A multimedia database project and the evolution of the database course

The database course needs to continue evolving to reflect changes in the computing environment and changes in current thought about how best to engage the student. We propose one possible evolution that is based on a semester-long multimedia database project involving a Web interface, called MeTube. The project supports uploading and downloading videos, images, and audio files as well as supplementary features such as ratings, comments, viewer blocking, and contact lists. Having a project that focuses on multimedia data and is Web-accessible using current Web technology will be more interesting, relevant, and useful for the students. Our description of the project includes both the requirements and the division of it into assignments. We show an example implementation and report on our experiences with the project. Finally, we explain how the project fits into the context of the course and future directions for the project.