I teach high school, and one regular time-sink is going over transcripts with students. Transcripts are textual documents that list the classes students have taken. To figure out which classes students need to take in order to graduate, we need to sit with each student and find the "holes" in their transcript.
I started writing a python script that would analyze a transcript for each student, and generate a visual representation for each student showing which classes they have taken and which they need. I started writing the script, but switched to Excel for maintenance reasons alone. I know that I could write a good script, and would enjoy maintaining it. But I want my contributions to live beyond my time at any one school, so I want new staff and students to be able to use and maintain the tools I create.
I made an Excel document where students enter their classes on one worksheet, and another worksheet generates a visual transcript. [0] It has already improved students' understanding of where they stand academically. I trust that staff, and even some students, can work with this document and keep it part of our school's culture when I move on.
I have new respect for the role that Excel can play in making some organizations more efficient.
I started writing a python script that would analyze a transcript for each student, and generate a visual representation for each student showing which classes they have taken and which they need. I started writing the script, but switched to Excel for maintenance reasons alone. I know that I could write a good script, and would enjoy maintaining it. But I want my contributions to live beyond my time at any one school, so I want new staff and students to be able to use and maintain the tools I create.
I made an Excel document where students enter their classes on one worksheet, and another worksheet generates a visual transcript. [0] It has already improved students' understanding of where they stand academically. I trust that staff, and even some students, can work with this document and keep it part of our school's culture when I move on.
I have new respect for the role that Excel can play in making some organizations more efficient.
[0] - http://peak5390.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/rethinking-the-high...