As students submit FAQs to the Message Board, they will be edited, organized  and posted here. Hopefully by the end of the term their will be  answers to 100s of questions  Current topics are:

The course

What do I do if I find what appears to be mistake in the course web pages?

Spring 2001 is the first time that this database management course has been given online.  Fall 2002 the site was totally revamped.  There will be errors.  Bringing them to the attention of the professor as soon as possible will mean they can be fixed and not confuse other students.  The prof encourages, and certainly does not take any offense at, the pointing out of omissions, noting of mistakes, making suggestions, providing constructive criticism.  Email the place the error or problem occurs, what appears wrong, missing etc. and any suggestions that you have to improve or fix to DBProf@sumware.com.  Thank you.

The college is closed for Thanksgiving, Spring break and such.  Am I expected to work then?

The prof usually takes that time off.  In the winter, she heads south.  Sometimes she takes her portable, but that is for creative/recreational  computing/surfing. The beauty of an online course is you can work when you want and where you want.  If you are behind, you certainly should consider using that time to catch up.  But the course has been budgeted for time that the college is closed not to have new work done by students.

Access

How do I get up to speed with Microsoft Access?

Access is used as a tool in this course, just as is Word and the Internet, rather than being a topic that is taught.  Use Access wizards whenever possible.  This will save you keystrokes, time and errors!  
Depend on the built-in Access help. (Get as close to the problem as possible, then press F1).  
Use the Answer wizard tab of Help and use the word "overview" as part of your request, like "table overview" or "form overview."
Borrow an Access book from a library.  Our buy one (see the shopbots recommended for the text).  Also check on the web for more Access hints.

My database file (name.mdb) keeps getting bigger and bigger and takes longer and longer to download.

Access is not very efficient about disk space usage.  When you delete something, its space is not reused.  So be sure to compact your database.  You can do that automatically every time you close Access if you set Access options: Tools menu, Options, General Tab, Check "Compact on close."  You can also do it manually with Tools menu, Database Utilities, Compact.

Message Board

Where can I find out more about the Message Board and the Virtual Hard Disk?

The message board (also known  as Bulletin Board and Forum) is the heart of the course.  It is piggy backed with Yahoo Briefcase to hold database files.  Instructions are on the Message Board page and the Large Files page.

Time Management

How should study time be allocated?

Each student will have to see what works best for him or her.  If you find an effective regime, why not post it on the FAQ area of the Bulletin Board.  Here is a starting point:

1. Read the text.  Plan to read it several times:
   1. skim it the first time, noting bold word and figures
   2. read it carefully the second time
   3. review
2. Take a self test
3. Read the related web sites
4. As you read, think about how you will implement the ideas in your project
5. Update your project
6. Post a brief summary of what you did on the Bulletin Board.
7. Directed by the summaries, review the updates made by your calssmates
8. Give them feedback on ways to improve/fix their projects
9. Incorporate good ideas from their projects into your project
10. Check feedback given to you and incorporate suggestions that you like into your project or dispute the value of the suggestions
11. Review the updates of of students other than your teammates
12. Give them feedback what to do to improve/fix their projects
13. Consolidate your ideas by writing a FAQ
14. Give some feedback to the prof on where you are doing well and where there appear to be roadblocks

Next time you study, start where you left off or start the whole thing over again.   You don't have to do the above tasks in the order listed.  As an estimate, you should get through the list about 10 to 15 times in the progress of the term/course.

It is expected that you will put in about 8 hours per week   This is about the same you would spend in a classroom course considering:

Plan to log on 4 or more times per week.  If you do not study 8 hours in a week, then you will probably have to study more the next week to catch up.

Don't loose your work!

"He who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it" (George Santayana) also

"She who does not save her keystrokes is doomed to rekey them!"

During the early part of the 20th century in Chicago, the government was very corrupt and the joke was there it is patriotic to "Vote early and vote often".

I have turned  it around, I say "Save your work early and your work save often!" 

Access automatically saves each record of the database when the user moves to the next.  But it does not save design work until instructed to do so via the File menu and Save or click of the save icon  .  So don't work much more than 10 minutes before you save.  In fact, whenever you sit back to admire your work on a table, relationship, query, form or report, click that save icon..  

When you Save, using File menu, Save or the black disk icon, whatever you are working on replaces whatever is on disk .  Sometimes it is a good idea to save what you are working on with a different name.  Then you don't destroy the copy that is on disk enabling you to go back to that earlier version if you don't like the newest creation.  That is done by using File menu Save As and changing the name slightly like adding a 2 or 3 to the end of it.  You can always go back and delete old versions, but it is sure nice to have them to go back to.

Saving your work is great, but catastrophes do happen (and more often it is to the uninsured).  The way to insure yourself against a hard disk melt down or other catastrophic failure is to back up your work frequently (after doing 4 or more hours of work).  You will be uploading your work to Briefcase.Yahoo.com, so that will be a backup for some work. You can get some space for free at Yahoo and several other "Virtual Hard Disk" sites for you own files too.

Internet Tips

I would rather study from paper, do you have any suggestions?

Yes.  Before you print a web page be aware of how much the darker gray in the scroll bar is as a percentage of the entire scroll bar.  If the darker area of the scroll bar fills most of the bar, then you will get one page.  If it is tiny, then printing the web "page" will result in lots of paper.  Usually, it is a good idea to highlight the part of the page that you want to print and then use  File Menu, Print and Selection Radio Button.  

The Internet changes (constantly, so me sure to date each page).  This is done on Internet Explore via File menu Page Setup.  I recommend "&w&bPage &P of &p" for header, which stands for 

For footer I recommend &u&b&d&t and your name so you know when you printed it.

How Do I make my posts to the Bulletin (Message) Board look Professional? 

The most important thing is to be clear.  Spelling errors can make your meaning less clear.  So 

You can also use some HTML:

WebCT Tips:

I wish there were more screen space.

Have your tried eliminating the navigation on the left?

Professor Pages

Is there a pointer to all Course pages?

Here is a almost complete (but growing) list: