Excel: The software that’s hard to quit
The BBC website recently published this article marking the fortieth anniversary of the first release of Excel.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyxkzjpp87o
Yes, it is a sign of getting old, when we say, how long? Forty years of Excel!
I remember my first encounter with Excel way back when. I had organised a geography project, looking at vehicle movements through a local market town. A couple of boys who were “good with computers” volunteered to automate the process and introduced me to Excel.
Since then, I, like countless others in education, have produced tens, if not hundreds of the things. They have acted as electronic mark books, monitored pupil progress, enabled question level analysis and tracked behaviour and other interventions. They are relatively easy to create, are very flexible and can usually be adapted as needs change.
So, what’s not to like?
Well, according to the article, quite a lot.
Tom Wilkie, chief technology officer of data visualization firm Grafana noted that
“Excel is just a really good tool. If you want to look at a small dataset, try an idea, or make a quick chart for a presentation, there’s nothing better for quick and easy analysis,”
However, he goes on to say that the data in a spreadsheet is not centrally controlled, and this makes it difficult for dots to be joined up so that the big picture can be seen. This is true in schools, where each department and pastoral team can have their own bespoke spreadsheets, making it difficult for one person to obtain the all-important overview of a child.
This can be inconvenient in a school, where word of mouth and round robin emails can gather information, but can have very serious consequences when information needs to be transferred between schools. This could be at transition or should a child move to an alternative provision. In both cases, there is little scope for informal information gathering.
Sharing is so easy, but…
Of course, spreadsheet data can be shared, but the consequences can be very serious if the tightest of checks are not enforced. Who remembers the problems which occurred when a spreadsheet was accidently released in 2022 containing the personal details of people fleeing Afghanistan?
Could the same thing happen with spreadsheets containing the details of pupils moving into reception classes from early years settings, or transferring from primary to secondary schools? It is probably a matter of when, not if.
A data sharing agreement?
It’s so easy to share data between institutions through spreadsheets, that we must realise that the world has turned a few times over the last 40 years.
- You would not take a child out of school without permission from home: nor should you transfer their data.
- You would not take a child out of school without a risk assessment. Again, you should not do that with their data either.
“But getting teams and individuals off Excel is a challenge.”
It is a challenge, but fortunately Pupil Pathways offers a route forward for those all-important transitions.
- The data is centrally controlled and consistent, enabling the all-important overview to be seen.
- The data is securely stored in a GDPR-compliant way.
- Access can be controlled. You decide who sees what and for how long.
- It comes with a full data-sharing agreement.
- There is a full risk assessment.
The best of both worlds
So, whilst we agree with most of what the article states, “getting teams and individuals off Excel” is not that difficult for transition. It simply starts by you completing the form on our contact form to start the discussion. But, by the way, there are still the options to download data into Excel because “there’s nothing better for quick and easy analysis”.
We look forward to hearing from you.
