Education and Training

Education and training skills

I have many years experience of education and training in industry and Universities, and can teach courses on a variety of information technology subjects. I am prepared to undertake tasks in the following general areas:

• Curriculum and course development
• Course and curriculum validation
• Course delivery
• Programmer training in various languages (IBM System 370 Assembler, PL/I, C, Java)
• Formal methods training (Discrete mathematics, Z notation, B-Method)
• Software engineering training (Requirements analysis, specification, design, implementation)

Information Technology courses

The courses described below can be adapted in various ways to suit clients' requirements. Other courses can be prepared to clients' specifications.

There are some samples of materials I have used in university teaching.

Courses are grouped under the the following topics:

• Database
• Programming
• Object-oriented
• Software engineering
• Formal methods

Database

Database design

The effective design of relational database applications is still a key skill for software practitioners. In this three-day class of lectures and practical exercises the student learns

• entity-relationship modelling using UML for recording
• the relational model of data, normalisation, relational algebra
• implementing entity-relationship diagrams using the relational model
• SQL for implementing transactions that query and update a relational database.

The practical exercises are worked using Micrsoft Access or a similar database facility.

Programming

C programming

A three-day class of lectures and practical exercises using any suitable C compiler.

Java programming

A three-day class of lectures and practical exercises using any suitable Java development environment.

Object-oriented

Object-oriented analysis and design

The promises of object-oriented technology for improvement in reuse of software components are still being realised. This three-day course consists of lectures and group practicals, and covers the use of UML for recording an object-oriented analysis and design. On this course the student will learn

• Use cases and activity diagrams for exploring system function
• Class diagrams for recording data structures
• Collaboration diagrams and sequence diagrams for recording designs

Software engineering

Technologies for electronic commerce

A two-day class of lectures and a practical design exercise on technologies used in the implementation of electronic commerce systems. The student learns

• how the internet and World Wide Web are related
• use of HTML for simple Web page design
• the role of XML and XSL transformations in electronic commerce
• the principal technologies for encryption and authentication
• the role of Java as a language for client-side and server-side programming
• design principles for the three tier architecture.

Problem frames

A two-day class of lectures and a group practical on the analysis and decomposition of problems using Jackson's Problem Frames.

Formal methods

Z specification

A three-day class of lectures and a group practical on the Z specification language and its use for writing software specifications. The student learns

• The use of set theory and logic for software specification
• The Z schema calculus
• Constructing and reviewing Z specifications

In the supervised group exercise each group of students prepares a short Z specification from informal requirements, and then presents its specification to the rest of the class.

Z for readers

A two-day class of lectures and a practicals on understanding Z specifications and interpreting them in informal language. The student learns

• The use of set theory and logic for software specification
• The Z schema calculus
• Reading and interpreting Z specifications

Using the B-Toolkit for software specification and design

A three-day class of lectures and a group practical to teach the use of the B-toolkit for software specification, animation, design, and implementation.

Last updated on 11 April 2008.