New Collaboration Tools and Technical Advisory Group Announced at 2017 Technical Meeting
April 19, 2017 – AUSTIN, Texas– Ed-Fi Alliance, LLC, dedicated to improving student achievement by driving interoperability in education, today announced the launch of a new initiative, Community365, which aims to build and facilitate collaboration amongst Ed-Fi technology users through new tools and resources to improve education data technologies. As part of the community-focused initiative, the Alliance also announced the 2017 Technical Advisory Group (TAG) under a revised charter. The TAG provides technical guidance and input on the Ed-Fi Technology Roadmap.
“We are excited to deepen our investment in our users by launching the Community365 effort at our first annual Technical Congress,” said Troy Wheeler, president, Ed-Fi Alliance. “Today we are making it easier for our user community to engage and contribute to the Ed-Fi technology suite and data standard. Ed-Fi has always relied heavily upon a dedicated group of users who care about our mission and believe in the promise of interoperability. Our new initiative seeks to encourage and harness that momentum.”
With Community365, the Ed-Fi Alliance will invest in tools to create a collaborative community through the launch of a dedicated Slack Team to facilitate open discussion amongst community members; a Code of Conduct for guiding contributors; a new TAG under a more transparent and revised charter; and a MappingEDU Extensions Report, which highlights community contributions and solutions to common issues. The Community365 initiative seeks to equip new and existing contributors with easy-to-use resources all in one location, C365.EDFI.ORG.
“As Ed-Fi adoption continues to grow, we are committed to staying close to our community-first approach, which is why it made sense to revise and reinvigorate our Technical Advisory Group for 2017,” continued Wheeler. “We especially want to thank the members of the Alliance that served in the 2016 TAG and we are very pleased to welcome a new group of technologists and education leaders for this year.”
Under a renewed and more transparent charter, the Ed-Fi TAG is selected from a community-led nomination process. The group meets each month to discuss and make decisions on the technical direction of the Ed-Fi Technology Suite, with two open, in-person meetings each year. The following organizations are represented in the 2017 TAG: Arizona Department of Education, Certica Solutions, Double Line Partners, Florida CODE / NEFEC, Infinite Campus, Michigan Data Hub / KRESA, Placid Consulting, Portland Public Schools, Skyward Inc., Texas Education Agency, UPD Consulting, and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
“Ed-Fi Technology has been transformational for the schools, students and teachers that we serve in rural sections of Northern Florida. If we did not have the Ed-Fi Data Standard or the Technology Suite, these schools and their students would be far behind their peers,” said Sherod Keen, Application Support Analyst for the North East Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC) and Ed-Fi TAG member. “We are dedicated to furthering interoperability in ed-tech and we see our contribution and participation in the Ed-Fi TAG as a critically important part of moving this goal forward.”
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About the Ed-Fi Alliance: Ed-Fi Alliance, LLC, is dedicated to empowering educators with real-time, actionable education data on every student in their classrooms, schools, districts or states. Ed-Fi technology consists of a blueprint for connecting data systems combined with practical tools designed in collaboration with educators and ed-tech professionals in the field. This community continually updates the components and features of the Ed-Fi solution, and the organization actively solicits feedback and input from licensees and education technology leaders to make sure its technology makes a real difference in improving student achievement and teacher satisfaction. The Ed-Fi Alliance is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and is headquartered in Austin, TX.
