FROM THE "DATABASE" TO "DATA" COURSES

The paper discusses different roles of data in today's applications, Information Systems (IS) and the Web, the new approaches and data technologies that support these roles, and the necessity to reflect these issues in the curricula of computer majors.Databases remain the most important topics of data courses, which have to be updated with coverage of the tremendous advances in database technology that have taken place during the last few years.However, discussion of data has to go beyond traditional databases and include such important topics as design and implementation of data for exchange between applications and for presenting knowledge about particular business areas, as well as data models and technologies used for these purposes.Just adding these issues to curricula of the database programs makes it difficult to provide systematic coverage of data technologies.The paper suggests transforming database curricula into data curricula that will allow for developing a more consistent view of today's data technologies and better teaching approaches, and will provide the possibility for easier upgrading of data programs in response to advances in data technology.Such data curricula is demonstrated for a special modular undergraduate program of the Computer Systems Technology (CST) Department of the New York City College of Technology (NYCCT).New roles of data and data technologies come together with the changed paradigm of the IS architecture and the new ways of using Web resources, which calls for changes in other computer major courses as well.