[AccessD] AccessD never changes

Jack, you made me laugh right out loud with this one:

<snip>

These users seem to feel that- now that they have the Access software, the databases will just
get generated.???? no concepts, no plans,...

</snip

I was teaching a Lotus 1-2-3 class in the summer of 1995 (DOS version), 
especially important for students who were enrolling in the college's 
accounting courses.  As we began, I was offering examples of problems to 
be easily solved using formulas in 1-2-3. Describing several Girl Scouts 
with differing numbers of boxes of cookies to sell, I started making the 
formula to calculate the total number of dollars each Girl Scout was 
responsible for, noting that it was a simple algebraic expression.  From 
the back of the room came the outraged cry, "Algebra!  Nobody told me I 
would need algebra for this!"  Stunned, I asked the young lady why that 
would be a problem, for surely she had learned algebra in high school.  
No, she had not.  Algebra was not required in her high school 
curriculum.  Now, remember, this young lady intended to pursue an 
accounting degree.  She needed to be able to craft formulas in a 
spreadsheet, and she had no knowledge of algebra.  I asked her gently 
how she expected to proceed.  She declared that she expected the program 
to figure out how to set up the formulas, because that was what she 
understood its usefulness to be.  I don't know how she expected to tell 
the program what the problem to be solved was, but it had never dawned 
on her that she had any responsibility to think her way through the 
solution process.

Thanks for the memory and the laugh - bittersweet though it is.

T

Tina Norris Fields
tinanfields-at-torchlake-dot-com
231-322-2787

On 2/21/2013 1:44 PM, jack drawbridge wrote:
> And many of the forums from my view seem to have a large percentage of new
> users. Usually students doing assignments, or the self learning group that
> has never heard of normalization, relationships...  They all seem to
> Acc2010 or 2013, and most have installed the 64 bit version, and have the
> latest hardware. Their big issue is how to update a "cell", or how to write
> SQL. Most have never heard of a data model (or ERD). These users seem to
> feel that- now that they have the Access software, the databases will just
> get generated.???? no concepts, no plans,...
> Seems they are still teaching using Access n some schools, but none of the
> database/relational theory. Many have never heard of Normalization.  I  had
> one (British hair salon owner trying to deal with appointments, staff
> availability and products) who accused me of "hijacking" his thread because
> I asked what his core business was and could he post a jpg of his tables
> and relationships etc..  I asked about his core business and asked if he
> should be running the salon/cutting hair etc, and should he be building the
> database or hire a contractor. He also said he didn't know what a data
> model was and certainly had no need of one now and my questions weren't
> helping him He needed to know how to write a query to add totals into one
> of his tables..
>
> I think AccessD,  and I have been a long time lurker/learner with few
> posts, is far beyond these basics. When a discussion or issue is raised, it
> is usually meaningful, thought out and relevant. Perhaps we have mostly
> beaten the variety of syntax issues, and 99 ways to skin the cat, and there
> are no longer the numerous, more mundane issues for resolution.
>
> I'm not sure what exactly would revamp/reface/re-energize AccessD. I like
> John's blog. Perhaps the Ruby on Rails or other topics as has been
> suggested. However, I feel that may not get a broad take up.  I'm retired;
> have been for 5 years, my Access is typically helping people on the forums.
> As has been pointed out, many here are 40+ (maybe 50+), with diverse jobs.
> And some have been forced to look for new opportunities to use their
> skills.I don't see a lot of people jumping to Acc2013 or Sharepoint, and I
> personally have no real interest there.
>
> Any way, just a little rambling to feed the pot.
>
> jack
>