Within the CROP model, databases in the Look section are an important part of the LEAP problem solving process. Database skills are significant when Looking for information. Of equal importance, databases play an important creative role in the organizing and re-organizing of information to fit the context of a current problem. This organizational phase provides a bridge between the Look (research) and Evoke (composing) stages of problem solving. The bigger the problem, the more efficient and useful a database becomes. In order to build useful databases, you must be an accomplished questioner of organized information (databases).
Different databases will provide different kinds of tools. In general all databases provide the searcher with the ability to ask a range of questions. To ask these questions the seacher must be able to find text and numbers, to sort, to use Boolean logic (and, or not, the greater than and less than symbols and so forth) to retrieve particular combinations of records, and to complete calculations based on existing data to make new data.
Whichever database you learn first, you at least have the advantage of knowing some principles that you can apply to using another database system. Knowing how to answer questions using an pre-existing or already built personal computer database is a requirement for the statewide 8th grade exam. Knowing these skills is critical to later planning and building your own databases for classroom use. The NC teacher education computer literacy requirement extends the skill of using a database to include the creation of databases.
Sample databases are available online to use with the practice questions below. These databases will work cross-platform. That is, these databases can be used on both Mac and Windows platforms so you can download the samples below for either.
Clarisworks (e.g. Appleworks)
These files are stored as version 2.0 files so that this and later versions of the software can read the files. Just click OK when it indicates that the file is in an older format. Also note that Apple Computer is changing the name of Clarisworks to Appleworks.
Africa.cwdb ; counties.cwdb ; Europe.cwdb ; Foods.cwdb ; Gradebook.cwdb ; Planets.cwdb ; StatesnTerritories.cwdb ; USA.cwdb ; Weather.cwdb.
Clarisworks (which is similar to Filemaker Pro) uses four basic search tools: Edit/Find; Organize/Sort; Layout/Find; Organize/Match Records. In this pairing of words, the first word is in the menu bar itself and the latter word or words indicates commands in the pull-down sections under that term. How are these commands the same and how are they different? Edit/Find displays the first record that meets the search criteria. Repeat the command to find the next matching record. Organize/Sort can put the selected column of data in ascending or descending. Layout/Find handles AND searches in which multiple criteria are sought (and this includes Boolean commands such as the greater and less than symbols). Press the enter or return key to complete a search operation. Organize/Match Records allows combinations of AND and OR searches, calculations and additional Boolean logic. Calculation fields (Layout/Define Fields/Field Type/Calculation) provide even more advanced options. For further online Clarisworks training, return to the Database tutorial.
These commands in ClarisWorks are typical and also generalize well to other database applications. That is, this database has a find command, so you can expect other databases to have one somewhere in their pull-down menus and you will just have to look for a new way of identifying it in another application.
Once you have the databases, answer the questions below in the section titled Sample Classroom Questions. Once printed out or written down, return to the previous screen, put on your headphones, and scroll down to section I of the Database Study Tutorial page. Watch the short screen movies of section one. You will need the skills taught in these movies to answer the questions below. The movies for Appleworks/Clarisworks are, as the labels there indicate, in the far right column.
MS Access, versions 1995-2003
Africa.mdb ; counties.mdb ; Europe.mdb ; Foods.mdb ; Gradebook.mdb ; Planets.mdb ; StatesnTerritories.mdb ; USA.mdb
For what Microsoft consider security reasons, one can no longer do the standard right-click to download a complete Microsoft Access database file that ends with its proper extension of .mdb. To make it work, one must fool the operating system. The trick is to make the extension something else, such as the .bin extension that I have used. So right-click to download the files and do not change the bin extension at this time and put them in a new folder called databases. Then, go back into this new folder. Right-click on each file to show the menu of commands for files and rename them, using the file rename command to remove the bin and change it back to .mdb for each of the eight files. Then you can open them in Access and proceed.
Once you have the databases, answer the questions below in the section titled Sample Classroom Questions. Once printed out or written down, return to the previous screen, put on your headphones, and scroll down to section I of the Database Study Tutorial page. Watch the short screen movies of section one.
If right clicking to download these files yields files that do not open properly, then download the spreadsheets by the same name below and import them into Access. Africa07.accdb ; counties07.accdb ; Europe07.accdb; Foods07.accdb; Gradebook07.accdb; Planets07.accdb; StatesnTerritories07.accdb ; USA07.accdb ]
Here are the files in Excel format if needed.
Africa.xls ; counties.xls ; Europe.xls; Foods.xls; Gradebook.xls; Planets.xls; StatesnTerritories.xls ; USA.xls
Once you actually have the eight databases or your database folder, answer the questions below in the section titled Sample Classroom Questions. Once printed out or written down, return to the previous screen, put on your headphones, and scroll down to section I of the Database Study Tutorial page. Watch the short screen movies of section one.
Screen movies providing the information needed for use of MS Access to answer the questions below are on the main Database Study Tutorial page under the heading Using Existing Databases. For further review of these same concepts or for learning additional MS Access features, use WCU online training site which requires your Catamount username and password, then look for Microsoft Access screen movies. Choose either Access 2003 or Access 2007 depending on the version on your home computer. All campus equipment is now using Access 2007.
For those with some MS Access experience, some basic text directions may be sufficient review to complete the exercises below. Access provides a range of search tools: Edit/Find; Records/Sort; Records/Filter/By Form; Records/Filter/By Selection; Records/Filter/Advanced Filter-Sort; as well as Queries. In this pairing of words, the first word is in the menu bar itself and the latter word or words indicates commands in the pull-down sections under that term. Due to its multiple complex features, educators need to consider whether this application should be reserved for high school and older students. Edit/Find displays the first record that meets the search criteria. Use an asterik on either side of the search word inside the quotation marks to find a word among others within a field. Repeat the command to find the next matching record. Records/Sort puts the selected column of data in ascending or descending. The commands Records/Filter/By Form and Records/Filter/By Selection operate by default in the current column of the screen cursor. Use Records/Apply Filter-Sort to complete a search operation. Advanced Filter-Sort allows combinations of AND and OR searches, and additional Boolean logic. Queries provide even more advanced options including calculation fields. The query option is a tab found in the main database window. Use Query/Run to activate any Query search strategies that are created.
Once you have printed out or written down the questions below, return to the previous screen, put on your headphones, and scroll down to section I. Watch the 6 short movies of section one; movies 3-6 are the most important for you to practice until you are more fluent with them. You will need the skills taught in these movies to answer the questions below. The movies for Microsoft Access are, as the labels there indicate, in the left column.
To learn or review the database search techniques needed to answer these questions, go back to the Database Study Tutorial page and work through the appropriate screen movie videoclips found in the section titled Using Databases. This section can also be identified by its light blue background color.
Use the Foods database: Which food with at least XXX units of YYY, has the most ZZZZ? Fill in your own data and complete the question. Use database terms to describe the steps you took to find your answer once you had the search data in place.
[Questions 7 and 8 below require more advanced skills as the Planets database that you are given has a field name that has been given the wrong "data type" and must be changed before the data is searchable. It also needs 4 field names changed or edited to be made more meaningful. To learn how to do this, see the Edit existing databases section of the Database Study Tutorial page.]