Hello Welcome to CIS 205 Database Management Section 900 Summer 2024 7A Online Semester

Hi all, this is a lengthy welcome message. One of the first things that I would like to bring to everyone’s attention is that this is a 7A online section of the CIS 205 Course. During the Face-to-Face, Hybrid, and Online 7A sections of the course, the class typically covers the same material usually studied in a 15A 15-week section of the course during the semester.

In this seven-week version of the course, students should allocate no less than 10 hours a week to reading course material and reviewing the guided video tutorials associated with the applied practice assignments and applied homework assignments. This may not include the expected time for students to study and complete homework assignments.

In a 15A section of the course, at a minimum, students should allocate between 5 to 10 hours a week to the course to study the weekly material, review the guided videos, do the class practice assignments, and do class homework assignments. All students should plan their schedules accordingly to meet the demands of this course over the next 7 weeks.

There is a collection of videos that will supplement the face-to-face experience. Part of your time should be allocated to reviewing this lecture material. Lecture material will consist of watching lecture videos, reading the textbook, and reading supplement reading documents that focus on important concepts in Database Technology. Most supplement reading documents will be in PDF format or accessed through a hyperlink to a website.

Students should be focused on completing practice assignments associated with guided videos first. These practice assignments are assigned to prepare students for the problem-solving-centered Homework Assignments that are associated with the Practice Assignments.

Students should also be focused on participating in the weekly Discussion Assignments. Some discussion Assignments will focus on concepts in the chapter assignments for the week. Other discussion assignments will focus on ethical issues in Computer Technology, Database Technology, and Ethical Issues in Information Processing. Students should always post at least three replies to each discussion assignment. Their reply, and at least two replies to other students.

It is very important to work consistently weekly on this course. There is no silver bullet assignment. Students that succeed in this course do so by contributing regularly to the weekly assignments. The course includes a Midterm Exam and a Final Exam.

Some of your time should be allocated to lab sessions that include practice assignments that will parallel the skills required to do the actual weekly homework assignments. Both the practice assignments and the actual homework assignments will be graded. The actual homework assignments will have more points associated with the assignment. Most practice assignments will have an associated video to watch. The video will simulate an in-class demonstration on a projection screen or smartboard. You can ask questions on assignments by sending emails to your professor.

Communication by Email and Responding to Email Questions

I will try to respond to questions by email within 24 hours. When asking questions on an assignment, students should attach the document file associated with the current version of the assignment that they are working on, and the name of the assignment as listed in the Canvas LMS to the email. Students should also describe and identify the problem that they are having with the assignment and the line number where the problem is occurring if it is a SQL coding assignment.

The course uses the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). All homework and practice assignments will be issued from Canvas and submitted to Canvas. There will be weekly homework assignments. This means that you will have to complete assignments and do some studying of material at a distance and outside of any class meetings. You will access the content of the course through the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). There are also some weekly quizzes. The quizzes are also accessed through the Canvas LMS.

Another important fact, this is also a second-level college technology course. Therefore, you should check your CCP email, Canvas Messaging, and the Canvas LMS for assignment announcements and updates regularly while taking this course. This practice will ensure that students are updated on any special announcements and updates on assignment submission Due Dates and Until Dates.

Course Content

This course introduces students to the design, implementation, and use of relational databases using enterprise-level Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS). During the first couple of weeks of class, you will study what this means. Students will also study to use Modern Data Modeling Languages such as Chen Diagramming and Crow’s-foot and Chen Modeling Notation.

Students will also study Structured Query Language (SQL). The course covers fundamental database design and implementation techniques and provides hands-on exercises for applying the techniques to real-world problems using professional modeling software and Relational Database Management software such as Oracle, MySQL, and MariaDB.

It will be every student’s responsibility to participate in homework activities, practice activities, and reading activities. You will be responsible for covering and studying all the material presented in the course. As the semester progresses, it will be to your advantage to read ahead and be prepared for the topics. The reference material in the modules will be available for your review throughout the semester.

The Course Syllabus

You should begin this course by first going over the class Syllabus. The syllabus is the binding contract that instructors have with their students. I placed a Video in Canvas reviewing highlighted sections of the syllabus. There are a few major reading activities this week and practice assignments. Several of these will focus on getting your development environments downloaded and set up. The others will get the class prepared for participating in the first round of SQL SELECT Query Assignments.

Students can also start reading Chapter 1 in our course’s textbook. These chapters will prepare students for the weekly quizzes for this week and the discussion topics for next week. I will go over this material in class or through lecture videos. Online sections of the course must use guided video tutorials. The link to the lecture videos can be found at the bottom of the Modules in the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).

I will also list the names of links to the lecture videos in the weekly class announcements. Finally, students should read and study the PDF Document using Relational Database Management Systems. This is a supplement support document on understanding the basic framework of relational databases, and tables and for writing Single Table SELECT Queries.

Guidelines and Rules for Getting Full Credit for Discussion Assignments

In the first half of the semester, several discussion assignments will get published weekly. Discussion assignments are collaborative class assignments. To get full credit, when participating in a discussion forum, you must first post your unique contribution and then post at least two other students' contributions to the discussion. Students not replying to two students in the discussion will lose points in the discussion assignment.

When replying to discussion assignments, there are a couple of guidelines to follow.

Students must reply across multiple days during the start date and Due Date that the discussion assignment was published. Students should not make multiple comments on a single day or at the last minute. The purpose of discussion assignments is to have an asynchronous chat or discussion on specific topics. If students wait until the last minute to participate in discussion assignments, the entire class does not have an opportunity to review submissions and share them with the class. As a result of this, points will be deducted from discussion assignment grades that do not contribute to the discussion across multiple days that the discussion assignment has been published.

Students must be specific in their replies to other students. For example, students must specify what they agree with or like about another student’s submission to the discussion. Inversely, if a student is in disagreement with another student’s submission to the discussion, the student must specify what they disagree with or dislike about the other student’s submission to the discussion. As a result of this, points will be deducted from discussion assignment grades for students that do not reply to other students with clear and concise replies detailing the positive or negative aspects of the other student's submission.

It will be every student’s responsibility to read the chapters in the textbook, review the lecture slides, and review any additional supplementary documents in the assigned modules. The practice activities will focus on lectures and applied activities to reinforce the concepts covered in the textbook. These activities include practice assignments and lab time to review problems that you are having in any applied assignment. The quizzes and exams are to be done in the Canvas LMS.

Textbook for the Course

A digital version of the course textbook is included with the fees of the course. The textbook can be accessed through the links in the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).

Below is the Textbook Information:

Database Systems: Design, Implementation & MGNT (Custom)

Edition: 13th

ISBN: 9781337627931

Author: Coronel

Publisher: Cengage Learning Custom Publishing

Formats: Adobe Digital Editions

There is a recommended format that you should follow to increase your success in this course. Every week, students should do the following.

Read the overview page in each module assigned.
Read the lecture notes posted in the assigned modules.
Read the assigned chapters in the course’s textbook.
Participate in the discussion forums in the assigned Canvas Modules
Attempt the practice exercise.
Complete the assignments in the assigned Canvas Modules
Complete the applied assignments in Canvas.

More emphasis and points will be placed on the applied homework assignments as opposed to the in-class practice assignments. Practice assignments are primarily for getting you prepared for the applied homework assignments.
You access weekly assigned material in Canvas by selecting the Modules link to the left of the screen when you log into Canvas and select this section of the CIS 205 course. Every week, I will send you an email outlining the assignments, discussions, and quizzes for the week. You can also track the assignments by logging into Canvas and viewing the assigned weekly Module. Most weeks will have a combination of activities in Canvas.

Once you log into Canvas, there is a getting started presentation in the Introduction Module. Students should review the links in the Getting Started Module.

Weekly, you will have assignments in Canvas. You should read the weekly overview to get an understanding of the assignments that are in Canvas. I will go over this with you in the first week’s lecture material. There are also Lecture Videos.

In addition to the textbook, the course relies heavily upon notes, tutorials, Internet references, and exercises distributed by the instructor. Each week, the Website for the class, Canvas, will be updated to include links to the upcoming week’s material. The Website for the class is accessed through the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). I will review how to access the Canvas LMS in our introduction to the course lecture Video. Students should review the video on the first day of class.

I am also encouraging students to go to the following online interactive tutorials to practice working on SQL Statements. The class will start by studying SQL SELECT Statements

http://www.sqlcourse.com/
http://www.w3schools.com/sql

Students will need a Professional Text Editor

During the course, students will need to use a professional text editor that is SQL enabled. The recommended Text Editor for the course is the (Visual Studio Code) Text Editor. This software is installed on every computer in the classrooms and SACC Open Computers Lab in C3-17. It comes with SQL-enabled attributes without the need for modifications. Visual Studio Code is the text editor that I will use in the assigned videos focusing on writing SQL Script and during in-class illustrations.

Link to download Visual Studio Code

https://code.visualstudio.com/download

Visual Studio Code is an Open-Source Text Editor. In this course, students should use it to create SQL commands. It recognizes reserved words and another special syntax in the SQL Database Language. I will use this editor to illustrate examples of SQL Scripts. All SQL Script must be written using a text editor, not a word processing program.

Students with Apple Computers may also use the Visual Studio Code Text Editor. It is a cross-platform text editor. I recommend downloading and installing Visual Studio Code if you are using a Mac Operating System (OS). The Mac operating system comes with MySQL built into it. However, on the Mac, it is not a command-line-driven interface that we will be working on in class using Windows. It will be more problematic trying to run Command Line Interface (CLI) queries on a Mac.

If you are using a Mac (OS), you may have to download and install a program named Heidi from the MariaDB Website. Alternately, Mac users may have to learn to operate in Terminal Mode to emulate a similar experience as the command line mode in Windows.

When submitting SQL script for assessment and grading, all SQL Script Assignments must be submitted in a text format with a SQL extension on the filename. Students cannot use a Word Processor to write the SQL Script. Students must use a Text Editor.

Students with Linux OS Platforms may also use the Visual Studio Code Text Editor

Course Learning Outcomes

Database Management- Use a modern database management program such as Oracle, MySQL, and PostgreSQL to perform such tasks as writing operational and correct SQL (DDL, DML, and DCL) statements.
Database Fundamentals- Write SQL statements that perform fundamental database concepts, including Relational Algebra, and successfully use a Relational Database System.
ER-Diagrams- Create and translate Entity-Relationship (ER) Diagrams using a software diagramming tool.
Ethics- Explain common ethical issues related to the use of information technology systems and the handling of data, including privacy and security issues.
Structured Query Language- Write operational and correct SQL (DDL, DML, and DCL) statements.
Data Mining and Big Data- Describe new concepts and terminology in DBMS such as Data Warehousing, Data Mining, NoSQL, and Big Data.
Database Design- Implement a relational database from initial requirements and conceptual design (ER Diagram) to the physical database in a modern enterprise relational database management system

Upon completion of this course, students will also be able to:

Design and Create a Conceptual Relational Database Using a professional modeling application.
Implement a Physical Database from a Conceptual Design
Work as part of a professional team to design, code, test, and debug normalized databases.
Correctly use the elements of Relational Algebra to retrieve result sets from relational databases.
Create source code and execute SQL statements that are syntactically correct.

Demonstrate knowledge of input and output routines, data types, and data operations

Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts in Database Theory

Software Requirements for the Course

In the first couple of weeks of the course, the primary focus of the study will be designing database models. In the database industry, Entity Relationship Diagrams are used to illustrate design ideas for a relational database. I will use https://app.diagrams.net for this activity. You may use this free Internet Web Service as well. There are a few free services to choose from.

All ER Diagrams must be submitted in a PDF file format. Both services listed below have the option to save an ER Diagram in a PDF format.

Below is a link to

https://app.diagrams.net

Relational Database Used in the Course

Maria DB Community Server

The Primary Relational Database Server that we will use in the course is Maria DB Community Server. Maria DB Relational Database Management System (RDMS) Community SERVER

Maria DB Community Server

https://downloads.mariadb.org

Students working at home will need to download a version of Maria DB Server. When we get to applied database activities, this will be the primary software that we will work with. You may use the link above to acquire a free copy of Maria DB. Select the Maria DB link from the download portal. You may then select from the version that matches the Operating System (OS) that you have at home. This is a fully functional Enterprise Level Relational. MariaDB may install on a Mac IOS, a Linux OS, or a Windows OS. All in-class illustrations and Video illustrations will be from the perspective of a Windows OS.

Students will need access to a Professional Word Processing Software

This course will require that you create several technical documents with your applications. Students may want to use a professional document-editing environment for this. Students registered for the course will receive a free subscription to download Microsoft Office 365 on up to five of the devices.

Students may choose the free open-source professional document-editing environment of Libre Office using the link below

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh

You may also use online word processing services such as Google Docs and Microsoft Apps to make documents.

Free Installations of Microsoft 365 for Students

Students have free access to download and install Microsoft 365 on Personal Devices. I provided a link to instructions on how to download Microsoft 365 through the Microsoft Outlook College Email System. This service also provides each student with one terabyte of free online cloud storage space.

Tutorial Support for the Course
Learning Lab Support

The Learning Lab will provide tutorial support for students requiring one on one tutorial support for this class. They will even be able to provide one on one tutorial support online using video conferencing. For more information on tutorial support for CIS courses contact:
Mavis Pogue. B2-36d 215-751-8474 mpogue@CCP.EDU

Grading Policy

Currently, my grading framework does not include an option for dropping an assignment from the grading equation. The policy that I have is to offer students a variety of extra credit assignments to substitute points lost from missing assignments or points lost for not doing well in previous assignments assessed and graded during the semester. Final Grades will be determined by dividing the total number of points earned during the semester by the total possible regular assignment points that a student can earn during the semester. More details of the course grading policy can be found in the course syllabus.

Once an assignment is graded and feedback has been provided to students in the class for an assignment, I will no longer accept submissions for that assignment. It is very important to monitor Due Dates and Until Dates for assignments.

I encourage you to pay attention to the DUE DATES and UNTIL DATES of each assignment. The DUE DATE is in place as the actual assignment due date. The UNTIL DATE is an emergency grace period for the assignment. In most cases, as the semester comes to an end, I will not be able to offer the privilege of extending the UNTIL_DATE of the Assignment. I also have an aggressive schedule of grading and feedback that I must provide to the entire class.

There are moments when I will provide an additional extension time on top of the already 24-hour grace period that an assignment had. This typically will occur when a student requests an extension. If I grant the extension, this means overall, there now will be an additional number of hours past the original Due Date. The Due Date will not change. However, the Until Date will be modified to an extended date and time. When I do this, I will also check off a selection in Canvas to announce to the entire class that they are also granted this privilege to submit or resubmit material for this assignment. I have a strong policy that I do not do for one student that I do not do for all students in courses that I teach here at the college.

Shortly, I will send out a second Announcement. It will contain a descriptive summary of Assignments and material for first part of Week 1. It will be sent through Canvas Announcements. This is a 7A 7-week section of the course, students can expect at least two weekly announcements each week throughout the semester. One announcement will be published at the beginning of the week and a second announcement will be published at the end of the week. Since this is an -accelerated 7-week section of the course, there will be two sets of Due Dates and Until Dates each week. One set will be configured for the beginning of the week and the second set will be configured for the end of the week. Students should monitor the Due Dates and End Date for each assignment in Canvas using the various methods for accessing assignments such as the ToDo list and the Calendar features in Canvas. Assignments are expected to be submitted by the published Due Date not the Until Date.

Reminders:

All SQL Assignments must be submitted in a text file format. The text file must have a SQL extension on the filename.
All SQL scripts must run and execute continuously. If you are submitting text that contains syntax errors, you should arrange and comment on your text in order of importance. Any text that generates errors due to errors in the proceeding text will also be marked as incorrect.
All ER Diagrams must be submitted in a PDF file format. You should also keep a copy of the diagram in the format of the software that you used to create the diagram. This will permit you to make changes later if necessary.
The correct process for responding to discussions is to first post your reply to the discussion topic. Other participants’ replies will not be visible until you post your first individual reply. Second, you must post a brief reply to at least two other students’ replies. This along with a relevant individual reply will give you full credit in a discussion assignment.
If you are commenting on SQL Script, comment it correctly, or do not use comments in your script. Incorrect comments causing errors in SQL Statements, Statements will be marked as incorrect.