The advent of charge-coupled devices and the subsequent implementation of ultrawide cameras for large imaging surveys has opened up a new window for time-domain astronomy. In the past, time-domain studies were focused on monitoring campaigns of selected dense stellar fields. This included the Milky Way (the Galactic bulge in particular) and its satellites the Magellanic Clouds. The monitoring campaigns also extended to other nearby galaxies such as the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies. However, with advances in technology, time-domain studies have been transformed by un-biased all-sky surveys, such as the All-Sky Automated Survey, Pan-STARRS, Palomar Transient Factory, and Catalina Sky Surveys. With the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) on the horizon, there will be an avalanche of time-series data of the entire southern sky. In light of LSST, it is important to prepare future generations of astronomers with the knowledge and tools to digest the big data in a timely manner.
Includes bibliographical references.