Data Driven Decisions

Over the last twenty months, I have heard and learned a lot about data driven decision making. My husband, after a trip to Washington DC with his Pepperdine University cadre decided he was going to focus his attention on DDD, education and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). He worked with Micki Tubbs and in July they successfully defended and this Friday it will become official - they will become one of the newest EdTech doctorates! Congrats Cal and Micki !!

Since then I have been very much aware of it. I see it more often in library literature. I have always known that data can get you through doors that otherwise would have been closed, but I see it being used more often outside of the educational realm, being integrated in consumer goods.

A recent blog post by Will Richardson talked about his Prius and how using the data helped him get better gas mileage. I replied that I too had a Prius - two of them, and we now have a Camry hybrid and love the fact that they are constantly giving the driver real time data on their driving habits to assist them in becoming more efficient drivers. In my Prius, I always was shooting for trying to get the gauge to record 100 mpg, knowing that it would help in getting my mpg higher than it was when I started. (I once drove an entire day getting 50+ mpg.) In my Camry, the gauge not only shows me the data, but if I did well, I get an "Excellent" message and my speedometer gets a blue ring around it. Very positive reinforcement!

This weekend shopping, I noticed the new Oral B toothbrush Triumph has also gone with DDD. Their wireless SmartGuide monitor notifies you when to switch areas, how hard you are brushing and when you need a replacement head. It keeps the data for months, so you can track your progress! Very cool tool. (I have the previous Oral B toothbrush, which beeps every 30 seconds to tell you to switch areas - I may have to upgrade!)