Using the UCSC genome browser in a database course

Students can benefit greatly from working with real databases in their first Database course. A database for a university is a common textbook example, in part due to its familiarity, but privacy and other considerations typically preclude course access to this and many other large, meaningful databases. This paper reports on two semesters' experience using the University of California Santa Cruz Genome Browser [6] in a Database course, allowing mid-level computer science undergraduates to gain hands-on experience with a large real-world database. Anonymous survey feedback from students in both semesters was positive for both engagement and increased knowledge. The activity described within can easily be adopted by others, requires no software installation, and can be adapted to the desired length and difficulty level.