Really Strategies Builds Production System and Online Product

Editorial Projects in Education (EPE), the Bethesda-based publisher of the weekly educational newspaper Education Week, collects and publishes key data and analysis on public education. This data is made available through annual print editions (called Quality Counts and Technology Counts), and is also reproduced online, allowing online visitors to read the data and perform custom queries.

"We had years' worth of key public education data but were not 100% satisfied with the technical aspects of our data collection and management system, as well as what we could offer to our customers," said Ron Skinner, research director for EPE. "We knew if we had better internal management technologies we could offer sophisticated tools to our customers to view, compare, and analyze key data points in many ways not possible before. Really Strategies helped us design and build those tools and processes," added Skinner.

EPE called in Really Strategies to outline requirements for the administration tools to collect and manage data, as well as the online interface for customers. Really Strategies built collection and management tools using Open Source technologies, including Apache, MySQL, Perl, and PHP. The process allowed EPE's research team to use existing Excel spreadsheets to collect data from states, but then import and manage the data through one central repository. Now the data can be viewed and managed collectively by the research team, saving hours of administration and coordination amongst the team. "To create a production system that fit their specific workflow needs and a product that allows greater access to the data for their customers, we collaborated with EPE's editors and technology staff," said Ed Stevenson, director of content strategies at Really Strategies.

For the web site, Really Strategies used the same Open Source technologies to enable graphical representations of the data - through html tables, jpg graphics, and SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) maps. "The beauty of the Education Counts online product is that it allows our customers to analyze key data points and then create a color-coded map of the U.S. or a bar chart to graphically represent that data. It is a very powerful tool that can visually represent years of data on key education statistics," adds Skinner. The Education Counts online product can be found at www.edweek.org/rc/edcounts.

About Editorial Projects in Education

Editorial Projects in Education Inc. (EPE) publishes Education Week and Teacher Magazine, and produces the award-winning edweek.org and AgentK-12.org. EPE's primary mission is to help raise the level of awareness and understanding among professionals and the public of important issues in American education. EPE covers local, state, and national news and issues from preschool through the 12th grade. EPE also provides periodic special reports on issues ranging from technology to textbooks, as well as books of special interest to educators.

Contacts

Really Strategies, Inc.
Marianne Calilhanna, 215-631-3107
mcalilhanna@reallysi.com