Welcome to the Data Management course! Due to its hands-on nature, this course will be be delivered in in-person mode with occasional online access.
Here is a list of necessities you need to complete before your first class:
1) UA Zip ID, via which you can access campus resources such as downloading licensed software (e.g., visual studio at https://azureforeducation.microsoft.com/devtools) or accessing campus labs and systems such as
- VPN Connection: vpn.uakron.edu
- Learning Management System: brightspace.uakron.edu
- Database Systems: ism.uakron.edu).
2) Student Account at ecourse.org (go to https://www.ecourse.org to signup for one if you don't have one yet), via which you can manage your assignments, download course materials, take exams, track performance, and access a lot of learning resources.
After signup and login, you can use Xess code (QBS08BOU3R for ISM 324 and Y0V51HNIZ6 for SIM 641) to connect to your course using the link "Enroll Directly" (see below)
After you signup, I will verify your request and approve your signup. Then, you can access course materials by going to "Download Courseware" page (see screenshot above). Make sure you read the syllabus and understand the following
- What are class time, location, office hours, and exam times?
- Where do you find homework assignments?
- When is weekly homework assignment due?
- What is attendance policy?
- What do you need to do to take an online class?
- What is policy on academic code violations and the use of AI tools?
- How do check attendance, submit homework, download course materials, and track performance?
3) A computer with Windows 10 or 11 operating system and at least 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD hard drive, and Pentium i7 or ADM Ryzen 7 CPU. The following is a list of computer programs you need to install on your home or work computer for your class:
- Google Chrome for assessing online materials (free download at google.com)
- Microsoft Office for homework assignments (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint)
- Microsoft Teams for online lessons
- *FortiClient for VPN (follow https://ecourse.org/news.asp?which=4516 for instruction) (No longer needed since Fall 2022)
- Oracle SQL Developer Data Modeler (download the Version for Windows 64 bit with JDK at https://www.oracle.com/tools/downloads/sql-data-modeler-downloads.html). After downloading, open the zip file and extract the contained folder into a permanent location like C:\Program Files\datamodeler. Follow https://www.ecourse.org/news.asp?which=5827 for more details.
- Oracle SQL Developer (download the version for Windows 64 bit with JDK at https://www.oracle.com/tools/downloads/sqldev-downloads.html. After downloading, open the zip file and extract the contained folder into C:\Program Files. Follow https://www.ecourse.org/news.asp?which=5827 for more details.
- (Optional) Set up JAVA_HOME environment variable for your other programs to use Java. Download this file, extract JavaHomeVar.bat file, right click on the batch file to run as administrator. Alternatively, you can go to Control Panel => System => Advanced System Settings => Environment Variables, add a new or edit existing System Variable, called JAVA_HOME to point to your JDK location such as C:\Program Files\sqldeveloper\jdk. Then restart your computer. Follow https://www.ecourse.org/news.asp?which=5822 on how to add or change environment variables.
- MongoDB (follow the instruction at https://www.ecourse.org/news.asp?which=5020
Learning Tip:
1. Organize Your Projects: Throughout the semester, we will develop data models incrementally for many classic problems such as customer orders, inventory management, clinic patient records, library, flight reservation, etc.
2. The topic of database design is unlike math or computer science ones. Questions are mostly open-ended and there are not correct answers. But there are good ones and bad ones.
3. Some quiz questions check your understanding of concepts and techniques, but some are to check how you apply the concepts to practical problems. For the latter, think big first. For example, the question may expect you to image or construct a model for the problem first and then answer the question, which is only a small part of the model.
Homework Tips
1) Don't procrastinate: do your homework immediately after class. It will save you time and give you a better result. If you have to do it two days later, review lecture recordings first.
2) Be persistent: if a question is hard for you, it is hard for others too. Persistence will make you standout. Check if there is a concept, a skill, or a key point that you missed. In any case, try you best.
3) Think big: Database course is about how to organize data effectively (do more) and manipulate data efficiently (cost less). Check against this if you are not sure what is a better solution.
4) Aim high: Set up your goal for your future job; are you able to take job interview tests? Can a company trust you to manage their data? Go beyond the minimum requirements, do extra end-of-chapter questions to check your understandings, create a database to manage your bills and invoices, your contacts, your events, etc. to apply what your learned.
Tips for Online Learning
This class is in person mode, but you may ask permission to take it online occasionally. Online learning comes with some pros and cons in comparison with onsite classes. Its obvious disadvantage is the loss of our personal contact with peers and the professor, but it has some advantages such as avoiding physical trips to the campus and learning without time and space limitations. If this is the first time you are taking online classes with Database, Programming, Systems Design, or Systems Integration courses, and you will need to learn what works or not works along the way.
To minimize the impact of sudden transition to online classes, here are my suggestions for you:
- Treat online classes as regular ones: take notes, ask questions, report attendance, and submit proof of attendance and homework on time
- Record lectures in Microsoft Teams: I will record all lectures, but your may record the same for your own records
- Put your hands on the computer to follow my demonstrations
- Form a study group via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. You may optionally include me into your groups (I don't actively use Facebook but can take it up if you need. My Facebook email is liu@acm.org).
On COVID
The COVID-19 is still present and serious. Before entering class, you should have completed your daily health assessment. You should not come to class if you fail your health check or feel ill. At that time, I also ask you notify me that you will be absent. While you are in class on campus, you are required to: always cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue and adhere to other public safety protocols and directives for your specific classroom/lab/studio. Students who do not follow these health and safety requirements will be instructed to leave class immediately. Students who violate this protocol will need to leave the classroom and MAY be marked absent. Repeated violations of these health-saving protocols may lead to sanctions under the Student Code of Conduct, up to and including suspension or expulsion. Current guidelines can be found at: uakron.edu/return-to-campus/.
On AI Tools
AI tools such as ChatGPT make the impossible possible and are fundamentally changing almost every aspect of our life and work. Overtime we will see a lot of traditional jobs obsolete, and I encourage all students to embrace AI and think about what they can do for living in AI era. In this class, I allow students to use AI tools to help their learning. However, submitting AI generated work for credits is a violation of academic code. If a submitted work is suspected to be AI generated, the student will be asked to reproduce the submitted work in front of the instructor.
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