Download
1 / 19
190 likes | 308 Vues
This initiative focuses on improving database courseware to effectively communicate complex concepts in academic settings. Recent enhancements include logical versus physical writes, concurrency mechanisms, and advanced SQL functionalities such as distinct and outer join clauses. The courseware incorporates interactive tutorials, animations, and comprehensive evaluations to facilitate understanding. With a robust set of exercises and exams, it aims to enhance learning outcomes, promote effective teaching methodologies, and reduce the learning time for students engaging with database systems.
E N D
Database Courseware: Functionality and Classroom Usage http://coffee.kennesaw.edu NSF Grant: 008914 Mario Guimaraesmguimara@kennesaw.edu
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-of-concept) • 2 year, 75K • Originality • Evaluation • Dissemination
Related Research & Uniqueness • Animations have been successful in programming courses • Very little coursewarethat 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 ?
