Database Courseware: Functionality and Classroom Usage

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• Database Courseware Functionality and Classroom
  Usage

http//coffee.kennesaw.edu NSF Grant 008914
Mario Guimaraes mguimara_at_kennesaw.edu
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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

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Mission

• Tutorials, exercises and animations to help
  understand fundamentals of database systems.

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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.

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NSF-CCLI-EMD (proof-of-concept)

• 2 year, 75K
• Originality
• Evaluation
• Dissemination

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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.)

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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

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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

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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.

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Dissemination

• Conferences SIGCSE, ACM/SE, Others
• Papers, Workshops, Birds-of-Feathers
• Direct Contact w/ Faculty from other Institutions
• Addison Wesley, Navathe, etc.
• International

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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 doesnt run on some computers
• NSF conclude evaluation report

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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 ?

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Illustration of ERD Conversion (p.1-2)
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Illustration of ERD Conversion (p.2-2)
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SQL Queries - Construction
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SQL Query Animation w/Procedural Code
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SQL animation w/ Relational Algebra
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Concurrency Simple Example
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Concurrency Credit Card Example