The most important skill to teach your students and to learn yourself is a generalization: strategy. What kind of trigger words indicate the use of what kind of tools (techniques)? What are the basic range of features in a given database? Your institution's online library catalog of books is a common database through which to learn and teach basic database principles. This web page summarizes how to search existing personal computer databases, provides sample databases and provides a set of questions to test your skill with the provided databases.

 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.

On Campus Access for Copying the Sample Database Files

If in class, you can copy the database folder from the App Server PickUp folder for your section of this class. On a Mac the process begins with clicking the AppServer icon on the desktop. To find it manually, click the Apple in the menu bar, select Chooser, then the CCenter zone and scroll to AppServer. On a Windows system begin with Network Neighborhood and scroll to AppServer.

 The steps for locating these files from on-campus computers would take you through these symbols: Appserver; Classes; EDEL466-01; PICKUP. Within the pickup folder copy a folder of databases to your diskette. Copy the DBCW folder for Macintosh or Windows computers to use with Clarisworks or Filemaker Pro. Copy the DBaccess folder for use with Microsoft Access and Windows computers.

Off-Campus Access for Copying the Sample Database Files

If off-campus you can click on the links below to download them to your computer one at a time and then have your application Open the file.

 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 printed out or written down the questions below, return to the previous screen, put on your headphones, and scroll down to section I of the Database Study Tutorial page. Watch the 6 short movies of section one. You will need the skills taught in these movies to answer the questions below. The movies for Clarisworks are, as the labels there indicate, in the left column.

Microsoft Access

 Africa.mdb ; counties.mdb ; Europe.mdb ; Foods.mdb ; Gradebook.mdb ; Planets.mdb ; StatesnTerritories.mdb ; USA.mdb ; Weather.mdb

For whatever reason, 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 folder called databases. Then, go back into the 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.

Access also 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 your search strategies. For further online training use the CBT materials which requires your WIN username and password.

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.
 

Sample Classroom Questions

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  Database Training. This section can also be identified by its light blue background color.

1. Use the States and Territories database: In how many different fields (contexts) is the term New used? Which search command did you use to search thru all fields?

 
2. Use the Foods database: What is the number of units of iron in frozen lima beans? Which is more nutritional, frozen or canned lima beans? Defend your answer with the data.

 
3. Use the States and Territories database: Which state or territory has the smallest area?

 
4. Use the States and Territories database: What state or territory has a January temperature greater than 32 degrees, a July temperature less than 80 degrees and was established after 1911?

 
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.
 
6. Use the States and Territories database: Your class wants to make a map that includes only states and territories created before 1870 or those states that have a July temperature higher than 80 degrees. How many states or territories would be on this map? Of the states you can use, which one has the greatest territory?

 



[Questions 7 and 8 require more advanced skills as the Planets database that you are given has numeric data that has been assigned the wrong field type and must be changed before the data is searchable. It also needs field names changed or edited to be made more meaningful. Don't worry if you do not know how to do these things; just wait until the class demonstration.]



7. Use the Planets database: What planet has more than eight moons and takes less than 5000 days to make a complete circle around the sun? Use database terms to describe the steps you took to find your answer.





8. Use the Planets database: The winning team must make a model that has at least 9 moons, and a gravity at the surface of greater than 1.00 and a length of year greater than 10,000. What planet(s) will be included? Which one of these planets has phosphine?

Dr. Robert S. Houghton, Copyright, 1994-6.