5. Into the Database

You can use databases in various ways in your teaching, for instance:

• To gather and register information in projects
• To teach ICT-skills related to information searches
• Or as a a source of information in concrete topics.

Within a few years, information search on the Internet has become the most common usage of computers in schools. The different search engines store the data collected by web crawlers in large databases containing among other things both text, keywords and the addresses of the websites on which the text was found.

Searching the Web for material related to a specific topic is not, however, without its problems. A successful search requires both knowledge of search techniques and a certain basic knowledge of the topic.

One way of developing students' search skills for use on the Web is by letting them work with small internal databases.

Databases are constructed systematically, and the strict format can, of course, be seen as a limitation, but when working with a concrete and well-defined subject, this rigid structure can become a pedagogical advantage.

In the module, examples are given of how to plan the work of gathering information, defining fields and constructing one's own database for an educational process. In addition, guidance is provided on what the students should learn about database construction to be able to work in this way.

In the exercises for this module you will learn about internal databases on your computer. Among other things you will be asked to browse through the fields in the database, search and sort, print out queries and enter new information. Apart from this, you are going to work with a slightly larger database where you learn to define several different criteria for the search.

You will also work with the construction of a completely new database.