Let's see how we might use these different data structures weve been introduced to, to help us model a real-world situation.
Professor Xavier wants to design and develop a new set of courses, all with the goal of helping students learn more about set theory and algebra; probably five or six courses altogether. They'll all fit within several academic degree programs (as minors, or as sets of electives); some are prerequisites for others, and some can be taken by themselves. There are high-level learning outcomes that the degree programs expect these courses to help satisfy, and some have flowed down to one course, others to another. The outcomes, in turn, break down into a number of supporting objectives. Objectives are mapped further into activities that are done by students during a particular class.
So, first, Professor Xavier would like some ideas about what kind of data structures could represent this "tangled mess" of outcomes that flow to objectives, objectives contained within courses, courses consisting of activities, and objectives flowing to these activities as well.
He then has another problem. He has several people who can develop different parts of different courses for him, and he'd like a simple way to think about the workload that each person has, how the work from one developer flows on to the next one, etc. Hes concerned that some steps in this course development process might build up backlogs of work, while others have people sitting idle.
What kind of data structures might help him represent this problem? How might he set them up?
This week asks you to develop your "first best guess" about how to model these different aspects of planning a set of courses. It probably helps to start by drawing pictures and then label them. Think about what they might be made of, and then write up some descriptions. Use the presentation software of your choice to help you visualize and communicate your ideas. The Media Hub page contains suggestions for presentation software. Make sure to describe how you think your structure will work for the scenario.