Last week, I found myself struggling with user account management. If you’ve ever had to do this, you know what a pain it can be, especially when you’re dealing with a mess of CSV files (comma-separated values a.k.a. comma-delimited) pulled from a learning management system. The LMS knows how the files fit together, but you have to figure that out, identifying the primary key(s), and more. It made me realize something I’d like to share with you, an important life lesson.
Some History First
I remember my first database efforts, working with VisiCalc Spreadsheet, then graduating to Alpha IV database on an Apple //e. It was my use of Alpha IV that helped organize information for my elementary school in Edgewood ISD and allowed me to run reports that the site-based committee and principal needed. As you might imagine, it made me quite popular. Before that, I had played around with Paradox database program, DBase, and others.
And, while still in the classroom in East Texas, I remember exploring Filemaker Pro 2, thinking this was one of the greatest database programs ever. I taught myself how to use it (not hard), and was soon organizing information using FMP. I relied on Filemaker Pro up to version 12 but my favorite version of it was Filemaker Pro 6, which I managed to get a legal copy of through a giveaway at a conference. I kept that copy sitting on my shelf, against the day I might need a powerful database. To be honest, I didn’t care for the later versions of Filemaker Pro.
At a regional education service center and a large urban school district, I took advantage of Filemaker Pro to move mountains. I helped design online, database-backed websites so people could register for online courses, manage budgets, and more.
My mentor was a dear friend,
Helen Baca, who passed away in 2016. We did amazing things at the Education Service Center, Region 20, and even more at Northside ISD with the Pathways to Advance Virtual Education (PAVE) grant thanks to the wisdom of Mark Gabehart. I learned much about how to wield databases, and Helen was right there, eventually taking the lead for initiatives in Northside ISD.
It wasn’t until much later that I jumped into MySQL, learning Structured Query Language (SQL) to create online databases to organize technology inventory in my school district. But once again, Claris Filemaker was what I used in the FIRST version, until too many simultaneous hits (56K student district, lots of campuses).
Wow, it’s amazing to look back and realize what database tools made possible.
Remnants of Memory
As I found myself working my way through learning management system’s CSV files, I had to recreate the database. Not having the MySQL chops anymore, I ended up reverting back to Filemaker Pro 6. In no time, I found myself creating databases, sorting and selecting, defining relationships (it’s a thing to create connections between separate tables using a primary key), and time flew.
What a joy it was to rediscover my love for Filemaker Pro 6, and the fun I had with databases. Sure, my brain hurt, but that may help me stave off Alzheimer’s.
The life lesson, that remnants of what I learned when I was 27 in East Texas classroom endure to help me get work done. My advice to young folks? Go deep and learn all you can when you are younger…it will linger long in your memory and arise when you need it again.
Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients.
Read Full Disclosure
Another Think Coming 