There are four database learning communities connected with CS 265.
The first, of course, is CS 265 itself — the 40 or so students who are enrolled, the TA and myself, make up the primary learning community. Our class has a Blackboard site, from which I will be sending email, recording grades, arranging project groups, and maintaining discussions that students want private to the course.
For more public discussions, I’ve created Linked In, Facebook, and Google+ communities, and of course, there is the learning community of other learners enrolled in Widom’s self-paced Stanford course.
Linked In, Google+ and Facebook Communities
I have created three learning communities, both titled “Introduction to Database Learning Community“, one as a private Facebook Group, one as a private LinkedIn Group, and one as a private Google+ Community. You are encouraged to join one or all, but you are NOT required to join any of them. The communities will have identical functionality, but servicing people with different platform preferences (i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google).
Who can join these communities? ANYONE who wants to learn about or mentor on databases, and who finds the groups. If you want to join, then be aware of this. Not everyone in the communities will be in CS 265, and for that matter, no one will know whether you are either, unless you tell them.
Who will be invited to join these groups?
- CS 265 Alums: I’ve heard it said that Vanderbilt students don’t adequately take advantage of Vanderbilt alums as part of their early professional social networks, so we will see if creating a community of alums and students helps change any of that. In addition, when you leave Vanderbilt, we want you to have lifelong learning opportunities with Vanderbilt. This is part of the motivation too — inviting alums back to learn with us, perhaps to freshen up their skills, even as they mentor us with years of experience following CS 265, in industry or otherwise.
I am really excited about engaging alums!
- Students and instructors from other institutions: The professor and students from University of North Carolina at Charlotte, for example, may be using Widom’s self-paced course at the same time as we do. Students and faculty from still other universities and college may join us, perhaps as whole classes, or individual students in independent studies. We may have seniors in high school join us in the learning communities as well, some of them are students you might choose to mentor. I’ve emailed the major mailing list of CS educators worldwide about using Widom’s Stanford self-paced course in rough synchrony. So, many (or not) may join.
Some CS 265 students are not likely to use these learning and networking communities at all (and again, signing up is completely optional), but even if a few students (and alums) get something out of it, it will be very gratifying.
The Self-Paced Community
The fourth community touched by CS 265, is the community of learners taking WSPDC. Many of these will be members of the communities above, but many will not. Some self-paced students, who have been dormant on the WSPDC platform for months, may be reawakened (academically) and reenergized, as our community moves through the material — some of them may follow along with us.
Since you will be WSPDC members, you are free to contribute to the WSPDC discussion forums, with both questions are answers. You should understand that the only way that others on the WSPDC platform will know you, is through the public username, so choose it carefully — my username gives away my identity, but yours need not! Again, read the Privacy statement before signing up for WSPDC.
Only post questions and answers to the WSPDC discussion forums that are relevant to WSPDC material. For material that is relevant to CS 265, but not WSPDC (e.g., CS 265 projects and in class exercises), post to the Facebook or Google+ groups, or you can always post to the Blackboard Discussion board for this course or email me or come to office hours.
Not only can we help WSPDC learners, but some of them will have database expertise, as well as global perspectives on such issues the implications of technology, ethics, and domain expertise for the database design projects.