More of Information's, Educational materials, both on project, journals, seminars, term papers., politics, advert etc.
e-gloing
Thursday, February 18, 2016
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL (A CASE STUDY OF NEKEDE STAFF PRIMARY SCHOOL) BY
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL (A CASE STUDY OF NEKEDE STAFF PRIMARY SCHOOL)
BY
KALU CHIOMA PRECIOUS 13E/0258/CS
AND
OKEREKE ONYEBUCHI 13E/374/CS
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE OWERRI.
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF NATIONAL DIPLOMA (ND) IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
OCTOBER, 2014.
CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that Kalu Chioma Precious 13e/374/CS with the registration number and Okereke Onyebuchi with the registration number, 13e/0258/CS has satisfactorily completed the requirement for the award of National Diploma (ND) in Computer Science of Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri.
…………………………….. …………………..
MR. OMENKA Date
(Project Supervisor)
……………………………… …………………..
MRS. OYEDEPO VICTORIA Date
(H.O.D computer science)
…………………….. ……… ………………..
External Supervisor Date
DEDICATION
We are dedicating this project to the Almighty God whom has been so good to us through the journeyof this project.
To the families of Mr. and Mrs. KALU and Mr. and Mrs. OKEREKE For their support; God bless.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is incredible to accomplish an immediate task of this kind without incurring some intellectual debts. In recognition of this fact therefore, I humbly wish to express my sincere gratitude to God Almighty for his benevolence and protection throughout our stay in Federal Polytechnic Nekede Owerri.
Secondly, I am indebted to my H.O.D for his academic fastidiousness. I am also indebted to my project supervisor, Mr. MR. OMENKA, who through his academic assistance and valuable advice I was able to accomplish this project work.
Finally, I am indebted to our lovely parents and a host of other relations for their moral and financial support.
ABSTRACT
This project work identified the challenges facing nekede staff primary school, and created a website to help the academic management unit of the school overcome most of these challenges. It addressed many of the problems encountered in the day to day operation of the school which include: slow processing of students assessment report, manual filling of registration form by parents or pupils which is error prone, improper evaluation criteria for checking pupils to know the suitable class for the child, poor communication medium between the parents and the teachers of the school. As a sufficiently fast and accurate method of carrying out research, structured system analysis and design methodology was adopted. The website was developed with html, php and javascript. The developed website performed well and produced expected results on completion. With it, it was possible solve the entire problem discovered in the analysis phase.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
APPROVAL PAGE ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi-ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Background of the study 2
1.3 Statement of the problem 4
1.4 Aims and Objectives 4
1.5 Scope of the study 5
1.6 Significance of the study 6
1.7 Limitation of the study 6
1.8 Definition of terms 6
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES
2.1 Introduction 8
CHAPTER THREE: SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
3.1 Introduction 23
3.2 System Analysis 23
3.3 Method of data collection 28
3.4 Problem of existing system 28
3.5 User Preparation 31
3.6 Objective of the new Design 31
3.7 Program Structure 32
3.7.1 System flowchart 34
3.7.2 Program flowchart 35
3.8 File maintenance module 36
3.9 Main menu specification 37
3.9.1 Output Specification 37
3.9.2 Input Specification 38
3.10 Overview of the proposed system flowchart 39
CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
4.1 Introduction 41
4.2 Justification of the programming language 41
4.3 System Control 42
4.4.1 System Requirement 42
4.4.2 Software Requirement 42
4.5 Implementation Details 44
4.5.1 Coding 44
4.5.2 System Testing 44
4.5.3 Training and Re-training of staff 44
4.5.4 File Conservation 45
4.5.5 Changeover Procedure 45
4.5.6 User Manuals 47
CHAPTER FIVE:SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Summary 48
5.2 Recommendations 48
5.3 Conclusion 49
REFERENCES
Appendix I
Appendix
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
A Website is a collection of web pages, images, videos and other digital asserts hosted on one or more web servers. It enables information to be disseminated to every user on the network. Website is usually accessible through internet that is bringing changes in most of our daily activities. This change is in all aspects of man’s life today like change in business transaction and environment, education, production and manufacturing of products etc. To cope with these changes most organizations like academic institutions develop website with which to carry out most of their activities. These activities in the case of a primary school include : registering newly admitted pupil, recording their examination score and processing the result per term, placing them in appropriate classes (usually from primary one, except when a person presents details that proves that he/she has finished a given level), keeping classroom information (what is happening in primary one to six), posting information to the pupil’s parents , parents post response and complaints to the school, keeping records of Staff details as well as track of the meeting minutes of the parents/teachers council.
These activities are tedious when carried out manually leading to inaccuracy in the expected output; slow operation and reduction in the overall achievement of the school that still adopt manual process.
With the fast growth and accessibility to internet, schools have to develop their website to meet the wide information
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Staff Primary School Nekede was established in 2004. It was developed by the staff unit of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede. It was established with the aim of making sure that children within the environs of the polytechnic can have access to quality education. It has a management structure that began from the headmaster to the pupil.
The school started with just few pupils (not up to 50) but with time .we have numerous pupil ranging from primary 1 to 6. This problem generated many other academic and administrative problems. The Manpower can no longer carry the insurgence of pupils in the school. Also prospective parents, who have been hearing about this school are not reached unless they do the normal enquiry from the school. This can serve as a source of discouragement for parents sending their wards to school.
Presently pupil’s result Compilation is done manually, this cause a late release in the result of pupils. Also important information about the activities in school are passed orally and flyers in some cases. This has caused many challenges in terms of information dissemination. Parents complain that information don’t get to them at all, some said it got to them late. This is as the result of the carefulness of children when going home. Some drop it on the way while going and some misplace not knowing how it important it, some throw away their results because of their bad performance. It is a very clear fact that the school doesn’t have an up-to date record of all pupils in the school which will cause a problem in future.
In this new system all problems associated with the old system will be solved. Solutions of the new system:
• Registration of new pupils
• Payment of tuition fees
• Updates of Events in school
• Classroom information System
• Staff information and data
• Parents Teachers Forum etc.
All this problems will be implemented in this system.
1.2. STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
Design and implementation of an online website system. This system allows candidates to register and take information in the system. The teachers of this system are allowed to login for contributing and viewing profile of candidates. Administrators will be able to access the system to sign up to a new information, accounts and view profile of the candidates.
I will borrow a host for implementation our system. Our group will keep the existing website catalog database by using Microsoft access to access database.
At the first, guest must register an account to become a candidate by fill all required information such as name, birthday…. Once the registration process is completed for a guest, the registration system sends information to the billing system so the guest can be logged in the system.
After that, the system will allow candidate to login and select a class
Every time, the candidates will be able to view their profile.
The teacher must be able to access the online system to contribute.
They also can view the profile of candidates.
The administrator manages operation of the system such as managing accounts and questions, viewing profile of candidates.
FEATURES
Exams and other relevant information can be timed or untimed set the date and time when the specific site has to be available. Can include pictures, graphics and flash (.swf) files in the online website.
The Student and section details are stored in the database.
The Online system has a password based authentication system for students as well as System Administrator.
Poor website
Late and improper release of information due to low service
Poor site display.
1.3. OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The objective of this computer software based online clearance system for the graduating student includes the following:
To effectively and efficiently process of Online registration of Pupils.
To provide a reliable and transparent system devoid of personal inclination and interest.
To provide borderless access.
To ensure prompt Efficient result compilation system..
To alleviate the problems and stress of travelling and queuing up of student to source for in for mention and other online issues.
Corporate between the data stored in the server of the Institution and our on line system. To deal with On-line System in an easy way and an efficient mannered. (Connection process)
Create strong and secrete data base that allow for any connection in a secret way, to prevent any outside or inside attacks or question leakage.
1.4. SCOPE OF STUDY
The project work covers the analysis, researches and oral interviews made at the Staff Primary School Nekede. The School can use the website to carry out academic and administrative activities of the school. This can also be an advertisement of goods and services rendered by the school. The website can be a case study to other primary school websites.
1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The project was undertaken to ensure that the old system has a total improvement and also the school has a better management structure compared to what they had before.
In the course of the project, through interviews and research works I got to develop myself. The society is the major beneficiary of the software, the education system will be some step closer to actualizing its visions.
1.6. LIMITATION OF STUDY
The project was faced with a number of restricting factors which made the work not to exceed the scope defined for it. The most pressing factor was:
i. Lack of finance.
ii. Fluctuating power supply.
iii. Inadequate supply of data.
iv. Limited time given for the projectwork to be completed.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
AUTOMATION: This is the theory, art and technique of converting a mechanical process to maximize automate operation especially by that of electronics control mechanisms and electronic computers for rapid organizing and processing of data.
WEBSITE: It is a collection of webpages, images, data files and program files that is managed by an individuals or an organization. It is information in multimedia formation and are disseminated over the internet through the World Wide Web.
SOFTWARE: These are set of logically related instruction given to the computer to perform some specific task.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 IMPORTANCE OF WEBSITE
(Charles Jackson) These days, almost any small business should have a website. With costs being extremely low at the entry level, it's becoming difficult to imagine a reason for any company of any size not to have a website. Many user-friendly, free and open-source content-management systems are available to assist with Web design, so it is even possible to build a basic small business website without a professional Web designer.
2.2.1 Low-Cost Advertising
The Web has a far wider reach than any other form of advertising. While it takes time to build up enough traffic to your website to make a worthwhile impact on your company's marketing campaign, it costs next to nothing to do so. Your website will be the center of your company's online presence; through it, you advertise your business around the Web on social networking sites, forums and through pay-per-click advertising programs.
2.2.2 Visibility
Increasing visibility is one major factor that makes having a website important. Even if people have heard about your company, they may want to carry out research online first, before leaving the house. Provide a map and directions to your company's shops or offices on your website so that visitors are less likely to have trouble finding the place.
2.2.3 Accessibility
A website is online and accessible 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Because of this, your customers and potential customers can visit your site for support or information about new and upcoming products and services whenever it is convenient for them. Your website will act as an invaluable and always-available resource for information which would otherwise only be accessible during your company's business hours.
2.2.4 Sales
Your website can sell products at any time. Potential customers are not restricted to business hours. Instead, they can go online and purchase products whenever they want. A website with an online shop can provide a dramatic boost in sales.
2.2.5 Two-Way Communicative Marketing
Customers can quickly and easily give feedback on your product and/or marketing approach.
2.2.6 Growth Opportunity
A website serves as a great place to refer potential investors to, to show them what your company is about, what it has achieved and what it can achieve in future.
2.2.7 Cheap Market Research
You can use features on your website such as visitor polls, online surveys and your website statistics to find out what your customers like more and how they feel about certain aspects of your business to determine how you can improve your product and the way you do business.
2.3 THE NEED FOR WEBSITE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Special education or special needs education is the practice of educating students with special needs in a way that addresses their individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and their community, than may be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.
Common special needs include learning disabilities, communication disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disabilities.Students with these kinds of special needs are likely to benefit from additional educational services such as different approaches to teaching, the use of technology, a specifically adapted teaching area, or a resource room.
Intellectual giftedness is a difference in learning and can also benefit from specialized teaching techniques or different educational programs, but the term "special education" is generally used to specifically indicate instruction of students with disabilities. Gifted education is handled separately.
Whereas special education is designed specifically for students with special needs, remedial education can be designed for any students, with or without special needs; the defining trait is simply that they have reached a point of under preparedness, regardless of why. For example, even people of high intelligence can be underprepared if their education was disrupted, for example, by internal displacement during civil disorder or a war.
In most developed countries, educators modify teaching methods and environments so that the maximum numbers of students are served in general education environments. Therefore, special education in developed countries is often regarded as a service rather than a place.Integration can reduce social stigmas and improve academic achievement for many students.
The opposite of special education is general education. General education is the standard curriculum presented without special teaching methods or supports.
2.3.1 Identifying students or learners with special needs
Some children are easily identified as candidates for special needs due to their medical history. They may have been diagnosed with a genetic condition that is associated with intellectual disability, may have various forms of brain damage, may have a developmental disorder, may have visual or hearing disabilities, or other disabilities.
For students with less obvious disabilities, such as those who have learning difficulties, two primary methods have been used for identifying them: the discrepancy model and the response to intervention model. The discrepancy model depends on the teacher noticing that the students' achievements are noticeably below what is expected. The response to intervention model advocates earlier intervention.
In the discrepancy model, a student receives special education services for a specific learning difficulty (SLD) if the student has at least normal intelligence and the student's academic achievement is below what is expected of a student with his or her IQ. Although the discrepancy model has dominated the school system for many years, there has been substantial criticism of this approach (e.g., Aaron, 1995, Flanagan and Mascolo, 2005) among researchers. One reason for criticism is that diagnosing SLDs on the basis of the discrepancy between achievement and IQ does not predict the effectiveness of treatment. Low academic achievers who also have low IQ appear to benefit from treatment just as much as low academic achievers who have normal or high intelligence.
The alternative approach, response to intervention, identifies children who are having difficulties in school in their first or second year after starting school. They then receive additional assistance such as participating in a reading remediation program. The response of the children to this intervention then determines whether they are designated as having a learning disability. Those few who still have trouble may then receive designation and further assistance. Sternberg (1999) has argued that early remediation can greatly reduce the number of children meeting diagnostic criteria for learning disabilities. He has also suggested that the focus on learning disabilities and the provision of accommodations in school fails to acknowledge that people have a range of strengths and weaknesses and places undue emphasis on academics by insisting that students should be supported in this arena and not in music or sports.
2.3.2Individual needs
A special education program should be customized to address each individual student's unique needs. Special educators provide a continuum of services, in which students with special needs receives varying degrees of support based on their individual needs. Special education programs need to be individualized so that they address the unique combination of needs in a given student.
In the United States, Canada, and the UK, educational professionals use the initialism IEP when referring to a student’s individualized education plan. For children who are not yet 3, an IFSP. (Individual Family Service Plan)It contains
1. Information on the child’s present level of development in all areas;
2. outcomes for the child and family; and
3. Services the child and family will receive to help them achieve the outcomes.
Students with special needs are assessed to determine their specific strengths and weaknesses.Placement, resources, and goals are determined on the basis of the student's needs. Accommodations and Modifications to the regular program may include changes in the curriculum, supplementary aides or equipment, and the provision of specialized physical adaptations that allow students to participate in the educational environment as much as possible. Students may need this help to access subject matter, physically gain access to the school, or meet their emotional needs. For example, if the assessment determines that the student cannot write by hand because of a physical disability, then the school might provide a computer for typing assignments, or allow the student to answer questions verbally instead. If the school determines that the student is severely distracted by the normal activities in a large, busy classroom, then the student might be placed in a smaller classroom such as a resource room.
2.3.3 Methods of provision
Schools use different approaches to providing special education services to students. These approaches can be broadly grouped into four categories, according to how much contact the student with special needs has with non-disabled students (using North American terminology):
• Inclusion: In this approach, students with special needs spend all, or most of the school day with students who do not have special needs. Because inclusion can require substantial modification of the general curriculum, most schools use it only for selected students with mild to moderate special needs, which is accepted as a best practice. Specialized services may be provided inside or outside the regular classroom, depending on the type of service. Students may occasionally leave the regular classroom to attend smaller, more intensive instructional sessions in a resource room, or to receive other related services that might require specialized equipment or might be disruptive to the rest of the class, such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation counseling. They might also leave the regular classroom for services that require privacy, such as counseling sessions with a social worker.
• Mainstreaming refers to the practice of educating students with special needs in classes with non-disabled students during specific time periods based on their skills. Students with special needs are segregated in separate classes exclusively for students with special needs for the rest of the school day.
• Segregation in a separate classroom or special school for students with special needs: In this model, students with special needs do not attend classes with non-disabled students. Segregated students may attend the same school where regular classes are provided, but spend all instructional time exclusively in a separate classroom for students with special needs. If their special class is located in an ordinary school, they may be provided opportunities for social integration outside the classroom, such as by eating meals with non-disabled students.Alternatively, these students may attend a special school.
• Exclusion: A student who does not receive instruction in any school is excluded from school. In the past, most students with special needs have been excluded from school.Such exclusion still affects about 23 million disabled children worldwide, particularly in poor, rural areas of developing countries.It may also occur when a student is in hospital, housebound, or detained by the criminal justice system. These students may receive one-on-one instruction or group instruction. Students who have been suspended or expelled are not considered excluded in this sense.
2.3.4 Effective Instruction for students with disabilities
• Goal Directed: Each child must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that distinguishes his/her particular needs. The child must get the services that are designed for him/her. These services will allow him/her to reach his/her annual goals which will be assessed at the end of each term along with short term goals that will be assessed every few months.
• Research-Based Methods- There has been a lot of research done about students with disabilities and the best way to teach them. Testing, IQs, interviews, the discrepancy model, etc. should all be used to determine where to place the child. Once that is determined, the next step is the best way for the child to learn. There are plenty of different programs such as the Wilson Reading Program and Direct Instruction
• Guided by student performance- While the IEP goals may be assessed every few months to a year, constant informal assessments must take place. These assessments will guide instruction for the teacher. The teacher will be able to determine if the material is too difficult or to easy.
2.4 FUNCTIONS PROVIDED IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
(Bell, J. 2010 "Teachers and the Web: An educational revolution that's real.). A school website is any website built, designed, and maintained by or for a school. Many school websites share certain characteristics, and some educators have developed guidelines to help schools create the best and most useful websites they can.
Possible functions in a primary school website include:
• Providing information on homework and current class assignments
• Directing visitors to other resources on the web
• Providing a forum for teachers, administrators, students, and parents to exchange information such as news and calendars of events
• Introducing people who don't know much about the school (such as parent or students who are considering moving into the district, community members who don't have children, and teachers seeking employment) to its current events and general culture
• Showing that a school is excellent with regard to sciences and new media in comparison to competitive schools
• Providing a platform for internal school learning activities
• Displaying school curriculum and courses
• Providing staff and students with an entrance and front-end to documents and resources hosted locally
• Creating and showing in public a 'corporate identity'.
(http://community.tes.co.uk/tes_marketplace/f/24/t/542622.aspx(Schoolulike)) A school website is one of the best tools to communicate to parents and all users of school information.
Below are what we believe to be the most important functions of a school website;
1. A school website should be a means by which the school can communicate to parents, the local community and other users of school information.
2. School websites should provide a function to educate pupils and parents and be especially fun to use.
3. The website should be used as a medium to inform parents about the basics of their children's education and information about the school - Disclosure should be made in a simple understandable manner, in Basic English so parents don't need to become educationalists to understand the fundamentals of education in the UK.
4. Information disclosure on the website should be informative enough to be used by potential new teachers and pupils - The school strengths can be disclosed on the website.
5. It is a means by which the school can embrace and celebrate its past, present and future.
6. The school can disclose on the website the direction in which it has come from, it currently stands and the aims for its future.
7. The school website is an information disclosure vehicle to create closer links to the local community and beyond.
2.5 EXPECTED FEATURES OF A GOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL WEBSITE
As the school is looking at replacing/revamping the school website I was wondering what people thought were the features of a good primary school website. This isn't to preclude discussing the topic more broadly (bad features, what your website is like, the importance of it), but I was wondering what people would want in a school website.
2.5.1 CONSTANTLY UPDATED: I think the most important thing is that it is constantly updated. Unfortunately many school websites are woefully out of date. Staffs need to be shown how to add to their class areas otherwise the whole site dies a death.
2.5.2 Communication: (Carr, N. 2006 "New rubric offers first functional standards for school web sites" eSchool News) A school website is a communication tool between the school and community; however, its reach can extend beyond county, state lines. A school website may be used by many demographic groups such as staff/administration, parents, students, community, and potential, as well as, former students and alumni. Even across state lines a school website can connect groups of its demographics such as the alumni now living cross country looking for information on the next reunion.
2.5.3 Registration (Robert E. Burke)Registration, in electoral systems, method usually used to identify voters who are qualified to participate in an election. The act of registration is not, in a strict legal sense, a qualification for voting in the way that age, residence, race, literacy, and religion have sometimes been. It is, rather, a technique for determining that prospective voters are properly qualified according to law. Voters commonly register by submitting proof to authorized officials that they have met the prescribed qualifications. The 15th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States provides that “the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
CHAPTER THREE
SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter deals with system analysis of the old system and design of the new system. System analysis is a structured process of breakdown a system into components with an aim of collecting and analyzing facts in respect to the existing operating procedures in order to obtain a full appreciation of the situation prevailing. It is important to carry out system analysis ensure that an effective computerized system can be designed and implemented when proved feasible. According to E.C and Chapman R.J. “System analysis is defined as the method of determining how best to use computer with other resources to perform tasks to meet the information needs of an establishment or an organization. Before moving into the major building blocks design of the proposed system the existing system needs to be analyzed in order to identify their weaknesses.
3.2 SYSTEM ANALYSIS
As stated earlier, system analysis is a structured process of breaking down a system into components. This section intends to break the existing system into components. The existing system involves filling of registration form by pupils or parents, providing students assessment report, and evaluating a pupil’s performance through an IQ test of Staff School Nekede. Although there may be other components activities of a Primary School System but these projects work looks into the above listed components with a view of computerizing their operations. This analysis is divided into three phases according to the main components of a system:
INPUT ANALYSIS
The input to the existing system is derived from the Manual Pupil Registration form and Manual result generation form. When a pupil’s being admitted into the school, he/she fills some forms after which some important details are issued to him/her such as registration slip. This forms the input to the existing system. The information required for entry into the forms includes:
Pupil Registration Form input
1. First Name 2. Middle Name 3. Last Name 4. Sex 4. Parent/Guardian phone number 5. Address 6. Class 7. Date of Birth 8. State of origin 9. LGA
10. Passport
PROCESS ANALYSIS
The processes involved in the existing system include:
1. Verifying the details submitted by the pupils to ensure they tally with the ones in their credentials.
2. Issuing the pupil a unique Registration Number ensuring no two persons have the same matriculation number.
3. Including the pupil’s Name in the class and school register.
OUTPUT ANALYSIS
The output derived from the processing carried out on the input data in the existing are presented inform of reports. They are listed below:
1. Pupil registration slip
2. Pupil Result Slip
3. Other deliverables such as list of subjects offered per term, teachers and the classes that are assigned to each of them as well as list of venues for practical.
3.2.1 DETAILED DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM
From my findings, educational activities such as registrations and assigning of registration number to pupils are still being carried out manually in Nekede Staff Primary School. The problem here is that the objectives of the school– which is to admit a pupil (which involves collecting and storing the pupil’s record), assigning a registration number to the pupil, processing a pupil’s result and promoting a pupil to a new class- may be completely defeated. This is because manual activities are characterized with much inefficiency and error prone due to human limitations. These limitations are seen as slow operation.
In the manual system, pupils wait endlessly for the processing of their assessment report. After writing exams it takes a long time for the school to process and publish pupil result.
Moreover pasting time tables (class and exam table) and results on notice boards is not a good solution because most pupils would not have access to them. This is because the school doesn’t have enough space to paste the class and exam time table, results and lesson plan. Even if they do have it won’t last long because most pupils in the course of searching for their subjects, lesson plan or time tables tear up the sheets up.
Moreover, the volume of work for the Nekede Primary School staff is much. Pupils outnumber the personnel –teachers, academic and non-academic officials. In this regard, to attend to student needs is not an easy task in the manual system.
All these are the problems identified from the analysis of the existing system and forms the objective of the new system intended to be design in this project.
3.2.2 FEASIBILITY STUDY
In the analysis of this project work, feasibility study was conducted to make sure the proposed solution to the problems identified can be designed and implemented. In this feasibility study, economic and operational feasibility were highly considered.
Economic analysis is one of the most used techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of a proposed system. More commonly known as cost/benefit analysis, the procedure was to determine the benefits and savings that are expected from a proposed system and compare them with costs. If benefit outweighed costs, decision is taken to design and implement the system otherwise; further justification or alternative in the proposed system will have to be made. This is an ongoing effort that improves in accuracy at each phase of the system life cycle.
Operational analysiswas also conducted to ascertain the usability of the proposed solution (software package). This includes a measure of how user friendly the interface is. How easy it is to train the staff of Nekede Primary School to use the package. The aim of this feasibility factor is to ensure that the user will not reject the new system. If the clients in this case staff and pupils of Nekede Primary School are willing to use the system then the system is operationally feasible.
3.3 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
3.3.1 ORAL INTERVIEW
This was done between the researcher and the teachers in the primary school, and the headmistress/headmaster was interviewed. Reliable facts were got based on the questions posed to the staff by the researcher.
3.3.2 Study of Manuals
Manuals and report based used by school teachers were studied and a lot of information concerning the system in question was obtained.
3.3.3 Evaluation of Forms
Some forms that are necessary and available were assessed. These include admission form, lab form, test result, previous assessment result Etc. These forms help in the design of the new system.
3.4 Problems of the existing system
Most of the problems encountered in the existing system are due to its characteristic use of manual system in carrying out operations. Manual activities are characterized with much inefficiency and error prone due to human limitations and constitute problems to the existing system. The following are the problems of the existing system.
1. Slow Operation: In the manual system, pupils wait endlesslyto be registered by admission officers. They also have to wait for their results to be processed and written in the result sheet.
2. Lack of Accuracy: This is a very big issue in education system especially in the area of processing and publishing student’ result. Manual systems are prone to different kinds of error due to human limitation. It occurs when either results processing or record officer makes mistakes and is usually difficult to rectify.
3. Loss of Pupil Record: The operation of the existing system involves movement of files from one location to another and may lead to loss of important files and pupils records.
4. Tedious and time consuming to Operate: In the existing system, the volume of work for Nekede Primary School staff is much. Pupils outnumber the personnel – teachers, academic and non-academic officials. In this regard, to attend to pupils needs is not an easy task in the manual system.
5. Costly to operate:It is costly to implement as it requires a lot of man labor and money to prepare and publish lesson plans, class time table and pupil results. The cost of buying papers, printing and pasting using gum add to the cost. It also requires extra security to stop pupils from tearing the publications up.
1. Data Preparation
Data preparation is the most ‘mechanical’ of the stages of a research project. Data preparation is about constructing a dataset from one or more data sources to be used for exploration and modeling. It is a solid practice to start with an initial dataset to get familiar with the data, to discover first insights into the data and have a good understanding of any possible data quality issues. Data preparation is often a time consuming process and heavily prone to errors. The old saying “garbage-in-garbage-out” is particularly applicable to those data mining projects where data gathered with many invalid, out-of-range and missing values. Analyzing data that has not been carefully screened for such problems can produce highly misleading results. Then, the success of data mining projects heavily depends on the quality of the prepared data. As it was mentioned, different datasets for different entities were used in this project in which each of the datasets had their own quality and structure. Data to be supplied in any database must be appraised in terms of quality. Quality comprises components, namely, accuracy, logical consistency, resolution, completeness, time, lineage, and so on. Various tests had been carried out by the researcher on the selected data sets to examine the quality parameters. For example, the pupil registration form and pupil registration records are two important characteristics that had been accessed by the System.
3.5 USER PREPARATION
Every software project must provide a way to incorporate the targeted users of the software during the development process to ensure its usability. This calls for the creation of a simple and instructive user interface. User interface is a means by which the user and a computer system interact, in particular the use of input devices and software. The user interface of the new system was designed to be self-explanatory and contains components that prepare the user for the operation of the system. To ensure a proper user preparation, a user manual was also prepared.
3.6 OBJECTIVE OF THE NEW DESIGN
Primary School System features and functions will help in improving standard of education to eliminate inadequacies like examination malpractice. The aims and objectives of developing a new system, i.e. a web based Primary School system for Nekede Staff Primary Schoolis to:
1. Provide an easy and cost effective method of running a schoolIt provides an online form to register pupils, generate a registration number for each of the pupils.
2. Reduce work load on the management of Nekede Staff Primary School as it provides a mechanism for pupils to be registered and provide access to the material they (students) need for a given semester.
3. Accuracy is maintained, as the computer information will yield an accurate result.
4. Provide an automated system for compilation and dissemination of pupils result. The Computer Exams and Record department need not worry again about compilation of pupils.
5. Elimination of errors in result compilation and generation of reference list
6. The speed of operation of the education system is high when compared to manual method.
7. Enable the pupil touse a modern way of checking results.
3.7 PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
Program structure also known as program design structure is the design of the program to be implemented in a given software project. Two design structure considered in this project are: Modularity and Top-Down Design.
3.7.1 Modularity
Modularity is the degree to which a system’s components may be separated and recombined. The meaning of the word, however, can vary somewhat by context.
In software design, modularity refers to a logical partitioning of the “software design” that allows complex software to be manageable for the purpose of implementation and maintenance. The logic of partitioning may be based on related functions, implementation considerations, data links, or other criteria.
Modular approach to software development was adopted in the design of the software required to take over some of the manual operation in this new system. The modules in this software are grouped by their functions are:
1. Pupil Registration module
2. Result Generation Module
3. Report Generation Module
4. Help module
5. File maintenance module
3.7.2 Top-Down Program design
Top down Program design is the development of an algorithm to solve a problem. Algorithms are, as you know, a set of steps to solve a problem in a finite amount of time. By definition, an algorithm is independent of any particular programming language, so a program design must, by implication, avoid relying on the features of a given computer language. The algorithm for the solution provided in this is research project is as shown below:
1. Start
2. Display Home Page
3. Register as a pupil (to obtain a Registration No)
4. Login with the Registration No and password (To view pupil related processing :step 4-5) or with Admin ID and password (to view admin Activities : step 6-)
5. Choose an option from pupil activities
6. Print the transaction slip for the activity you select goto step 8
7. Choose an option from administrator activities
8. Update pupil’s data goto 9
9. Return to home
3.7.3 System flow chart
Figure 3.1 the Primary School Website System Flowchart
3.7.4 Program Flowchart
3.8 FILE MAINTENANCE MODULE
Primary School Websitemodules are the different parts of the program. Programs are composed of one or more independently developed modules that are not compiled until the program is linked. Typical Primary School website for a school or department should consist of multiple modules since it has so many functions. Each module is focused on one area of the business processes such as pupil registration, provision of classroom information, result checking. Aside from the user/functional requirement, one other important require aspect considered in the new system design is system requirement. The Primary School Website also needs a File maintenance module. File maintenance module is a very important module in a system development project that creates and stores files in the system.The file maintenance functions begin once the system is fully implemented. They are used mainly for making modifications after the software has been delivered. In the software for this project, there are two file maintenance modules – Enhancement maintenance module and Corrective maintenance module. Enhancement maintenance has to do with modification of the software due to change in ever dynamic environment and corrective maintenance as the name implies is carried out as a result of error discovered in the system after delivery.
3.10 MAIN MENU SPECIFICATION
The new system is built to correct lapses and error in the existing system(which is the manual process of the transactions) and as such create new ways of organizing its data or files. In the new system, there will be data independence and there will be a decentralized data file sharable between different available allocation systems. With these we will be able to solve the problem encountered with the unproductive maintenance of the old system, it will be eliminated and also the problem encountered in batch mode of processing data will be addressed.
Thus, the following make up the main menu specification:
(i) Pupil Registration
(ii) Pupil Login
(iii) Admin Login
(iv) Result Checking
3.10.1 Output Specification
In designing any system, the first requirement is what the output would look like before deciding how to go about producing it. Here the outputs are expected to be generated for this system includes
1. Pupil Registration slip
2. Pupil Inbox after login in (Education Material assigned to them according department and level)
3. Pupil Result slip after checking result
3.10.2 Input specification
The input specifications of a system are known from the output. After modeling the output the developer can deduce what is needed to be input to obtain the expected output. The necessity for quick response from the system determines the need for an online type of input; considerations are given to;
(1) Registration form
(2) Require field to search and retrieve a pupil’s result
(3) Login details such as (Registration Number and Password for pupil) and Administrator Id and password for Admin.
In the design of this work, Registration Number and password are used to give pupils access to their Personal contents. The Registration number which is issued to the pupil during registration together with the password he/she chooses serves as input during login. The password is designated in such a way that it allows a minimum of 6 and maximum of sixteen characters and it is encrypted to avoid unauthorized access.
In login in, one can log in either as a Pupil or as an administrator. As an administrator you will be able to view all registered pupils, process and store pupil’s result and update information. The student can only have access to his or her own profile.
3.10.3 File Design
The database management system used as the data repository in this design is MySQL server-side DBMS. It consists of the following tables
1. Register
2. Coursematerials
3. Lessonplans
4. Results
3.11 Overview of the proposed system flowchart
The system has two main users and they have different views of the site. The diagram below illustrates the sequence of operation carried out by the different users in the System.
The User View
ENTER
Figure 3.3The user view of the Education Portal system
The Administrator View
Fig 3.3 Admin View Educational Portal System for computer science Department
CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
4.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter deals with system implementation of the project. At the implementation stage of a project certain tools referred to as Development tools are needed. The development tools are defined as the basic required devices that are used during the implementation of Primary School Website to enable the programmer design effective and efficient software. From the design of this system there are some basic components that are needed to be added in the system when the development of the system was yet at an initial stage. These components can be referred to as the software development tool.
4.1JUSTIFICATION OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
The new system was implemented using Pre hyper processor (PHP) script, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), MYSQL Database, WAMP (Window Apache MysqlPHP ) server, fireworks and adobe Photoshop for graphic design, Swissmax for animation. PHP was used because the programming language has the advantage of easy development, flexibility, supports web application and data manipulation and it has the ability of providing the developer/programmer with possible hints and it produces a graphical user interface.
Also PHP supports modular programming and hence the research finds it suitable for the design of this software.
4.2 SYSTEM CONTROL
System control is the element that guides the system.It is the decision-making sub-system that controls the pattern of activities governing input, processing and output. It also keeps the system within the boundary set. For example, control in a ‘computer system’ is maintained by the control unit that controls various units by means of passing different signal through wires. In this Primary School Website the Navigational Menu controls other sub units of this website.
4.3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
A Computer system is made up of units that are put together to the work as one in other to achieve a common goal. There are two parts of the computer system, namely and they form the requirement of this system.
4.3.1 Software Requirement
Software is a program used by computers to facilitate their operations and utilization. It gives the computer the capability of doing whatever the user wants. A computer without software is like an empty box. Software can be of two types; namely
I. System software
II. Application software
The system software is a program written by manufacturer to create an interface for the user. It creates a communication session between the hardware and the user, this software has no limited requirement since it is platform independent. It can run on any vendor’s operating system.
The application also known as a user programs is developed to help provide a particular solution to a problem. For the software requirement for the database warehouse to run properly, Java run time be installed. The software required for this system to run successfully on an environment are:
General requirement
1. Operating System
2. Web browser
3. A web Server Apache (On the server Side)
4. A Server side Database Management System (MYSQL)
4.3.2 Hard Ware Requirement
The Following Processor -512MHz minimum but 500mhz recommended
5. Hard disk- not ratified
6. RAM-250Mb minimum but 512 recommended
7. Display -5VGA
4.4 SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS
In implementation stage, the System is built following the design documents exactly. It involves writing actual codes in accordance with the design document, testing the software, installation of the software, file conversion and other implementation details.
4.4.1 CODING
Coding is of paramount importance in the development of any computer based information system. This involves writing various different codes or instructions to enable the computer perform the task. The Primary School Website is composed of Pupil registration module,result generation Module, report generation Module and result compilation and publishing module etc. These modules are packaged based on the activities and transactions performed by Nekede Staff Primary SchoolOwerri.
4.4.2 SYSTEM TESTING
The entire system was as well tested (test run) in general along side with the old system in other to identify areas of further enhancement and development.
4.4.3 TRAINING AND RE-TRAINING OF STAFF
After the installation of the new system, the ICT directors (admin), the students (users) and other departmental personnel involved in the use of the website were trained. Some with little knowledge of computing were re-trained to master this particular website. The procedure for the training is as followed:
1. How to boot a computer system
2. How to host a website (i.e get the website ready for browsing)
3. How to register a how browse a website from a remote Server
4. How to register a student in the Portal
5. Viewing reports of a given patients medical history
6. How to view all the registered students
7. Upload Materials for registered courses
4.4.4 FILE CONVERSION
This involves the conversion of manual data (the old system) to electronic data. The converted data can be used as desired by user(s). The file or data conversion is done without loss of accuracy.
4.4.5 CHANGEOVER PROCEDURE
When the new system has been thoroughly tested and proven to be reliable and satisfactory, a changeover will be made discarding the old system and introducing the new system. In considering a suitable method of changeover, different factors have to be put into considerations. One of such factor is cost effectiveness of the implementation. Since the system design is costly, care should be taken when choosing the changeover procedure during the implementation to avoid system collapse. There is different change over method that can be used in changing over to the new system which are as followed:
1. Parallel conversion: This is a situation where both old and new system is sued simultaneously until it is ascertained that the new system performs correctly, hence the organization switch over the new system completely. This method serves a dual purpose; Testing system and also making provision for a standby incase the new system failed.
2. Direct Cut Over: This has to do with discarding the old system and immediately using the new system. This method is suitable in cases where there is no similarity between the old and the new system or where the organization cannot cope with the cost of running the two systems together.
3. Phase Conversion: This is a situation where a portion of the new system is used until it is ascertained that it works correctly and them the remaining portion is converted.
4. Pilot conversion: This entails having a small group people using the system and if it works correctly, the remaining groups are converted.
4.4.6 COMMISSIONING
Primary School Website is commissioned to The Nekede Staff Primary School Owerri for managing pupils’ records and processing and checking result for pupils.
4.4.7 USER MANUAL
The user manual for this system contains lectures on the following packages.
1. Hosting a website (i.e get the website ready for browsing)
2. Registering and browsing a website from a remote Server
3. Registering a pupil in the Portal
4. Viewing reports of an all registered pupils and their respective subjects.
5. Upload academic Material required for all registered subjects.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
5.1 SUMMARY
With the recent development of information technology, it is obvious that computer is an indispensable tool in almost all aspects of men’s daily activity. The introduction of computer in the organization precisely in an academic institution’s has without doubt made the running of institutions more effective and less tedious. The information requirement of the management and that of the extended world of the organization is now easily reached when compared with paper file system.
Therefore, the implementation of a Primary School Website is one of the most important systems that have gone a long way in improving the overall performance of pupils’ of a primary school.
5.2 RECOMMENDATION
The following recommendations based on the research finding are been made to perhaps guide Nekede Staff Primary School in implementation of the online registration of pupils, result processing and Checking System. Installation of all the components of this system on the school network is recommended, proceeded by handing it over to an ICT professional for effective management. There should be a genuine and functional need for the project and not a proposed need for it.
If the executive board has endorsed the feasibility study and report, then it been recommended that a certified computer/information technology professional, analyst /programmers should be employed to take over the management of the affairs of IT department of the school, so that any hitch could be effectively handled to ensure a smooth run. A comprehensive program and refresher course should be organized by the computer expects on operations in a network environment.
In the development of this project, which involves detail processing of pupil results, emphases were on subsystem- Pupil Registration, result compilation and dissemination. Nekede Primary School was used here as the case study but with the little amendments these subsystems can equally been used for other schools in Owerri. Each of these subsystems will require detailed analysis before their design in other to optimize the indispensable use of an automated Polytechnic recording system.
5.3 CONCLUSION
Every project usually has it objectives, which it works toward to, and usually some means may be used to achieve an end. The research study has adopted several activities and all other associated means by which a primary school registration and result checking is done.
It achieved it objectives which is to convert the manual processes associated with pupil registration, result compilation and result publishing in Nekede Primary School to automated process. The project work followed a systematic approach through careful studies, analysis and design to code and implement a web portal system for registering pupils, processing and checking their results and keeping track of all the records needed to improve the academic performance of Nekede Primary School Pupils. Though it was designed solely for Nekede Staff Primary School, Owerri, but with little amendment it can serve in other Schools.
REFERENCES
Turner, M & Rack, J (2004).The study of dyslexia. Birkhäuser,
ISBN 978-0-306-48531-2
Dustmann, C & Fitzenberger, B (2008). The economics of education and
training.Springer,ISBN 978-3-7908-2021-8
Stephens, T (2013-11-28). Primary school report.ChildCareIntro.com.
Retrieved 2013-12-09.
Samuel, L (1846), Female biography: containing notices of
distinguished women Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle. p. 230
New Lanark Kids: Robert Owen Education in Robert Owen's New Society:
the New Lanark Institute andschools Socialist - Courier: Robert Owen and New Lanark. Socialist-courier.blogspot.co.uk.Retrieved 2013-11-27.
Wilderspin, S (1823). The Importance of Educating the Infant Poor. London.
Budapest Lexikon, 1993
Public Primary school Education In Hungary: A Historical Survey, 1980
Watertownhistory.org Retrieved 2013-11-09
Olsen, M (1955). The development of play schools and primary schools and
ananalysis of a sampling of these institutions in Alberta.
APPENDIX I
SOURCE CODE
Nekede Staff Primary School