Reports Show SIF Object Usage Across Certified Applications

The Certification Register at http://certification.sifinfo.org is the authoritative source of information about the capabilities of SIF Certified Applications and Agents. The site has recently been enhanced in two ways.
It is now possible to view a Data Model report that details and summarizes the use of SIF Data Objects by Certified Agents. This enables you to get a sense of which objects are most widely supported, and in what ways.
Located underneath this information (on the same page) is a matrix that represents the intersection of two applications. Hovering over a cell reveals the ways that the two systems may interoperate, at a Data Object level.
In combination, these reports provide end-users and developers with much information about how SIF is being used, and how it may be used. This is the direct link to the Data Model report.

STATS-DC 2008

Next week I will be attending and presenting at the STATS-DC 2008 data conference in Bethesda, MD. Both presentations that I am a part of are on the SIF track of the conference. The National Education Data Model will be the focus of one of the presentations. My role will be to discuss how we have used it in one of our projects at work. The second presentation will cover what the SIF Association has done (and is doing) about collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data. If you are coming to the conference, please attend these sessions!

SIF Message Objects

SIF's Infrastructure defines a set of Message Objects (synonyms in other vocabularies include stickers and envelopes) that underpin its asynchronous data exchange capabilities. SIF Agents wrap commands and Data Objects in appropriate Message Objects to accomplish interoperability functions. Zone Integration Servers lightly parse the Message Objects to control the routing of data from Agent to Agent. SIF Data Objects are the subject of the Entity Relationship Diagram previously discussed here. To reprise: Data Objects are the implementation of SIF's data model for interoperability (students, staff, enrollment, etc.). Data Objects also happen to be the essential unit of data exchange in SIF. The following diagram illustrates an overview of SIF Message Objects (click the image to view it standalone).

SIF and Open Source

Outside observers of SIF often make the comment that the SIF Association (SIFA) should implement an Open Source Zone Integration Server, or an Open Source Agent development tool set. I generally respond to these comments by analogizing SIF with other standards bodies, like the W3C. Similarly to the W3C, the primary output of SIFA is its standards.

Take as an example the W3C's XHTML specification. Under the auspices of the W3C, member organizations collaborate to draft, test, refine, and release the detailed technical definition of the XHTML technology. Acting as individual organizations, these members implement software that leverage, for commercial and non-commercial purposes, the specification developed by the standards body. It would be, however, very unlikely for the W3C to actually develop a web browser or web server that implemented XHTML in software.

Many standards bodies, like SIFA and the W3C, publish their works openly. Any organization or individual, including Open Source projects, may benefit by deciphering, adopting, and implementing the standards, regardless of membership status, and without paying licensing fees to the standards body. Other standards bodies, in contrast, choose to sell their work using fee-based licenses. Although SIFA is not an Open Source initiative, the open publication of its standards is certainly an enabler for industrious Open Source developers.

SIFA, its members, and the wider world of educational technology would greatly benefit from additional documentation to fill the void between the SIF specifications and their implementation in software. To that end, one of the purposes of this blog is to share some of my practical experience with SIF. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage SIFA to work towards providing more developer-centric documentation, including code samples, as part of its work. Since SIF's core technologies (XML and HTTP) are ubiquitous, basic code samples could be developed for every modern programming language and platform. The results of such work would be clarity for a wider audience of developers in the school market, the demystification of SIF, and, ultimately, wider adoption.

I would also encourage individuals and groups developing Open Source SIF software to become involved in the Association. Involvement will greatly accelerate your efforts in building good software that solves schools’ interoperability and data management needs.