Comparing Roster Data Models for K-12 Education Leaders, edtech vendors, and Standards bodies.

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Welcome to the
“Comparing Roster Data Models”
Webinar
Presented by Bardic Systems, Inc.
This webinar will summarize the results, and promote Q&A, about our study of the most common marketplace roster solutions and the cross-walked
comparison of roster data models we published in December, 2015.
Our goal is to help educators, data model providers, and vendors review the roster automation options and participate in planning for improvements in roster
development.
DATE: Jan 21, 2016
TIME: 3 PM Eastern / 12 PM Pacific, 90 minutes
LIVE: Interactive, question-and-answer format with panelists and callers
PRICE: Free to all attendees

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Your Hosts and Panelists
Education Data Analyst
Jill works for Quality Information
Partners as the technical
development lead for the CEDS
Normalized Data Schema.
JILL PARKES
CEDS
Business Development
Bardic Systems, Inc. Cable is a
client-focused data specialist who
is the primary contact for the
Roster Comparison spreadsheet.
CABLE DILL
Bardic Systems
CEO, OVRTR
Jason is currently engaged as
the program manager for the
RIC One initiative in New York.
JASON WRAGE
Principal Analyst
Jeff advises clients in the
education technology sector at
Eduventures, a research firm for
higher education.
JEFF ALDERSON
Eduventures
VP Marketing
Bardic Systems, Inc. Julie is a
marketing and technical
.communications specialist with a
background in product development.
JULIE LAPOLITO
Bardic Systems
John is head of A4L’s technical
projects and is an expert in
interoperability in education.
JOHN LOVELL
A4L
CEO, Bardic Systems, Inc.
Alex is a technology strategist
and data scientist, and a
nationally recognized leader in
education data and standards.
ALEX JACKL
Bardic Systems
Consultant, Architect
Dan advises the AU and UK
governments on education
technology and is the architect
of the NY RIC One project.
DAN INGVARSON
NY RIC One
OVRTR

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The Roster Comparison Project
What We Did
In Education, the Roster is a fundamental building block of instruction, assessment,
and administration. However, the specific ways that roster data is defined does not
adhere to a single standard, thus making seamless transfer of roster information still
far from a reality.
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Data definition efforts include CEDS, A4L SIF, IMS Global OneRoster, Clever, and Ed-
Fi. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages and each has been adopted
by a number of educational institutions and educational technology vendors.
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To promote interoperability, A4L sponsored Bardic Systems to produce the “Roster
Comparison Workbook,” a cross-walked comparison of the most common Roster Data
Models used by educational institutions and educational technology software
developers.
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The PDF and Excel Workbook represent the results of the study and some initial
conclusions based on what was discovered. Both are available at
www.bardicsystems.com/publications.
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Changes and Opportunities for Schools
Why Focus on Roster Management Now?
Instructional Technology: An Explosion of Apps and Services
Different School Districts Have Different Needs
Vendor Selection Shouldn’t Trap or Limit Schools
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School
Business
& Admin
HR &
Finance
Instructional
Technology
Food
Services
Compliance
Instructional Technology
Rapid Growth and Opportunity in Market
Explosion
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$
SIS, but
low
automation
$$
Use SIS & LMS
to manage data
$$$
Dedicated IT staff
Data warehouse
Custom development
Different School Districts Have Different Needs
No “One Size Fits All”
Small
Still use manual data
entry and procedures
Medium
Heavy use of CSV for
data transfer
Large
Top 100 school districts
Regional shared services
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Demand for Open Architecture
Transform Vendor/Client Relationships
Flexible Services
(within Vendor
Universe)
Flexible,
Extensible,
Highly Scalable
Tightly Integrated,
Proprietary
Platforms
Extensible,
With more Control
of Privacy and
Security

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• Identify systemic Roster
Management problems &
opportunities
• Share this work with your
technical staff
• Choose solution appropriate to
your size and budget, but plan
for growth
• Prioritize Vendor Independent
Strategy
• Create crosswalks to enable
integration with other models
• Provide basis for semantic
comparison while engaged in
model design
• Provide basic definitions for all
roster elements
• Make your offering easier for
customers to integrate into their
environment
• Use standards to avoid expensive
custom, one-off client solutions
• Provide guidance to internal
development teams
How Does Roster Comparison Benefit You?
How You Can Use This Work
Education Leaders Data Modelers Vendors
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Open Discussion – Primary Challenges
Moving the Market Forward
Insist on vendor neutrality, open
platforms, and unified standards.
Create Demand
Solutions such as Clever must
work with school’s entire
ecosystem.
Cooperate
Move toward Open Platforms
Focus on Customers
Starting with SIF & IMS data
model unifications.
Collaborate
Non-standard solutions LMS & SIS Vendors School LeadersStandards Bodies

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DESCRIPTION
Until the standards bodies collaborate to create a Common Roster, schools and vendors should move toward a SIF xPress Roster framework either in place of,
or in addition to, their current framework:
1. SIF xPress Roster is the prevailing method to pull the student rosters from Student Information Systems (SIS)
2. IMS Global’s OneRoster is the prevailing method to pull student rosters from Learning Management Systems (LMS) through LTI
3. SIF xPress Roster is the most comprehensive and vetted roster standard
• Unify one standard data
model
• Ed-Fi and Clever: adopt
unified model
SIF & IMS
• Until a unified model is
available, standardize on SIF
Xpress (or OneRoster for
content vendors)
SCHOOLS
But First, Our Recommendations
• Use the minimum viable
roster based on SIF Xpress
and OneRoster to build the
Ed-Fi roster solution
ED-FI

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For More Information
For questions about roster data strategy and to support a simplified Roster, contact
Alex Jackl, alex@bardicsystems.com1
For questions about the companion workbook, contact Cable Dill,
cable.dill@bardicsystems.com2
To learn more about SIF, the Schools Interoperability Framework, and SIF Xpress
Roster, visit A4L.org.3
Thank you for Attending!