LearnSQL is an online learning and evaluation system for database courses, coordinated by Alberto Abelló and Antoni Urpí, aimed at providing students with automated exercise assessments and feedback. The platform supports three languages and offers various assessment formats including quizzes and group work, while able to handle a large number of concurrent users through scalable architecture. The system has been in use since 2003 and is designed to adapt to European higher education standards while being extensible for new subjects and functionalities.

1. LearnSQL: Online Learning and Evaluation System
for Databases Courses
Coordinators: Alberto Abelló, Antoni Urpí
Participants: Xavier Burgués, M. José Casany, Carme Martín,
M.Elena Rodríguez, Oscar Romero, Carme Quer
Current partipant students: Àlex Rufo
Students that participated in the past: Jaume Ferrarons,
Jesus Muñoz, Marc Fernandez Pujol, Marc Estévez, Adria
Toporcer, Marc Fernandez, Marc Català, Jorge Muñoz, Enric
Munné, Aliona Zila, Toni Torres, Fabio Martín, Adrià Vallés
ESSI Department (Service and Information Systems Engineering)

2. Main Objectives
To offer exercises to the students with feed-back about the solutions correctness.
At class At home
To evaluate students by means of automatic assessment of exercises, with the
possibility to offer feed-back during exams.

3. Options
Individual Quizzes
Plain Group Work
Team Quizzes
Structured
Cooperative Work
Interfaces and exercises in three languages (English, Spanish, Catalan)

4. Quizzes and Exercises
One or more exercises
Exercises weights
Exercise statement
Public test case
Student solution
Grade, Trials
Assessment result

5. Subjects and Assessment
Test Cases (TC);
Students
TC Weights;
Solution
TC Results for a teacher
correct solution.
Subjects:
• SQL queries
• SQL insertions, updates and
deletes
Scorer:
• SQL creation of tables
• Execution of the students solution for • Relational databases design from
each TC. UML conceptual models
• Comparison of the results with the • Normalization
• Stored procedures
ones of the teacher solution. • Triggers
• Return the TC that failed the • Views definition
comparison. • Assertion simulations by means of
views definition
• JDBC applications
• Database optimization
• Algebra
• Query cost estimation
Failed TC • Multidimensional operations

6. System architecture
• Authoring Tool: Client
Java program that allows
exercises management
(items)
• Scorer: Web Service with
an specific module for
each subject exercises
evaluated
• Remote Test Module:
Moodle 1.9 extension
(teams definition,
LearnSQL quizzes, peer-
review evaluation)
• Scalability: As many scorers as necessary can be added in order to offer a good response time to a
certain number of students using concurrently the system. These scorers can be deployed in
different servers in order to offer parallel assessment
• Extensibility: New modules can be added to the scorer in order to assess new subjects, or scorer
implementation can be changed in order to offer assessment of other type of exercises
Questions and Test Interoperability (2.0) Architecture Conformance
(IMS Global Learning Consortium)

7. Use
Number of Number of
Subject School Period
Students hours / week
Introduction to
BD FIB, 2010 From 2010 140 (700) 4h
Databases
Databases Dessign DBD FIB, 2010 From 2011 40 (100) 4h
Databases
ABD FIB, 2010 From 2011 2 (2) 4h
Administration
Introduction to From 2008 to
BD FIB, 2003 180 (1100) 6h
Databases 2011
Databases Design From 2007 to
DABD FIB, 2003 50 (600) 5h
and Administration 2012
Databases //
From 2007 to
Databases Design BD FME 20 (40) 4h
2009
and Management
Total Number of Students ≈ 2550

8. Founding
Projects Entity Number
• Adapting LEARN-SQL to the European High Education
Area (EHEA). Generalitat de Catalunya. 01/10/2009 -
Generalitat 30/09/2011
2 • MQD00202. Introduction of cooperative learning
de Catalunya techniques in the field of databases with the support of
Education information technologies. Generalitat de Catalunya.
01.09.2007 - 31.08.2009
Innovation • Adapting LEARN-SQL to the European High Education
Projects Area (EHEA). UPC. 01/09/2009 - 15/01/2011
• Introduction of cooperative learning techniques and in
UPC 3 blended courses in the field of databases. UPC.
01.07.2005 - 30.06.2007
• Enpowering Moodle to support blended courses. UPC.
01.09.2007 - 15.10.2008
Final Year
FIB 12 ....
Project

9. Mantainence and Evolution
• Authoring Tool:
• Web application / Tablet App
• New functionality
• Scorer:
• New modules implementation
• Remote Test Module:
• Evolution from Moodle 1.9 to Moodle 2.3

10. Open LearnSQL to other Universities
• Required services
• Installation help assistance
• Use training
• Troubleshoot problem
• Administration guide
• System maintenance
• System evolution
• Other alternative services
• LearnSQL as a service (SaaS)
• Exercises development
• New modules implementation, for
assessment of new type of
exercises

11. http://www.upc.edu/learn-sql