Databases Intro:
Exercise 1-2

Exercise Database 1-2: On Your Own

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What you will do:

Find databases in your own home. List databases that have information about you.

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Start with:  NotePad or any other text editor or word processor.

1. Start a new document with your name as the first line.
    
2. Physical in your home:
   Inspect your home and make a list of all of the physical databases (not on the computer!) that you find there. Be specific with names or descriptions. (You can stop if you reach 20 different types!)
    
   Hint: Consider items like recipe books, scrapbooks, photo albums, dictionaries, encyclopedias, address books, phone books, TV listings, course listings from colleges, school yearbooks, calendars.
    
3. Print your list.
4. Save your list as homedatabases.txt to your Class disk.
    
5. Start another new document with your name as the first line.
    
6. In the world:
   Think hard and make a list of databases out in the world that would have information about you. Be as specific as you can be without getting too personal. (You can stop if you can list 30.)
    
   Hint: Consider organizations like financial institutions (credit cards, banks, mortgage companies, lenders...), government agencies (auto registration, property tax assessor, driver's license, IRS, FBI crime records...), schools and colleges, organizations that you belong to (religious group, Red Cross, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, Rotary, political party, environmental or conservation group, lobbying group, union or other work-related group...), web sites that require login (eBay, PayPal, New York Times...), medical organizations (doctors, hospitals, clinics).
    
   What other groups might have a record about you??
    
7. Print your list.
8. Save your list as worlddatabases.txt to your Class disk.

Each list that you created is a metadatabase, that is, a database consisting of databases.