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Romana | English
2007 | 2006
| 2005 | 2004
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Data Modeling |
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3rd
Prize Siveco Cup 2007
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Data modeling represents the first step in implementing database
driven applications and it consists of analyzing the data
and the relationships between data. Its purpose is to elaborate
the conceptual data model. The efficiency of the data model
is essential for the application.
Even though for a database developer the study of data modeling
is the equivalent to algorithmics for a programmer, data modeling
isn’t studied systematically and compelling in school,
the implementation and exploitation being emphasized. The
syntax of a data manipulation language and how to use it for
database query is very well studied, but… we don’t
learn how to project databases. We don’t learn how to
communicate with clients, to analyze their requests, to identify
the relevant data and the important relationships between
them. The main objective of this software is to help students
understand how to model a real-life activity.
Structure based on psychopedagogical principles
The software is made up by a sequence of didactic
moments, structured on psychopedagogical principles. In each
moment contains clearly specified operational objectives,
theoretical aspects, examples and tasks that allow students
to achieve each specified objective.
Functional and standardized interface
The interface consists of three big areas:
• the theoretical area, in which theoretical elements
are presented;
• the active area, in which animations are played, demonstrations
and exemplifications are presented and the student can solve
tasks;
• the informational area, in which the student is told
what he hast to do.
Customizable educational partner
The student is accompanied throughout all the lectures by
an educational partner (boy or girl, at his choice). In the
first moment of the first lecture, the student can customize
his partner as he pleases choosing from physiological and
clothes elements. The customized partner will be used by the
student in all moments and will be present in all animations
that illustrate learning situations.
Learning situations
The lectures structure is based on 5 learning situations:
• The didactic activity at a college (the students,
classes, courses evidence);
• The activity at a library (the readers and books evidence);
• The activity of a video store (the members, films,
dvds evidence);
• The activity of a tourism agency;
• A zoological atlas.
Every learning situation is presented using an animation.
The student must watch the animation to identify relevant
data and relevant relationships between data. No extra information
is offered, he must analyze the given situation in a real-life
manner. Afterwards student has to model the analyzed activity
according to ERD (Entity-Relationship Diagram) rules, using
the ERD diagram editor included in the software.
Tool: ERD diagram editor
For drawing the ERD diagrams the software includes an extremely
useful tool: a specialized ERD editor. The tool is designed
to allow drawing of all the elements specific to the ERD diagrams:
entities, attributes (optional and mandatory), unique identifiers
(simple and composed), relations (and the cardinality and
optionality of these), transferable relationships and bared
relationships, subtypes, arcs.
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Psychosocial behaviour
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2nd
prize Siveco Cup 2007
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Computer-aided study of social psychology is spreading
wider and wider. Psychology was born out of the need to
know oneself, to know the others, to seek the answers to
different questions.
Studying psychology in the virtual environment becomes a
challenge, both for teachers and students. The interaction
we are trying to achieve through the proposed tasks offers
the two educational partners the chance to visualize theoretical
aspects of this domain through the eyes of a software developer.
The entertaining elements, which are frequently used in
this material, help students assimilate theoretical notions
easier and for a longer time.
Theoretical content is structured on 5 lessons and has its
starting point in the domain of social psychology. The definition
of this domain has not been presented traditionally, as
a number of theoretical characteristics, but as a didactic
game that emphasizes through its tasks the basic concepts,
the essential characteristics of this area of psychology.
Obviously every lesson is mostly composed of theoretical
aspects that students have to assimilate; synthesizing these
aspects in didactic sketches helps students extract the
main elements and their characteristics, while helping the
teacher to synthesize the multitude of theoretical elements
considering certain parameters.
We combined the methods teachers use in order to present
the theoretical content to students, using new psychological
methods and instruments: survey, scala, test. We consider
that, in order to study this chapter of general psychology,
student must be familiar with psychological and social aspects
that can distinguish his personality.
We managed to transpose theoretical elements of social psychology
into practical applications that student can do in any moment
of his existence. We are talking about the analysis and
quantification of the personal data that can make a correct
Curriculum Vita.
We did these tasks in order to combine theoretical aspects
of this domain with the practical ones: color interpretation,
analysis and classification of values, the identification
of the strong points of a personality.
The final evaluation proposes an original approach, using
the Interest Questionnaire created by J. Holland. The questionnaire
transposes the types of personality into domains of activity
specific for every individual.
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