This article presents a multi-stage guided technical project coding Python scripts for utilizing Amazon Web Services (AWS) to work with a document-store database called DynamoDB. Students doing this project should have taken an introductory programming class (ideally in Python) and a database class to have experience with Python coding and…

SQL query writing is a challenging task for novices, even after considerable training. Query writing is a programming task and a translation task where the writer must translate a user's request for information into code that conforms to the structure, constraints, and syntax of an SQL SELECT statement and that references specific tables and…

In an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), problem (or question) difficulty is one of the most critical parameters, directly impacting problem design, test paper organization, result analysis, and even the fairness guarantee. However, it is very difficult to evaluate the problem difficulty by organized pre-tests or by expertise, because these…

Background: Conceptual models are an essential phase in software design, but they can create confusion and reduced performance for students in Database Design courses. Objective: A novel Relational Data Model Validation Tool (MVTool) was developed and tested to determine (1) if students who use MVTool perform better than those who do not, and (2)…

Bitcoin is the first major decentralized cryptocurrency with wide acceptance. A core technological innovation of Bitcoin is blockchain, a secure and pseudonymous general ledger that stores every Bitcoin transaction. Blockchain has received enormous attention from both the commercial and academic worlds, and it is generally recognized as the…

Data Mining (DM) is one of the most offered courses in data analytics education. However, the design and delivery of DM courses present a number of challenges and issues that stem from the DM's interdisciplinary nature and the industry expectations to generate a broader range of skills from the analytics programs. In this research, we identified…

This study focused on the relationships between knowledge mapping construction methods and learning performance. The different knowledge mapping methods (by experts vs. by self-learners) were assumed to achieve different learning performance levels. The results of this study show that neither different knowledge map construction methods nor…

Early exposure to data science skills, such as relational databases, is essential for students in statistics as well as many other disciplines in an increasingly data driven society. The goal of the presented pedagogy is to introduce undergraduate students to fundamental database concepts and to illuminate the connection between these database…

Background and Context: The use of block-based programming environments is purported to be a good way to gently introduce novice computer programmers to computer programming. A small, but growing body of research examines the differences between block-based and text-based programming environments. Objective: Thus, the purpose of this study was to…

All Computer Information Systems programs require a database course for their majors. This paper describes an approach to such a course in which real world examples, both design projects and actual database application projects are incorporated throughout the semester. Students are expected to apply the traditional database concepts to actual…

Information Technology professionals and other knowledge workers rely on their ability to extract data from organizational databases to respond to business questions and support decision making. Structured query language (SQL) is the standard programming language for querying data in relational databases, and SQL skills are in high demand and are…

Purpose: Despite the popularity of existing course management systems, they do not consider the management of course material changes, particularly courses that require more than one instructor. The main purpose of this study is to instantly communicate course material changes to all instructors teaching the same course and to communicate approved…

With the benefit of multimedia and the learning cycle approach in promoting effective active learning, this paper proposed a learning cycle approach-based, multimedia-supplemented instructional unit for Structured Query Language (SQL) for second-year undergraduate students with the aim of enhancing their basic knowledge of SQL and ability to apply…

Recent advances in genomics and structural biology have resulted in an unprecedented increase in biological data available from Internet-accessible databases. In order to help students effectively use this vast repository of information, undergraduate biology students at Drake University were introduced to bioinformatics software and databases in…

This paper presents a goal-based scenario approach to teaching introductory database concepts to undergraduates using two different scaffolding methods. One method, termed "worked-out examples," attempts to reduce extraneous cognitive load by requiring students to complete increasingly complex missing parts of worked out examples. The other…