Transcript Database Courseware: Functionality and Classroom Usage

Database Courseware:
Functionality and
Classroom Usage
http://coffee.kennesaw.edu NSF Grant: 008914
Mario Guimaraes [email protected]
Recent Improvements
Recovery (Logical versus Physical writes)
Concurrency – Triggers
SQL: distinct, outer join, order by clauses
More description in the concurrency modules
Making more friendly w/ more help windows
• Set of Exams for each topic
• Evaluations
Mission
• Tutorials, exercises and animations to help
understand fundamentals of database
systems.
Problem/Motivation
• It is difficult to communicate breadth and
depth of concepts in a single course.
• Most schools follow a similar structure to
KSU.
1 core db class CSIS3310
1 elective db class CSIS4310
graduate Database classes
but not a standard as to what is taught.
NSF-CCLI-EMD (proof-ofconcept)
•
•
•
•
2 year, 75K
Originality
Evaluation
Dissemination
Related Research & Uniqueness
• Animations have been successful in programming
courses
• Very little courseware that focus on databases
• Arizona State University at Dietrich, Suzanne;
Urban, Susan D.,
– WinRDBI (Relational Algebra, Tuple Calculus, Domain
Calculus, SQL)
– 2nd DB Course (OODBMS, ORDBMS, DB on WWW,
etc.)
Method of Use
• Display one Exercise in
Scenario (Problem Specification) to E-R
E-R to Tables
Normalization, Denormalization,
SQL procedural animation
SQL construction
SQL animation through Relational Alg.
Embedded SQL
Concurrency, Recovery, Triggers
Assign exercises related to the scenario
Evaluations
• Forms filled out by students and instructors at
Kennesaw State University
• Evaluations requested at End of Semester
evaluations (Improvement)
• Control Groups (Objective)
• Evaluations by Faculty and Students from other
campuses (7 Faculty, one Provost and two Oracle
DBA)
• Evaluation by measuring amount being used
• Evaluation built into the software
Result
• 94% of students find the implementations helpful to
understanding the topics.
• “1) ER to Tables understand versus memorizing
2) SQL queries: associates known code with unknown
(multiple code windows), Reduces learning time.
3) Concurrency: allows students to control their own
pace. Reduces learning time.
Students who are unsatisfied with the class as well as the
satisfied students praised the software
• Faculty: high evaluations of the software
• Control groups showed students who used the software
obtained better results in the SQL model
• 10 institutions evaluated the software.
Dissemination
• Conferences – SIGCSE, ACM/SE, Others
• Papers, Workshops, Birds-of-Feathers
• Direct Contact w/ Faculty from other
Institutions
• Addison Wesley, Navathe, etc.
• International
Main Suggestions Received
• Not a Standard Interface (Java, VB, Flash)
• Problem Specification to Diagram Module
• Lacks module for Faculty to insert their own
problems
• Needs more exercise
• Flash part is too flashy
• Java needs to be more flashy
• VB: doesn’t run on some computers
• NSF: conclude evaluation report
CCLI-EMD (full proposal)
• Interactive Tests mapped to Animations
• New Exercises. More advanced topics
and/or creating more examples in current
topics ??
• Defining Standard Interface. Which
Interface to choose: Java or Flash ?
Main Contributers
•
•
•
•
Dr.Myers
Steven Setzer
Students in Directed Studies
Senior Class Projects
Possible projects for Students
• 1) Implementing New
Animations
Pre-requisite: Java,
Flash, or Visual Basic.
• 2) Evaluating and
Designing Database
Courseware.
• Pre-requisite:
CSIS3310 or Database
experience.
Illustration of ERD Conversion (p.1-2)
Illustration of ERD Conversion (p.2-2)
SQL Queries - Construction
SQL Query Animation w/Procedural Code
SQL animation w/ Relational Algebra
Concurrency – Simple Example
Concurrency – Credit Card Example