教學大綱 Syllabus

1. Physical-Learning Students at NCCU:

• Quizzes (5%), Midterm Exam (15%) & Final Exam (20%): Two closed-book midterm exams and several in-class pop quizzes will be administered during the semester. If the exam(s) will be missed because of a University-excused absence (and prior notice and evidence are provided), the exam(s) may be rescheduled by the instructor based on his discretion. The format of the make-up exam(s) may vary from the formats of regularly scheduled exams. The instructor has the sole right to make determinations concerning the potential for make-up exams. For the exams, no reasons of absence will be accepted, and no make-up exam will be offered. Please make sure that you are able to attend both exams before selecting our course.
  • Midterm Exam: Tuesday, April 12, 2021, 6-9 pm; Scope: All the materials before Week 8.
  • Final Exam: Tuesday, May 31, 2021, 6-9 pm; Scope: All the materials during this semester.
     
• Final Project & Homework Assignments (50%): You will join to a team to work on the project and homework assignments. In the project, you will need to design a database for real business(es) and analyze your design strategy. Students do NOT need to build a real complete database. However, need analysis, data modeling (diagrams & descriptions), RDBS explanation, BCNF proof, potential programming needs and generated reports will be examined. Main functions of the database systems should be developed and tested. (Our teaching assistants will help you identify the main functions.) Bonus may be offered to the more complete system prototype(s) if any (May offer at most 5 points, not necessary. Please do not spend too much time here.). Students choose the topic on their own, but the topic should be “semi-real” problem. That is, you will not build the database systems in real context but may still need to conduct interview with real business(es) to know the real needs for your proposed database design. A late penalty of 20% per 24-hour period will be imposed for projects/homework assignments turned in after the submission time. Saturday and Sunday count as one 24-hour period.
   
  • Presentation (15%): You will need to present your findings or thoughts from your project by uploading your pre-recorded 15-minutes video(s). Students in the same group will receive the same grade. (Students SHOULD participate in the group work to receive the grade. The in-group peer evaluation will be utilized to adjust your grade.) At least two students in a group should be presenters. You will need to pre-record a 15-minutes video and then upload to our course platform to share with everyone in class by Saturday, June 11, 2021 (Taipei Time). Please make your article title with your group numbers (e.g., Group 1) so that every other group will be able to know which group you are. For the between-group peer evaluation: you will need to provide comments, suggestions, and ranking for all the other presentations in a survey. We will not let groups know who leaves the comments, so please be open to write anything that might be helpful or critical to your peer groups. Bonus point(s) will be offered to the groups who provide excellent comments and who get the highest vote from your peer groups. (It is okay to write your comments in either Traditional Chinese or English.) Please upload the evaluation file you have filled up by 11:59:59 pm on Jun 25, 2021 (Taipei Time).
     
  • Final Report (20%): You will need to submit a group final report regarding to the final project by the assigned submission deadline (11:59:59 pm on Jun 25, 2021, Taipei Time). Students in the same group will receive the same grade. (Students SHOULD participate in the group work to receive the grade). You may refer to the rubrics for final report for more details (will announce during semester).
     
  • Main Functions Demo (15%): You will need to develop and test the main functions for your proposed database systems using any type of programming language (e.g., Java, C#, PHP, Python, etc.). It is necessary to prove that your main functions could be successfully linked with database and implemented with SQL commands. Bonus points will be offered to a more complete functional system prototype (at most another 5 points, not necessary. Please do not spend too much time here.). ALL the groups will need to present their demo for main functions in the end of the semester (on Week 17). Instructions will be provided during the TA Practical Sessions and some potential additional discussion opportunities with our teaching assistants outside classes.
     
  • Homework Assignments (Bonus points, if any): You may be assigned take-home group assignments in certain classes. Students in the same group will receive the same grade. (Students SHOULD participate in the group work to receive the grade.)
     
  • In-group peer evaluation: your will need to provide your job distribution, comments, appraisal, or complaints to your group members, and suggestions to our course in another survey. We will not let other people know who leaves the comments, so please be open and honest to provide your opinions. Points will be cut from your total final score up to 30 points if you have been complaint by your partners with credible specific reasons. Bonus point(s) may be offered to the member who receive outstanding appraisals. Otherwise, all your group members will receive the same grade for the group work. (It is okay to write your comments in either Traditional Chinese or English.)
     
• Cooperation w/ Distance-Learning Students (5%): To help physical-learning students at NCCU gain opportunities to interact with and learn from our distance-learning students, each team will be required to work with one distance-learning student. You will need to provide a “foreign” perspective to the assigned distance-learning student(s) to help them develop their ideas on the final projects. The distance-learning students will also provide their “foreign” perspectives to your team. Each team will need to present or express the “foreign” perspective in some (creative or practical) ways during the final presentation & through the final report.
   
• TA Practical Sessions (5%): To help students develop their ideas on the final projects step-by-step, a weekly practical TA class is offered (Tuesdays 7-9 pm at Yi Xian Building 5^th floor Computer Classroom). Students are required to attend the practical TA class. Participation, and tasks or worksheets provided and assigned in the sessions may be counted and will be highly beneficial to the final project (which counts for 45 points). Bonus points may be offered as well. Because of the space limit, students should attend their TA practical session for selected class only. It is possible to attend TA classes in another session only if you obtain the agreement from our teaching assistants & there are additional available seats.
   

2. Distance-Learning Exchange Students:

• Midterm Exam (20%) & Final Exam (20%): Two online open-book exams will be administered during the semester. If the exam(s) will be missed because of a University-excused absence (and prior notice is provided), the exam(s) will be rescheduled by the instructor based on his discretion. The format of the make-up exam(s) may vary from the formats of regularly scheduled exams. The instructor has the sole right to make determinations concerning the potential for make-up exams.
  • Midterm Exam: One specific period during Week 9; Scope: All the materials before Week 8. The time will be announced before the exam week.
  • Final Exam: One specific period during Week 16; Scope: All the materials during this semester. The time will be announced before the exam week.
     
• Final Project & Homework Assignments (50%): You will work on the project and homework assignments independently or proactively join your assigned group(s) at NCCU to work on the group project(s). In the project, you will need to design a database for real business(es) and analyze your design strategy. Students do NOT need to build a real complete database. However, need analysis, data modeling (diagrams & descriptions), RDBS explanation, BCNF proof, potential programming needs and generated reports will be examined. Bonus may be offered to the system prototype(s) if any (May offer at most 5 points, not necessary. Please do not spend too much time here.). Students choose the topic on their own, but the topic should be “semi-real” problem. That is, you will not build the database systems in real context but may still need to conduct interview with real business(es) to know the real needs for your proposed database design. A late penalty of 20% per 24-hour period will be imposed for projects/homework assignments turned in after the submission time. Saturday and Sunday count as one 24-hour period.
   
  • Final Report (50%): You will need to submit a final report regarding to the final project by the assigned submission deadline (11:59:59 pm on Jun 25, 2021, Taipei Time). If you choose to proactively join your assigned group(s) at NCCU, all the rubrics will be the same as the ones for NCCU students (Presentation 15%, Final Report 20%, and System Demo 15%). If you proactively join more than one group, your score will be slightly adjusted by the average or by the in-group peer evaluation.
     
  • Homework Assignments (Bonus points, if any): You may be assigned online assignments in certain classes.
     
  • System Prototype (Bonus points, at most 5 points): You are encouraged to develop and test your proposed database systems using any type of programming language (e.g., Java, C#, PHP, Python, etc.). Because TA Practical Session will be only offered for physical-learning students at NCCU, all the distance-learning students are optional to develop your proposed database systems if students decide to develop the final project independently. However, bonus points will still be offered to a more complete functional system prototype if you are able to develop on your own (at most another 5 points, not necessary. Please do not spend too much time here.).
     
  • In-group peer evaluation: your will need to provide your job distribution, comments, appraisal, or complaints to your group members, and suggestions to our course in another survey. We will not let other people know who leaves the comments, so please be open and honest to provide your opinions. Points will be cut from your total final score up to 30 points if you have been complaint by your partners with credible specific reasons. Bonus point(s) may be offered to the member who receive outstanding appraisals. Otherwise, all your group members will receive the same grade for the group work. (It is okay to write your comments in either Traditional Chinese or English.)
     
• Cooperation w/ Physical-Learning Students at NCCU (10%): To help distance-learning students gain opportunities to interact with and learn from physical-learning students at NCCU, each distance-learning student will need to join one, two, or three teams (depending on how many students enroll in this course) in our physical-learning classes at NCCU. You will need to provide a “foreign” perspective to Taiwanese teams to help them develop their ideas on the final projects. Your contribution on their final projects should be presented or expressed in some (creative or practical) ways during the final presentation. Students are required to join different teams separately. Each distance-learning student will be assigned to teams if necessary. The cooperation will be evaluated by your Taiwanese team members, the course instructor, teaching assistants, and through a reflection document in the end of the semester. Exchange students may choose one of their assigned group to involve deeper and really work on the group project, but still need to share some ideas with ALL the assigned groups in some ways.

Notes for Temporary All-Distance-Learning Mandate due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

If a mandate from our school will be operated that needs all our classes to go online temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the semester, all the course requirements and grade composition will be the same but the format may be adjusted a little (e.g., online synchronous or asynchronous classes, online exam, online TA sessions, and/or online presentation). Changes will be announced if needed.