About KnowledgeBase

By Derrick Brown (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)

Thumbtack Profile 

KnowledgeBase provides customized data analyses, visualization & reporting; and "skills and drills" coaching / training (via Microsoft Excel, ArcGIS and Tableau).

We also advise clients in the wise, skillful, and efficient use of technology.

Our detailed skill set includes ...

1.    Data Visualization
2.    Geocoding / Geomapping
3.    Software Tutoring (Microsoft Excel / Word, Tableau, ArcGIS, Windows Server 2008 R2, eBay.com, Amazon.com)
4.    Public Speaking / Training / Workshops / Seminars
5.    Mentoring / Life Coaching
6.    Mediation & Conflict Resolution
7.    Character Development
8.    Business / Strategic / Technology Planning
9.    “Ghost”, Business, Speech, Song / Lyric, Creative, Expository, and Technical Writing
10.    Email List Management / Marketing
11.    Online Survey Design
12.    Curriculum / Program Design and Implementation
13.    Computer Recycling and Refurbishing
14.    Film and Music Editing / Production

About Derrick Brown (Principal Consultant)

 

I am Keisha's husband, and Hannah's father.

My *other* passion is empowering people via methods that balance skill & will, analysis & synthesis, ideas & execution, and activity & achievement.

I solve problems.

Copyright © 2014 Derrick  Brown. All Rights Reserved.

Big Ideas About Data Analysis: Provost Academy Georgia's Data Management Team

By Derrick Brown (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)

Provost Academy Georgia's Data Management Team

During the 2012-2013 school year, KnowledgeBase helped Provost Academy Georgia (PAGA) (an online Georgia state-chartered special school (SCSS)) organize and launch its data management team by hosting two workshops.


Workshop 1: Data Management Team Planning Session

Goal: To establish a culture of effective data use at PAGA.

Approach: Using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis technique, we created a “pin-point”, “ten-point” set of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely) PAGA data use strategies that could be implemented during the Spring 2013 semester.

We generated the strategies by considering the following …

1. Uses (What will we use data to do?)
2. Inventory (What do we need / have, and how well can it be analyzed?)
3. Sources (What can we access, and from whom can we access it?)
4. Calendar (When, how, and how often can we access new data?)
5. Skills (What do we need to learn in order to efficiently analyze and report?)
6. Drills (What should we consistently review, and how often?)

Workshop 2: Skills & Drills: Building Pivot Tables Using Microsoft Excel

A key workshop 1 strategy was to have the entire PAGA Data Management Team learn to build Micorosft Excel Pivot Tables (concise data summaries built using a "drag & drop" approach).

We delivered a customized "skills and drills" training session to 4 members of the team that used the following "disaggregated" data set ...

 ... to produce the following Pivot Table ...

Team members were then challenged to build their "skill" by completing a "drill" that involved using progressively larger versions of the dataset above.

Using larger data sets helps to build a user's appreciation for the accuracy, efficiency, and simplicity with which Pivot Tables are constructed - no matter how much data needs to be summarized!

To probe further, please check out the tutorial video below that summarizes Workshop 2 ...

View In New Window

Sincerely,

Derrick Brown – Principal Consultant
KnowledgeBase 
Email:  derrick.s.brown@att.net


About KnowledgeBase

Please share your thoughts on these "Big Ideas" and best practices by leaving comments below. Follow us on Twitter @dbrowndbrown to submit your own "Big Ideas" and best practices!

 

 

Copyright © 2013 Derrick  Brown. All Rights Reserved.

Big Ideas About Data Analysis: Data => Information => Knowledge Using Microsoft Excel

By Derrick Brown (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)

Data => Information => Knowledge Using Microsoft Excel

During the 2012-2013 school year, KnowledgeBase helped Heritage Prep Academy (HPA) (a Georgia state-chartered special school (SCSS)) analyze and synthesize results from the Northwest Evaluation Association's (NWEA's) Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP) assessment.

MAP is a set of computerized adaptive assessments that provide detailed, individualized, actionable performance data about each student's unique academic progress.

We quickly and efficiently converted a mountainous volume of results from HPA's Fall, Winter, and Spring MAP administrations into comprehensive, readable summaries using Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables ...

 

 Table 1. Grade-Level CRCT Proficiency Projections

Table 2. Grade-Level CRCT Proficiency Projections (By Teacher)

 

Table 3. Goals Summary (By Testing Strands)

After each quarterly MAP administration, we presented these summaries to HPA's academic stakeholders to help synthesize the results into thoughtful, simple, strategic schoolwide interventions. The success of each quarter's intervention was then measured using results from the subsequent quarterly administration.

The ultimate success of this approach will be measured by HPA's performance on the 2013 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). Stay tuned for those results!

UPDATE (AUGUST 30, 2013)

The early success of the DVC’s work was validated by HPA's performance on the 2013 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). The school’s overall performance improved by a total of more than 71 points. This was the 8th-best one-year improvement in the state of Georgia on the CRCT!

Sincerely,

Derrick Brown – Principal Consultant
KnowledgeBase 

Email:  derrick.s.brown@att.net

About KnowledgeBase

Please share your thoughts on these "Big Ideas" and best practices by leaving comments below. Follow us on Twitter @dbrowndbrown to submit your own "Big Ideas" and best practices!

 

 

Copyright © 2013 Derrick  Brown. All Rights Reserved.

Georgia Charter School Data Dashboard (DRAFT) (2-21-2013)

Access via Tableau

View Embedded Version Below ...

  

Powered by Tableau

Big Ideas About Data Analysis: Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables

By Derrick Brown (Email) (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)

Microsoft Excel pivot tables allow you to quickly go from this ...

 

... to this!

Learn how below!

EXAMPLE: "Building Pivot Tables Using Microsoft Excel"

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(View in separate full-sized window)

Please share your thoughts on these "Big Ideas" and best practices by leaving comments below. Email us or follow us on Twitter @dbrowndbrown to submit your own "Big Ideas" and best practices!

 

 

Copyright © 2012 Derrick  Brown. All Rights Reserved.

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Big Ideas About TEaCHING & Learning: CharterSmarter: From Data To Information To Knowledge (2012 GCSA Conference Presentation)

By Derrick Brown (Email) (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)

Did you know that ...

1. There were 53 startup charter schools in Georgia during the 2011-2012 school year?
2. Startup charter schools in Atlanta, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett had higher percentages of their students meet or exceed 2012 CRCT (Criterion Referenced Competency Test) standards than the traditional schools in those districts?
3. 3 Georgia startup charter schools had 100% of its students meet or exceed standards on the Math I EOCT (End-of-Course Test) during 2011-2012?
4. Microsoft Excel pivot tables can be used to quickly and easily organize and summarize large volumes of data into simple tables (and graphs)? (SEE EXAMPLE BELOW)

Discover what GCSA is learning about Georgia's charter schools - and the tools that support this analysis - at our upcoming 2012 state conference (October 4-5, 2012 at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building B – Atlanta, GA.) ...

CharterSmarter: From Data To Information To Knowledge

(Thursday 10/4/2012 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM)
(Derrick Brown, Presenter)

This workshop will introduce techniques and strategies that can convert mountains of assessment and enrollment data into concise, informative summaries suitable for sharing with all school stakeholders. Workshop participants will review and discuss Georgia’s Charter Schools: By The Numbers (an annual data brief published by GCSA - in online and print versions), as well as the tools used to produce both publications (GCSA’s Performance Management System, Microsoft Excel, and Tableau).

Register for the 2012 GCSA State Conference!

Building Pivot Tables Using Microsoft Excel

(View in separate full-sized window)

(View in separate full-sized window)

Please share your thoughts on these "Big Ideas" and best practices by leaving comments below. Email us or follow us on Twitter @dbrowndbrown to submit your own "Big Ideas" and best practices!

 

 

Copyright © 2012 Derrick  Brown. All Rights Reserved.

Microsoft Excel Functions Workbook, Volume 1

Download it at http://bit.ly/tpt_exv1!

This is an Excel 97-2003 workbook collection of 9 project-based, problem solving spreadsheet exercises (with complete keys - SEE PREVIEW) that help students learn to use the following powerful Microsoft Excel functions:

IF
CEILING
CHOOSE
CONCATENATE
COUNTBLANK
RANK
SUM

Each exercise generally takes between 1 and 2 full class periods to complete. I take 10-15 minutes to explain the problem, the deliverable, and the tools, and then let the students work independently or in small groups.

I created these for the Microsoft Excel portion of my 9th-grade Computer Applications class, but also integrated them into my Geomtery, Algebra 2, and Pre-Engineering classes as projects in later years.

Developing a Microsoft Excel skill set is just that important for college-bound students and teachers!

Microsoft Excel Functions Workbook, Volume 2

Download it at http://bit.ly/tpt_exv2!

This is an Excel 97-2003 collection of 15 project-based, problem solving spreadsheet exercises (with complete keys - SEE PREVIEW) that help students learn to use the following powerful Microsoft Excel functions:

SUM
AVERAGE
IF
COUNTIF
COUNTBLANK

Each exercise generally takes between 1 and 2 full class periods to complete. I take 10-15 minutes to explain the problem, the deliverable, and the tools, and then let the students work independently or in small groups.

I created these for the Microsoft Excel portion of my 9th-grade Computer Applications class, but also integrated them into my Geomtery, Algebra 2, and Pre-Engineering classes as projects in later years.

Developing a Microsoft Excel skill set is just that important for college-bound students and teachers!

Check out Volume 1 at http://bit.ly/tpt_exv1!