The Database Disciplinary Commons
2010
Deciding on Content
We had 3 things in mind when deciding on the module content:
What additional database knowledge did we feel would benefit the students?
How could we design the module to allow students to research current developments and learn for themselves?
What was required by the Stuttgart students to enable them to meet the requirements of their home university?
We started with a list which would have required a separate degree and agreed on 3 principal topic areas and one main aim:
| Data Management | Required by the Stuttgart students. Covers DBA and data integrity topics such as DBMS selection & configuration, data storage, transaction management, schema evolution and management of metadata. |
|---|---|
| Database Security | Broadly divided into application security and database security and covering topics such as encryption, secure architectures,access security, SQL injection and audit. |
| Database Tuning | An advanced look at database optimisation, moving beyond query optimisation to whole database tuning. |
| Currency | One of the aims of the module is to ensure that content is current and reflects existing and developing database practice. For example, the data management and storage topics allowed us look at advances in the management of semi-structured data and at specialist database architectures. |
Evolving Content
Staffordshire University module descriptors are high level specifications which outline the indicative content of a module. Some module descriptors are fixed for the lifetime of the module but the MDS module descriptor is scheduled to be reviewed after each delivery as part of the post module review. The original module descriptor was revised after the first delivery of the module and the current module descriptor, which is the artefact for this section of the portfolio, will be revised for next year's delivery. We see this as one of the strengths of the module, allowing for constantly evolving content.