Imagine a module that had the flexibility of webform module, with the ability to access and modify information in a database of your choosing. Schools are notoriously sold up the river by proprietary student information systems that are often mutually-incompatible and difficult to use, particularly in a manner that enables teachers, students, and parents access from home or regular old internet-connected PCs at school. If one were to migrate existing school databases into CSV format and import them into MYSQL, Drupal could manage content on a user-by-user basis that was relevant to a student's schedule, the teacher's classes, advisory caseloads, etc. When I assign homework in my classes, my students would see it in their homework lists, when anecdotal reports are due for my classes, I could submit them online and have them stored along with other student data...etc. Similar applications could be imagined for client relations.
The difficulty with building this kind of module is that school data systems are so diverse that on first glance, a custom module would require an extended, complex development time for any given school. The solution, I think, would be a webform-like module that accepts database access and query information from the form author by way of a GUI that allows each form field to be attached to database fields and rows of the author's choosing. This would obviously be an administrative module, for users with enough mySQL database access to be able to map fields into their forms, but it would drastically speed the development time for customized Drupal student/customer information tracking applications.
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