An Integrated Approach To Teaching Web Development

Abstract

The growing use of the Internet has led to a steep increase in the demand for web developers who possess web design, database, and programming skills.  The demand for these skills is reflected in the new IS2007 model curriculum, which suggests that web developers obtain in-depth knowledge of databases and web programming. While these topics are commonly covered in Information Systems (IS) curricula, they are traditionally taught independently in separate courses, leaving students with a fragmented view of how to integrate the various components of a data-driven web application.  Research on learning has shown that activation of existing knowledge is an important step in the learning process. This study shows how a common business case can be used to support the activation of existing knowledge in different classes related to web development. The detailed examples show how to use the same business case to teach database, web design, and programming skills.