Database terminology is not a <i>huge</i> issue if you use Filemaker; you just need to keep your kids 'bilingual' so they can translate exam terms (usually Access-centric) to Filemaker terms (e.g. input forms and reports are both 'layouts' to FMP users). <br>
<br>Some concepts like referential integrity don't exist at all in FMP and must be taught explicitly. <br><br>One significant difference between FMP and Access is that calculated fields are actual fields in FMP and are defined in the database schema along with the other fields. In Access they only exist in queries. I think Filemaker's way is more intuitive, but exam questions in the past have relied on students believing that new data is calculated from existing data only in queries.<br>
<br>There are other differences between FMP and Access, such as how data validation is done, and what functions exist in each database. In my post-mortems I like to challenge readers (and examiners) by describing Filemaker answers and asking whether they would have accepted those answers during marking.<br>
<br>I am rather vocal about such issues as terminology and assumptions about database behaviour to keep the examiners conscious that there are databases other than Access and that exams need to be fair to all students - especially during marking and students suggest a technique, term or concept that is valid in <i>their</i> RDBMS but not in the 'mainstream' RDBMS that the markers are probably expecting to see.<br>
<br>We're just lucky that the dominant spreadsheet is also the de facto standard which the competitors (few as they are, like Google spreadsheets and Open Office) slavishly imitate ;-]<br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">
On 8 June 2012 09:38, Simone Tynan <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:Simone.Tynan@shcy.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">Simone.Tynan@shcy.vic.edu.au</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div style="word-wrap:break-word">Hi.<div>Yes, we are a Mac school. Used FileMaker for the first time this year. I have always used Access in previous schools. I found FileMaker to be easier to use despite having used Access for about 10 years. Definitely agree that using either Access or Filemaker is best so as to limit terminology confusion. <br>
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<div style><div style><br>Simone</div><div style><br></div><div><font color="#1228b3">************************************</font></div><div><font color="#1228b3">Simone Tynan</font></div><div><font color="#1228b3">eLearning Leader</font></div>
<div><font color="#1228b3">LOTE Leader P-12</font></div><div><font color="#1228b3"><a href="mailto:Simone.Tynan@shcy.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">Simone.Tynan@shcy.vic.edu.au</a></font></div><div><font color="#1228b3"><br>
</font></div><div><font color="#1228b3">Sacred Heart College</font></div><div><font color="#1228b3">P.O. Box 286</font></div><div><font color="#1228b3">Yarrawonga</font></div><div><font color="#1228b3">Victoria 3730</font></div>
</div></div></span></div></span></div></span><span style="color:rgb(18,40,179)">Phone <a href="tel:%2803%295744%203258" value="+61357443258" target="_blank">(03)5744 3258</a></span><span style="border-collapse:separate;font-family:Helvetica;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-auto;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;font-size:medium"><div style="word-wrap:break-word">
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<div style><br></div><div style><br></div><br clear="all"></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></span></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br>-- <br>Mark Kelly<br>Manager of ICT, Reporting, IT Learning Area<br>
McKinnon Secondary College<br>McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia<br>Direct line / Voicemail: +613 8520 9085, Fax +613 9578 9253<br><a href="mailto:kel@mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">kel@mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au</a> << use this, not Edumail please!<br>
VCE IT Lecture Notes: <a href="http://vceit.com" target="_blank">http://vceit.com</a><br>Moderator: IT Applications Edulist<br><br>--<br>An E-flat, a C, and a G go into a bar. The bartender says, "I'm sorry, but I can't serve minors."<br>
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