22C:244 Database System Implementation

Spring 2004 - University of Iowa

Overview

The second offering of 22C:244 Database System Implementation was offered using streaming video in Spring 2004. Overall, the class went well as most material was similar to the previous year. All the notes were available from Zephyr Copies before class which worked well. A few additional topics on R-trees and database integration were added this year. New topics and programming assignments will be considered for the next offering. The course was large for an elective graduate course (21 students - 3 of which took the course remotely). The course involved homework assignments, a midterm exam, a final exam, and a major project. Most students did very well, and many created interesting projects. Once again the midterm exam was too long, even after shortening it from previous years. To compensate, students had over 3 hours to finish the final which was plenty of time for everyone.

The class was in 103 North Hall from 1:05-2:20 Tuesday/Thursday. The video streaming and general state of 103 North Hall made instruction challenging, and many students had both positive and negative comments on the video streaming.

On-line Resources

• Syllabus

Student Performance

Of the 21 registered students who started the course, 20 passed the course for a very good 95% pass rate. The average GPA was 3.35 or just above a B+. Charts showing the mark breakdown are below.

Comments

What Students Liked Most About the Course

• "This course is one of the best I have taken in my 4 years at Iowa. Professor Lawrence presents the material clearly and concisely, clearly emphasizing those items that are most important for the class. The semester long project, although not necessarily closely related to what is taught in the classroom, provides a unique opportunity to work on a sizable project with the freedom to chose a topic that is interesting to the student. Overall, an excellent course!"
  


• "Dr. Lawrence was able to teach difficult course materials in an easy-to-understand manner. Questions from the class were answered in a precise and understandable manner, which helped all students receive the understanding we needed. Excellent professor! I recommend any course taught by Professor Lawrence to other students!"
  


• "Professor was always available for answering questions. Both during and outside of office hours."
  


• "Requirements and what we were expected to know were clean, and the course was well taught."
  

What Students Liked Least About the Course

• "Some homework was tedious and sometimes class had low moments."
  


• "The few times I used to the book to clarify ideas, the book didn't help, but Dr.Lawrence answered them well. Maybe a programming project would be better than find a project."
  


• "The only thing that was difficult was the length of the exams. I understand the need for a lengthy exam in a course such as this, yet it was still somewhat to difficult to handle the entire exam."
  


• "Too little time for the midterm exam."
  

There were both positive and negative comments on how the video streaming worked. Most students liked the ability to review missed lectures, but it also gave them the temptation to miss class and get behind in the work. A major technical issue is the setup in 103 North Hall which did not include a center screen and forced students to view small monitors on the side. This distracted from my effectiveness and made it hard to see the material as it was covered. Also, the video stream discourages some class participation as it was awkward (had to use microphones) and many students did not want to be recorded. Overall, a decent experience which may be improved given a better room setup.

• "While online streaming was beneficial if you miss a class, it created a temptation to skip. Watching online is better than nothing, but it is too easy to multitask or become interrupted at home."
  


• "I had to miss attending several class discussions during the semester, but I was able to get the same knowledge from watching the videos. A great help - definitely keep for future classes."
  


• "The presentation is a bit boring and I believe a projector in the center of the classroom would help."
  


• "I feel that the atmosphere of the ICN room slightly detracted from the presentation of the material and definitely discouraged participation. That being said, it was certainly a great resource to have the lectures available online for reviewing after class."
  


• "The video made me way too lazy - that is more my fault, but it removed my incentive to show up."
  


• "No overhead projector in classroom. This is the 4th class I've had that met in Room 103 NH. In each of these, any time that I had to view anything on one of the overhead monitors, it was incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to see and negatively impacted my ability to comprehend the material. Please, fix this problem as soon as possible for future classes!"