When we teach programming, we often focus on the core language principles which include teaching the basics of a language, then going through basic constructions like conditionals and loops. These concepts are certainly a great place to start, but then the question is where to go next.
As I type this into my web browser, I am reminded of fact is that web development is always going to be needed and in demand. Thus students should be exposed to web dev technologies including HTML and Javascript. However, if one is going to make an interesting web page, then you'll need a database backend and a way to introduce the concept to your students.
Enter SQLBolt: "Welcome to SQLBolt, a series of interactive lessons and exercises designed to help you quickly learn SQL right in your browser."
My wife introduced it to me as a tool she learned about to teach her Exploring Computer Science class. We worked through the first six lessons. I found it to be a great introduction to SQL. It was intuitive for somebody like myself who has written a good deal of SQL, but also instructive to a beginner. It provides a web-based build in database that one can write queries off of and even update and insert. The lessons start simply with selects and a few basic "where" clauses. Then it moves to join data from multiple tables. Finishing up the beginning level, it shows users how to update and insert records into the database. There are even more advanced tutorials past the beginning ones that go over more advanced topics that even I don't utilize on a regular basis.
The only negative I found was there were a few flaws in their automatic assessment grader that really didn't enforce restricting selects like I wanted to see.
My company has a SQL skill test that it offers to all potential database hires as part of the hiring process. Having tested the questions myself, I feel that a programmer who mastered the first 18 beginning level lessons would pass our database test easily. So SQLBolt definitely has real-world application.
Once you cover SQL you'll have to also touch on HTML, Javascript to build the front end. Then you'll need a language like PHP to bridge those two worlds. With those four technologies under a student's belt, they'll be able to develop an interesting and potential useful web page.
Setting up a full stack web development environment can be tricky, especially in a classroom setting. I'm currently working on some research on how to do this in a school educational setting. Look for those ideas in a future post. Until then, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please leave a comment.