MOOC Review: Introduction to Databases

by Kuei-Ti Lu

Course Name:
Introduction to Databases
Link:
https://class.stanford.edu/courses/Engineering/db/2014_1/about
Institution:
Stanford University
Instructor:
Jennifer Widom

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Before taking this course, I had learned SQL, and I took MongoDB for Java Developers when taking this course. The review might be influenced by these backgrounds.

Videos:

The lectures covered a broad range of topics related to databases. Some of them involved languages dealing with data, including SOL. The professor mainly used examples to teach the languages and their features. This teaching method should be good for those who learn better by example. For those who prefer learning by reading, just like me, the subtitle should help. Code was provided, and main points about each piece of code were given, too. Therefore, it was easy to refer to the code (instead of hurting eyes with code in the videos).

When explaining the examples, the professor introduced features of the languages and sometimes their weird phenomena. The flow of the examples was organized.

The professor's pronunciations were clear but maybe a little fast to those who were not familiar with English. Still, it should be easy to listen to what she said. (For those who needed help with English, check the subtitle.)

Some areas changed rapidly with time, so the professor simply covered the classic parts that should not change much. In the videos, she also noted which area might change. These helped students be aware of possible evolution of the database field.

Quizzes:

The quizzes covered the concepts covered in the videos. The questions usually changed per attempt. Most of them required using multiple concepts but were not beyond the lectures' levels.

Exercises:

The exercises required using the languages covered in the lectures. There were core sets and challenge sets. The core sets required applying the main concepts covered in the lectures while the challenge ones required applying the advanced concepts covered and extra knowledge (that could be found online). They were not difficult, given the difficulties of the lectures. However, one had to pay attention to the type of environment and features supported (such as Postgres v.s. MySQL). Such difference was covered in the lectures, which was good.

Exams:

The exam questions were like those in the quizzes and multiple-choice versions of the exercises. The length was more than needed (for a typical student). It was good for those who preferred doing problems slowly.

Difficulty:

Although there were lots of topics covered, given the materials covered in the lectures, the course was not difficult. Little related background was needed, but one definitely had to have clear logic.

Miscellaneous:

There were staff and other students helping on the discussion forums - help was available.

Optional readings could be found - good for the reading-type learners.

Overall:

Videos and online assessments were combined well in this course, supplementing each other. The level of detail covered in the materials was just right and self-contained. Extra learning materials, such as extra problems and readings, could be found on the website. The quality of the course, in my opinion, was high.