DB: Syllabus for CIS204
CIS204 Database Design Syllabus ---note there are many hyperlinks on this page, Be sure to follow them!

Instructor Information
Name Mrs Maureen Lampel Greenbaum
Email DBProf@sumware.com Please provide a complete subject!
Office location Cranford H107
Office hours 1/2 hour before and 1/2 hour after any of my classes in the computer lab
Phone email works best 
Biography See resume and my web site for more info
Course Goals
DB Uses
DB Terminology
DB Techniques
bulletLearn the uses of databases in modern business organizations. 
bulletUnderstand the terminology used in database design and management. 
bulletLearn the basic theory and techniques of database design and modeling. 
bulletThrough practice, be able to design and develop a database management system from the initial planning phase through to the final implementation.
bulletExperience the team approach to the phases of database design
How the course will Work
This course will  be different in many ways  from most courses you have taken 
bulleteach student will work on a different self-selected term-long project
bulletstudents are required to help each other by reviewing the work of classmates, making suggestions and actually changing a copy to improve/correct it
bulletwork will be shared by posting it on a bulletin board
bullet grades derived from 
bulletcourse participation on the message board
bulletwork on your own database that posted on a Virtual Hard Disk and summarized on the Message Board
Prerequisites
Union County College Introduction to Computers, CIS101, or Access, CIS116. 
Working knowledge of Windows, Microsoft (MS) Office, and MS Access
Comfort in taking a course over the Internet
Textbooks
Reading Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management, Fifth EditionA combination of required text  Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management, Fifth Edition by Peter Rob, Carlos Coronel, Course Technology 2002, ISBN 061906269x

optionally other texts, and Internet websites.

CourseDirectCourse Direct gives you at least 10% off ($66.55)  and they provide a  link to complete Chapter 1 so you can start reading before the book arrives.

Materials
  Hardware: A Macintosh or Pentium PC with an Internet connection.

Software: Microsoft Word 2000, Microsoft Access 2000, Shareware Diagram Drawing Tool, SmartDraw

This course has multiple components, be sure to sample all of them, and then make the most use of the ones you find most helpful.

bullet the text
bulletselected web sites
bulletthe message board
bulletFAQs
bulletGlossary 
bulletSelf Tests
Using the Message Board
  The Bulletin Board, also known as a Message Board or Forum, is central to the course.  It is the online course equivalent for class discussion.  Students are expected to visit the board a minimum of four times a week.  At that time you will post your own work, and view and critique to work of fellow students
Policies
Cheating Policy

(see UCC 1999-2001 catalog page 38)

Students are expected to uphold the school's standard of conduct relating to academic honesty. Students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work they submit. The guiding principle of academic integrity shall be that a student's submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be that of the student's own work. Students shall be guilty of violating the honor code if they:

  1.  Represent the work of others as their own.

  2.  Use or obtain unauthorized assistance in any academic work.

  3. Give unauthorized assistance to other students.

  4.  Modify, without instructor approval, an examination, paper, record, or report for the purpose of obtaining additional credit.

  5.  Misrepresent the content of submitted work.

The penalty for violating the honor code is severe. Any student violating the honor code is subject to receive a failing grade for the course and may be subject to disciplinary action as described in the Student Handbook. If a student is unclear about whether a particular situation may constitute an honor code violation, the student should meet with the instructor to discuss the situation.

General advice and interaction between students is encouraged. Each person, however, must develop his or her own solutions to the assigned homework and laboratory exercises. Students may not "work together" on graded assignments. Such collaboration constitutes cheating, unless it is a grouped assignment. A student may not use or copy (by any means) another's work (or portions of it) and represent it as his/her own. If you need help on an assignment, be sure to contact your instructor.

A. Becoming a Successful Online Student
Date First week
Objectives or Goals Some of you have taken an online course before. But probably most have not.  Learn how to successful in this new and different environment.
Readings Read some of the Web Sites with suggestions and self inquiry questions
Assignments Take the professor's questionnaire. (required) 
Get the book.  Skim the book (Parts 1, 2 an 3 pages 1 to 210)
B. Introduce Yourself
Date 2nd week (Jan 30-Feb 5)
Objectives or Goals Because we can't meet face to face, we still need to build community. We will use the message board to introduce ourselves and find others in the class with whom we have things.
This is a chance to get comfortable with the message board.  When to use compose message and when to use reply.  Please read (study) the message board carefully because it makes  the entire term more difficult for all students if you use it improperly.  
Readings Chapter 1.  Available online.
Assignments
bulletBecome familiar with course site.
bulletGo to the Message Board and Introduce Yourself.  Respond to the introduction of 3 fellow students.  If possible, respond to their responses, etc.
Part I: Part 1 Background - Introduction, The relational model and Database application lifecycle 
Date 3rd week (Feb 6 to 12)
Objectives or Goals  
Readings Chapter 1.  Available online.  Reread sections 1.1, bold terms are important.  Section 1.5, particularly 1.5.3, Relational Database Model ,which is the basis of the entire tr.
Assignments Read all assignments.  Check out the suggest websites. Post questions on the  Message Board.  Think about the topic of your database.  Be brave, post a raw idea (send it up the flagpole and see who salutes)
Part 2: Database Design and analysis and design techniques First time through the concepts
Date 3rd and 4th week (Feb 13 to 19)
Objectives or Goals  
Readings Part 2.4 Fact-finding, Entity-Relationship modeling, Normalization (pages 51 to 118)
Assignments Document your database plan and critique the plans of classmates.

Practice designing databases by naming the entities in several typical database systems:

Part 3: Logical Database Design
Date 5th and 6th week (Feb 20 to 26)
Objectives or Goals
bulletTo identify and describe basic Entity Relationship (E-R) diagram components: entities, attributes, and relationships.
bulletTo develop data modeling skills.
bulletTo learn how to use business rules to develop the E-R diagram components.
bulletTo create E-R diagrams as database blueprints.
bulletTo interpret E-R diagrams.
bulletTo use SQL to implement a database from an E-R diagram.
Readings

E-R Model Websites

Assignments Create an E-R Model of your database tables and critique classmates.
Part 2: Database Design and analysis and design techniques - Normalization
Date 7th and 8th week (Feb 27 to Mar 26)  * * Spring Break Mar 11 to 16) * *
Objectives or Goals  
Readings Part 2.5 Entity-Relationship modeling (pages 81 to 101)
Assignments Normalize your database tables and critique classmates.
Chapter 6:  Views/Queries 
Date 9th and 10th week (Mar 27 to April 9
Objectives or Goals  
Readings Part 4 Physical database Design
Assignments Prepare Queries for your database tables and critique classmates.
Forms
Date 11th & 12th (April 10 to 23) 
Objectives or Goals  
Readings  
Assignments Prepare Forms for your database tables and critique classmates.
 Reports and Menus
Date 13th  thru 15th (April 24 to May 10)
Objectives or Goals  
Readings  
Assignments Prepare Reports and Menu(s) for your database tables and critique classmates.
Final Week May 13 to 17 (Note final will be posted around 5/11 and must be submitted by 5/17 @1pm)
Building FAQ   
Objectives or Goals To help students this term, and other in terms to follow, to get answers to Frequently Asked Questions. It will assist me in seeing where students are having problems and tailor the course to address those problems.
Assignments At frequently as you wish, but a minimum of 5 times throughout the term, post a FAQ and answer on the Message Board.

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This page was created by Professor Maureen Greenbaum and was last updated on 12/21/05 .

Page Name:  Collaboration in DB
URL:             http://faculty.ucc.edu/business-greenbaum/DB/Collaboration.htm
Disclaimer:    http://www.ucc.edu/professional_disclaimer.htm
Copyright:      ã Maureen Greenbaum 2001, 2002.  All rights reserved.