Homework

One key principle about information systems is that reality doesn't matter - the only thing that matters is the information that is derived from the data that is actually recorded in the database. For example, I'll compute your final grade for this class based, not on the scores you actually received on the homeworks/exams, but based on what is recorded in our course grading database. One would hope that there is some relationship between what is recorded and what actually happened, but you shouldn't count on this. Visit this site throughout the semester to make sure that the recorded data is correct. If you find any discrepancies, show me the graded assignment and I'll fix the database.

For this homework, start by visiting the grading web site. Note that it's not Blackboard (and there are reasons for this :-). This grading site is an information system that will be of great interest to you because it shows you the scores recorded for you in the grading database. When you've found the site, do the following:

• Log into the grading system using your campus-wide user id (e.g., my id is kvlinden). I'll mention in class what your initial password is. Change your password and view your current grades. If you have any problems doing this, let me know immediately and I'll help you sort it out. Note that at this point, you should all have scores of 0 for everything.

• Analyze the information system as we did in the lab, and answer the following questions:
  • What kind of database system do I use to drive the web site? See the "history of information systems" part of the lecture for a list of possible database types.
  • List what you believe to be the basic database structure that I use to drive the password page and the list of courses page. For now, ignore the actual scores page - just focus on the students, passwords and courses. Use the informal notation that we used in the lab for this. Draw the structure out either directly in MS Word (i.e., using the drawing toolbar, which can be activated by choosing View-Toolbars-Drawing), or using some other MS Office application (e.g., building the structure in MS Access and cutting a pasting the result into your Word document).
  • Can you see any social or ethical implications of the use of this grading database? If so, list two, if not, explain why not. I'm looking for a simple paragraph here, not a full essay. One example, which I'd prefer that you didn't use, is "Grading databases assume the existence of final grades, which are believed to be evil by many in the education profession. Pass/fail would be better and wouldn't require a full database (or even a teacher for that matter)."

If you have any questions on this homework, please feel free to talk to me, email me, or bring them up in class.

Personal Database Project

Give me a one paragraph writeup of what you'd like to do for your semester project. At this point, all I want is a general idea of what you think might be interesting to you. We'll discuss this is class, and you should feel free to contact me with ideas. I'm willing to consider anything here, including projects from your job or one of your other courses.

What to turn in

Create a Word document containing your solution for this project, and submit it by the beginning of next week's lab period. See the grading page for information on how to do this. The document should include both the homework and the PDP parts of this project. The drawing of the database structure might be a bit of a pain to produce, but it should be reasonably easy using Word's Drawing features or Access's relationships editor.