Welcome to Comp Sci 364: Databases and Applications. Data pervades the world around us and provides a significant competitive advantage to organizations that harness its potential. A database management system (DBMS) provides an environment to manage this data effectively, minimizing pitfalls such as data redundancy while providing security and supporting simultaneous access by many users. In this course, our focus will be relational databases, which are one of the most widely used paradigms for organizing data. We will study the Structured Query Language (SQL), which is the standard interface to interact with relational databases, and the properties that relational databases provide to support distributed applications. We will also survey some of the recent trends in this field as the volumes of data continue to grow exponentially year after year.

Take a few minutes to review the syllabus; schedule; opportunities for extra credit; and overview of the first lesson, being sure to note the initial reading assignment.

This course website will be updated throughout the semester. Announcements will be posted on the course homepage. You should check back frequently for updates and specifically review the notes for each lesson that identify the learning activities to be completed (e.g., reading and homework assignments).

Online Learning

This course – at least initially – will follow a “virtual live” paradigm for online instruction. We will have synchronous class meetings and out-of-class work that approximates a traditional face-to-face course. Be prepared to participate actively in synchronous sessions! The out-of-class learning activities may be completed at your convenience, as long as you finish each by its due date.

In an online course, my role as an instructor is primarily to facilitate the learning activities. I cannot learn for you, and for better or worse, an online course generally requires more discipline from students than a comparable face-to-face course. For example, more distractions tend to be present when participating in an online course (e.g., participating in a chat conversation or working on another assignment during synchronous sessions). If you choose not to complete the learning activities or do so with only partial attention, you’ll almost certainly struggle with the material when it’s assessed.

You are ultimately responsible for your own learning!

Attendance

Attendance will be recorded using the list of participants in the mandatory synchronous sessions.

Class Meetings

We will use Microsoft Teams for synchronous class meetings during the scheduled meeting time. The structure of these synchronous sessions may vary throughout the semester. Some may include a quick summary of the key points for the lesson; some may be question and answer sessions; and some may be a traditional lecture. Student feedback throughout the semester will significantly influence what content is covered in synchronous class meetings.

Unless otherwise indicated in the instructions to complete the lesson, attending synchronous class meetings is mandatory.

Synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted so that you can review it later, should that be deemed beneficial.

Policies

The following policies apply for synchronous sessions:

  • Wear the Uniform of the Day (UOD)
  • Join from dorm room (or another adequately isolated environment)
  • Use a headset with attached microphone
  • Be prepared to enable video upon request

These policies follow those set forth by the Department of Computer and Cyber Sciences.

Credit Hours

This course is worth 3 credit hours. A credit hour traditionally requires one hour of classroom instruction plus two hours of additional work for each lesson. Thus, if taught face-to-face, this course would have 40 contact hours (i.e., time spent in class) with an additional 80 hours of reading, homework, etc. throughout the semester.

This course has an average of 2.5–3 hours of learning activities for each lesson although the workload for some lessons may be a little higher or lower. This amount of time is commensurate with the prior definition of a 3-credit course.

Extra Instruction

For issues that are not conducive to discussion as a group, you may schedule an individual meeting with me. Please note, however, that with the exception of grades and personal issues, others typically benefit from hearing questions, and it maximizes the use of my time to address them with as wide an audience as possible. Should the need arise, I reserve the right to defer general questions until the next synchronous session.

Learning Activities

Because the nature of online courses differs significantly from those taught face-to-face, I’ve made a number of changes to the amount of information shown on the course website vs. verbally covered in class. If you peruse the lessons, you’ll see explicit learning activities that should be completed for each lesson. For example,

How to Complete this Lesson

Complete the following learning activities as part of this lesson: (1.75 hours total)

  1. Read Fundamentals of Database Management Systems Chapter 1: Data: The New Corporate Resource (45 minutes)
  2. Attend the class meeting (60 minutes)

The learning activities may include watching videos, reading a chapter from the textbook, starting a homework assignment, etc.

You are expected to complete all the learning activities for each lesson.

As noted in the comments about the number of credit hours, the learning activities are carefully selected to satisfy the expectations of a 3-credit course.1 Listing upcoming assignments is intended to help you budget your time more effectively: if you complete the activities when listed, then assignments should not require significant effort the night before (or day!) that they are due. As previously noted, you are responsible for your own learning! You may choose to delay working on an upcoming assignment until the weekend, but you shortchange yourself if you do not complete the activities.

You are encouraged to work ahead when practical with your schedule. For example, you are free to complete learning activities for the next week during the weekend. Nevertheless, you should always check back the day of the lesson in case there are any changes.

Contact Information

I expect to be available Monday–Friday during duty hours (approximately 0800–1600 MT) each day. I will monitor email during this time. Expect responses to email within 24 hours though I strive to respond more quickly, particularly when assignments are due.

Email accounts ending in @usafa.edu remain the official system of record for faculty with email being forwarded to Office 365 (@afacademy.af.edu). Send email to @usafa.edu and CC @afacademy.af.edu regardless of from which address you receive a response (reply all should automatically include both addresses for any email you receive from me).

Although I will likely be accessible through Microsoft Teams, please use email for all communication. Microsoft Teams does not have a good way to “triage” messages, which makes it easy to overlook a message when I cannot answer it immediately.

While I will make every effort to respond to communication as quickly as possible, please allow one business day to hear back from me. After that time, a follow-up message is appropriate.

If you are having trouble contacting me for any reason or have an urgent issue to discuss (Note: I do not consider an assignment that is due in the next hour to be “urgent” because you’ll have ample lead time to work on assignments), you may use my personal cell phone. Please use this contact mechanism as a last resort or for emergencies.

Microsoft Teams

I’ve created a Comp Sci 364 team in Microsoft Teams. Everyone should have access to it by the first day of class.

I expect the following when using Microsoft Teams:

  • Interactions should be professional, just like in a classroom

  • Use the General channel for questions about course material or the appropriate channel for assignment-specific questions (when one exists)

    • Do not post code or answers for assignments
    • Do answer questions by other cadets – I can find ways to reward good participation
    • Do post additional resources that you find useful
  • Use “Reply” to respond to a post, but “Start a new conversation” if the topic is new

  1. You may find some lessons that – at least currently – require significantly more or less time than 3 hours. The learning activities for these lessons will likely be revised to minimize such differences. In some cases, material is currently under development. ↩