Winter 2019
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Instructor: Mohammad Sadoghi |
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Teaching Fellow: Sarmishta Burujupalli |
Teaching Fellow: Giritheja Sreenivasulu |
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Lecture Time: TueThu 4:40 pm - 6:00 pm |
Discussion Time: Wed: 9:00 am - 9:50 am |
This is an innovative data management course that provides an introduction
to the design and development of fundamental concepts in relational database
management systems (DBMS). You will learn the theory behind database systems,
the issues that affect their functionality and performance, and most importantly,
what it takes to effectively utilize modern databases in practice.
The course has completely been redesigned, all students are expected to work
in a group of four on an exciting, open-ended, data-oriented, quarter-long project,
in a sense, operating and simulating startup environments. Needless to say,
this rewarding experience is accompanied by a significant development effort
that spans hands-on experience on a variety of technologies ranging from front-end
(e.g., React, React Native, Swift, Objective-C, Java) to the back-end (e.g., SQLite,
Firebase, Cassandra, MongoDB, PostgreSQL) in order to build a product around data,
namely, building an Instagram App in this
offering of the course. It involves studying and building all stage of data life-cycle
including but not limited to capturing, aggregating, and visualizing it.
The course work is complementary to the classical well-formed, prescriptive
model of assignments/projects that are indeed effective and invaluable in practice.
Instead by design, the project is intended to be open-ended, namely, minimal
instructions and requirements will be provided, as such it rewards and values
research & development, taking risks, above all, it is aimed to foster and
tap into the creativity of each individual.
The quarter-long project is broken into a set of four milestones, all milestones
will be graded orally, where the progress is presented by all four group members,
and each group member must be ready to answer questions about any aspect of the
project; the latter is utmost importance to ensure comprehensive learning
experience and fair division of work among all members. Furthermore, in each
milestone, a bonus of up to 20% can be gained to further encourge taking a risk,
going the extra mile, and to just be curious & creative.
A fact of life, when there is group work, whether at school or in society,
there are occasional conflicts; and it is crucial to learn how to
resolve our differences and be receptive, open, and kind to one another. In
kindness and reflection, we shall aim to resolve all conflicts. It is the group
responsibility to handle all internal affairs, and only when absolutely necessary
involving the instructor. But note, only under very rare exceptional circumstances,
a group re-structuring would be granted because once the group is formed, at least
for 10 weeks, we must learn how to work with each other in harmony.
For each group, it is recommended that each member lead one aspect of the project
while contributing and learning about other parts; roughly, the four main components
are (1) front-end, UI, and data visualization, (2) app logic and data
aggregation/querying, (3) data model and indexing, and (4) database management
and tunning.
As for the lectures, the list of topics covered would include but not limited to:
Aroosha Sarrafi graduated from Boston University with MFA degree in graphic design
and has over 20 years of experience creating, designing for advertising campaigns,
building multiple brands, and innovating digital experiences. Aroosha taught design for
four years at Connecticut State University. At McGraw Hill Education, she currently
provides visual direction, and leadership to UX Designers across company. She delivers
UI design solution for various products and working closely with Product Managers,
UX Designers and DEV teams to generate creative ideas, solved highly complex issues;
filtering creative ideas to identify the most appropriate design for the situation and
audience. She defined and implemented visual design vision, guidelines, consistency
and quality in MHE products and on brand by collaborating with designers, researchers,
product management, engineers, and other stakeholders.
As a creative leader, she has over 10 years of experience mentoring design teams within
cultures that foster innovation and leadership. Coached UX Designers to seek new insights
and view opportunities from different perspectives. Encouraged designers to support a
culture of creativity by experimenting, taking visual strategy risks and learning from
mistakes.
Course materials/grades will be made available on your Canvas account.