Classroom Databases That Start with Useful Data

Start with a question

Open Database Check → Classroom Templates. A library catalog can start a conversation about genre and reading length. Weather Watch invites students to compare simulated rain and temperature. A class project budget lets them calculate quantity × unit cost and explain their spending priorities. Each starter includes two reflection questions in teacher notes.

The complete catalog covers library catalogs, science observations, state facts, book reviews, vocabulary, surveys, museum cards, weather, gardens, budgets, reading goals, classroom jobs and makerspace supplies, plus linked library loans and investigation trials. There are 17 tables and 204 records across the starters. A new Animals project starts with 12 records too.

People, books, observations and measurements are fictional practice data, so a class can explore patterns without entering real student information. For a research project, verify factual claims, add sources and replace the sample records with class findings.

See why two tables can be better than one

Choose Library Books & Loans. It adds 12 books and 12 loans, with a book ID connecting each loan to its book. A book can appear in several loan records. Choose Investigations & Trials to explore 12 investigations and 12 simulated results; some investigations have repeated trials and others are waiting for a first result.

Open Keys & Relationships to see the PK and FK fields, table connections and an example based on the selected tables. Pick a parent by its name while ListSplat stores its ID. Use the arrow to open the parent record. Ask students why a repeated book title is less dependable than a unique identifier.

Primary keys must be unique and nonempty. New relationships check references, reject duplicate one-to-one links and prevent edits or deletions that would leave child records without a parent. One-to-one relationships can also connect a primary key in one table to a primary key in the other.

Bring in a Markdown table

Use File → Import → Markdown table to paste a table or select a .md file. If a document contains several tables, choose the one you want. Preview its columns, choose field types, then add a new table or append records to the current table. Escaped pipes and empty cells are supported; cell content stays plain text. CSV/TSV import and CSV export remain available.

Save the native .listsplat.json project when you want to keep all tables, keys, relationships and teacher notes together. CSV and Markdown exchange table records rather than a complete relational project.

Give the same data a different view

Try table, form, cards, gallery, list, board, calendar, labels or report. Sort numeric columns, search observations, summarize measurements, or print museum labels. The workspace has clearer icons and calmer surfaces. File actions live in File, Undo/Redo live in Edit, table tabs have close/reopen controls and dialogs have a close button at the top.

Loading a template adds its tables to the current project. Existing saved data is preserved; older two-row examples are not silently replaced. Choose a starter again to load a fresh expanded copy.

Take the classroom examples offline

The separate ListSplat v0.2.0 ZIP includes the app, expanded templates, source, licenses and local launcher. Extract it and open START-HERE.html; Python 3 is required for the launcher. Schools can also upload its included folders to a static host or copy them into an existing suite installation.

The general v3.1.45 suite ZIP predates this ListSplat refresh. Use the current individual ListSplat download to update that app. Local editing and bundled examples work offline; optional Google Drive saving needs internet access and an OAuth client for your installation.

ListSplat feature guide · Downloads and checksum · Template catalog and README