Questions on Batch File Uploading

stanfreeda's picture
Submitted by stanfreeda(385)
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Thu, 03/29/2012 - 9:05am

Let's use this Discussion to ask and answer questions about collecting, formatting, and uploading your data.

In response to feedback received from the consortia members and State Readiness Coordinators, we have revised the file layouts and templates. The revised documents can be accessed on the Home page of the Technology Readiness Tool after logging in to www.TechReadiness.org and at www.assess4ed.net in the private group for SRCs.

The following changes have been made:

·         Fields in the Device File Layout and School Survey File Layout that are required for gap analysis have been labeled as required. However, to allow flexibility in upload, the field may be left blank. Over time, fewer blanks should be present for these required fields to allow more complete gap analysis.

·         The Device File Layout now includes two additional options for the Device Type field. Users can identify devices as Thin Client/VDI or Other in addition to the previously identified options.

If you have formatted files using the previously posted layouts, you do not necessarily need to recreate your files. Data that has already been uploaded does not need to be edited unless you would like to change a device’s designation of device type. If you would like to change a previously uploaded device’s type to Thin Client/VDI or Other, you may do so through the Devices Inventory/Edit Devices screen rather than via an upload if you prefer.

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stanfreeda
stanfreeda1 year 8 weeks ago

Some information on the Batch Files

The file layouts and templates for bulk uploading of information into the Technology Readiness Tool are attached. To load these files, please access the Batch File Importing & Exporting screen at the appropriate time (see below), select the file type(s) you would like to import, and click Start Tasks.   

The following provides additional information about each of these file layouts that may be helpful to you as you collect the data to upload. Notice that file formatting requirements are listed at the bottom of each attached file layout document.

Organizations File Import Layout and Template

Purpose: The Organizations File upload is part of the setup of the Technology Readiness Tool and will create an organizational hierarchy to which users can add readiness data. Before readiness data can be added, a hierarchy of organizations must be set up.

Can be loaded by: State Readiness Coordinators (SRCs) and District_Admin users. SRCs can upload one file for the entire state that includes all organizations for which data should be entered. If SRCs would like to share the responsibility of uploading organizations, they can load all districts and request that their district users upload the schools in their districts or enter manually through the tool. District users must be set up as District_Admin users when user accounts are created in order to be able to upload the Organizations File.

Note:  This data is already uploaded, but users with District_Admin status can make edits and corrections.

Note:  The tool has two levels and we have used SAU and school as those levels.  NH SAUs in the tool are treated like districts, and each school is a "child" of the SAU "parent".  This was done for ease of superintendents and principals to have access to all data from the districts in multiple district SAUs.

When the Organizations File should be loaded: The Organizations File should be loaded prior to the opening of the first data collection window. SRCs may start loading data on February 14, 2012, and should have organizations in place before district and school users are instructed to begin entering data.

Ways to edit organizations: SRCs and the District_Admin users may maintain the organizations within the state by loading additional files. The system will match organizations in additional file uploads to the data in the tool. If an organization exists with the same organization code and state code as an organization in the new file upload, the data will replace the data for that organization. If no match is found, a new organization will be created.SRCs and District_Admin users also may edit organizations one-by-one through the Organizations Management screens. In order to replace an organization’s information, the organization code in the file must match the organization code in the tool.

Users File Import Layout and Template

Purpose: The Users File upload is part of the setup of the Technology Readiness Tool and will create accounts for the individuals listed in the file.User accounts must be set up for all individuals expected to log-in to the tool and enter data. Once the user accounts file is loaded, each user will receive an email to the email address listed in the file that will provide the user name and instructions for setting up a password.

Can be loaded by: State Readiness Coordinators and District_Admin users. If SRCs would like to share the responsibility of creating user accounts, they may load all district user accounts and request that their district users upload the schools in their districts or enter manually through the tool. District users must be set up as District_Admin users when user accounts are created for them in order to be able to upload the User Accounts File.

Note:  The state establish District_Admin users for all principals and superintedents in NH.  They can, in turn, set up School and District users for all people who will be responsible for the data input.

When the Users File should be loaded: The Users File should be loaded prior to the opening of the first data collection window. SRCs may start loading data on February 14, 2012 and should have data in place before district and school users are instructed to begin entering data.

Ways to edit users: SRCs and the District_Admin users may maintain the user accounts by files. The system will match user accounts in additional file uploads to the data in the tool. If a user account exists with the same user name and state code as a user account in the new file upload, the data will replace the data for that user account. If no match is found, a new user account will be created.SRCs and District_Admin users also may edit user accounts one-by-one through the User Accounts & Permissions screens.

Devices File Import Layout and Template

Purpose: The Devices File upload enters some readiness data into the tool. Each line of data in the Devices File will create a device record within the tool. Additional readiness data is added via the School Survey File.

Can be loaded by: State Readiness Coordinators, District_Admin, District, and School users. SRCs and district users may load partial information that is available at the state or district level to the tool and request the district and/or school users fill in any data not provided.

When the Devices File should be loaded: The Devices File should be loaded during the data collection window to be included in results.*

Ways to edit devices: SRCs, District_Admin, District, and School users may maintain data by loading additional devices or by replacing all device data via a file upload. Users will have the option to append or replace existing data on the Batch File Importing & Exporting screen. SRCs, District_Admin, District, and School users also may edit user accounts one-by-one through the Device Inventory Management screens.

School Survey File Import Layout and Template

Purpose: The School Survey File upload enters some readiness data into the tool. Each line of data in the School Survey File add school survey information within the tool, which can be accessed through the Organizations Management screens. The file adds school-level data, including infrastructure data, estimated student counts, and staff & personnel readiness data. Additional readiness data is added via the Devices File.

Can be loaded by: State Readiness Coordinators, District_Admin, District, and School users. SRCs and district users may load partial information that is available at the state or district level to the tool and request the district and/or school users fill in any data not provided.

When the School Survey File should be loaded: The School Survey File should be loaded during the data collection window to be included in results.*

Ways to edit School Survey Information: SRCs, District_Admin, District, and School users may maintain data by uploading a new file to replace the data forschools already existing in the system. The tool will match the organization codes and state codes to schools in the system and replace the data for the matching schools with the information in the file. SRCs, District_Admin, District, and School users also may edit school survey information through the Organizations Management screens.

stanfreeda
stanfreeda1 year 8 weeks ago

Tips on Uploading Data

  • You will need to upload the organization file prior to loading the other files, since the data is associated with specific organizations.  Your organizational data has already been uploaded into the system, along with all principals and superintendents as district level users.
  • Your district level administrators can establsh school level users who can upload the devices, and school survey data for your specific organizations.
  • The file you upload should be in .csv format. Save your excel template files as .csv files and load them into the tool.
  • The files do not interact per se, but once data is in the system, your subsequent uploads of additional data files will flesh out the data in the tool. Once the organization data is in the tool, the users file will associate users with those organization. You will, however, need to upload both an organization file and a user file (the individuals listed in the user file will not automatically have accounts until you include their information in the users file).
  • You should not add columns to the spreadsheet. The system accepts data according to the data layouts and templates and any extra data added will generate an error.
  • The organization codes can be whatever you assign as long as they are unique. In many cases, the school code will be the district code plus additional digits for the school code (concatenated district and school codes).
stanfreeda
stanfreeda1 year 8 weeks ago

Templates and Upload Errors

Templates and Upload Errors

If you downloaded the templates prior to mid-March, you might have old templates which could cause issues. The latest templates are linked from http://assess4ed.net/document/template-trt-tool-batch-import-file-layouts

If you are using the latest templates, and you're still getting "token errors," make sure the "data" values do not include commas. For example, if a school name includes a comma, you'll need to change the comma to some other character.

The error output page includes the line number as the first field so that can help you isolate the problem in the import file. If you post an example of some of the errors, we might be able to give you ideas on what might be wrong.
 

stanfreeda
stanfreeda1 year 8 weeks ago

Bandwidth question and answer

Many districts have internet access in consortium with others.  In most cases, this is a chunk of bandwidth that is shared by all without an individual allocation per district.  How should this be collected/reported in the school survey?

To represent the bandwidth in this situation, try to represent the actual bandwidth available to each specific school, but also assume that all schools with the shared bandwidth are testing at the same time and drawing down a representative proportion of data traffic.

For this first data collection window, please select the slowest connection speed at the school.

stanfreeda
stanfreeda1 year 6 weeks ago

Device File layout and template have been revised

In response to feedback received from the consortia members and State Readiness Coordinators, we have revised the Device file layout and template. The revised documents can be accessed on the Home page of the Technology Readiness Tool after logging in to www.TechReadiness.org and at www.assess4ed.net in the private group for SRCs.

The following change has been made:

The Device File Layout and Template now includes an additional option for the Operating System field. Users can identify the Operating System as Google Chrome in addition to the previously identified options.

If you have formatted files using the previously posted layout, you do not necessarily need to recreate your files. Data that has already been uploaded does not need to be edited unless you would like to change a device’s designation of operating system. If you would like to change a previously uploaded device’s operating system to Google Chrome, you may do so through the Devices Inventory/Edit Devices screen rather than via an upload if you prefer. The Frequently Asked Questions will be updated to reflect that data will not need to be revised to respond to this change or the recent addition of Thin Client/VDI and Other to the device type options.

Thank you,

Technology Readiness Tool Program Team

TechReadinessTool@Pearson.com