Minnesota State U Tech Students To Use Alpha Software To Build Databases

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 09/10/08
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Technology of Minnesota State University, Mankato has selected Alpha Software's Alpha Five Platinum as the standard programming tool for its engineering curriculum. Engineering students are now using Alpha Five to develop databases that support hardware design, system integration, project management, budget management, verification plans and reports, and engineering tools.

"The software development skills our students are learning with Alpha Five will be crucial to their future success as engineers," said Bill Hudson, chair of the electrical and computer engineering and technology department "We looked long and hard at several popular programming platforms, such as .NET, Java, PHP, and so on. But the learning curves were steep, and would have required an excessive amount of time teaching programming instead of engineering. With Alpha Five's agile development approach, our students need very little time to become productive. They can quickly focus on solving their specific problems with software solutions they can rapidly create."

The Department's curriculum balances theory and application to keep students and faculty up to date on industry trends and toolsets. This philosophy was one of the principal reasons the department standardized on Alpha Five.

"We have to prepare students for how software will be developed in the future, not how it was developed 10 or 20 or 30 years ago," Hudson said. "Alpha Five's contemporary methodology encourages agile development practices that get ideas into action quickly, and makes it easier to evolve applications as engineering requirements evolve. That's a competitive edge they'll be able to take advantage of for years to come."

Alpha Five Platinum is a development tool that allows users to visually build AJAX Web applications and integrate SQL databases through drag and drop.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • AI face emerging from data

    The Shadow AI Threat: Why Higher Ed Must Wake Up to Risks Before the Headlines Hit

    The most concerning issue with artificial intelligence may not be in the tools themselves, but in how quietly they're being used without oversight.

  • young man in a denim jacket scans his phone at a card reader outside a modern glass building

    Colleges Roll Out Mobile Credential Technology

    Allegion US has announced a partnership with Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and Denison College, in conjunction with Transact + CBORD, to install mobile credential technologies campuswide. Implementing Mobile Student ID into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet will allow students access to campus facilities, amenities, and residence halls using just their phones.

  • cloud with binary code and technology imagery

    Report: Hybrid and AI Expansion Outpacing Cloud Security

    A new survey from the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and Tenable finds that rapid adoption of hybrid, multi-cloud and AI systems is outpacing the security measures meant to protect them, leaving organizations exposed to preventable breaches and identity-related risks.

  • hooded figure types on a laptop, with abstract manifesto-like posters taped to the wall behind them

    Hacktivism Is a Growing Threat to Higher Education

    In recent years, colleges and universities have faced an evolving array of cybersecurity challenges. But one threat is showing signs of becoming both more frequent and more politically charged: hacktivism.