DEVELOPMENT OF COURSES OFFER PORTAL

Abstract

The impact of information and communication technology revolution in today’s world is inexplicably exhilarating and more so with the due sustenance owing to ever increasing emergence of advanced technologies which are as the sand of the shore innumerable. This research work developed a courses offer portal(Trinity). The purpose is to provide an upgrade to the already existing partially computerized educational systems currently running in most Nigerian educational institutions. Trinity will improve interaction between students and lectures online during a real-time lecture; this ensures that a student can participate in classes irrespective of their location.With this system, time and cost is saved such as in the area of organizing and conducting examinations. The system(Trinity) is web based application which can be access by users from any part of the world at the same time. This application was designed using Object Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology(OOADM) and implemented using Hypertext Pre-Processor(PHP),Hypertext Markup Language (HTML),Asynchronous JavaScript and Extensible Markup Language (AJAX), Java Script and Cascading Style Sheet(CSS) as front-end and My-SQL database as back-end. The system runs smoothly and the set objectives were dully achieved.

Chapter 1:Introduction

1.0 Introduction

With the vast development of various technologies; learning today is no longer confined to the classrooms with lecture deliveries as the only method of conveying knowledge, rather, an electronic means of learning has continued to evolve. New and emerging technologies challenge the traditional process of teaching and learning, and the way education is managed[1].

Information technology while an important area of study in its own right is having a major impact across all curriculum areas. The most significant development of recent years has been the growth of new kinds of university and the increasing popularity of the so called ‘borderless education’.

As we move towards knowledge age, we are seeing the term electronic learning(e-learning)being used to describe learning interventions such as knowledge management, online instructions and electronic performance support.

Literarily, e – learning refers to electronic learning. In a broader perspective, it refers to a wide range of application and processes designed to deliver instructions through electronic means – usually over the web.

What makes e-learning powerful is more than technology – it is the social dynamics of networking. It is the combinational power of a worldwide network of such computers – that connect authors, instructors and learners globally; with the immediacy of texts, graphics, radio and video interactivity and collaboration sharing.

The two – way connectivity power of the internet has changed the traditional perception of e – learning as ‘e – training’.

E – learning is not the just ‘e – learning’ – it is the synergy of information on demand, multimedia communication, collaboration and training that interactively engages the learner with greater learning opportunity irrespective of their locations.

Online courses offer portal is a subset of the electronic learning system which employs the powerful nature of the internet to set up a virtual campus, where students, faculties and administrator(s) can interact irrespective of their current locations.

Historically, the famous quote of [2] that the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn holds true in this age; because the world as we know it is now a global village.

1.1 Statement of Problem

There are many educational and training ideas that are encompassed in the e-learning concept: Expert support system, video telecommunication and conferencing, CD – ROMs and a host of others. In an academic system, timely dissemination of information, delivery of lectures, computation and publishing of results are essential for appropriate or smooth running of programmes and sustainability of outputs in the long term. However, the overreliance on the use of the manual systems is still not enough to deliver quality education in this 21^st century.

The following are the limitations of the current e-learning systems includes Lack of proper interaction between the students and instructors as students tend to miss classes due to one reason or the other.

It provides less transparency to the student from the evaluation process. Automated processes are less prone to errors and they are more reliable due to less human intervention.

The existing systems require lots of manpower for conducting examinations and high costs of printing educational and instructional materials are involved.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

The objective of this work is to develop a courses offer portal that will do the following:

1. Provide an interactive platform for the lecturers and students.
2. Provide a cost efficient and internet driven university courses offer portal.
3. Enable instructors upload educational materials for students.
4. Enable students download instructional materials, submit assignments and tests.
5. Enable students to write their exams online irrespective of their geographical location/at designated centers.

1. Significance of Study

Most universities and colleges offering distant learning programs are still running the manual means of student admission, course registration as well as lectures. Although some are trying to computerize the processes, but there are still room for improvements.

Building a system that handles the distant educational processes from student admission to result computation will go a long way in improving the global reach of the institution as well as improve their financial revenue base. Real-time interaction between the students and their lecturers improves the educational processes of teaching and learning.

The end product of this study is set to give a more efficient, effective and reliable means of delivering education in this 21^stcentury to the teeming population who are constrained by factors of finance, distance and tight economic schedules.  It will also serve as an upgrade to the existing half-computerized systems currently running in some educational institutions. In view of these, this project is therefore aimed at designing a courses offer portal(Trinity) that is user friendly and will deliver distant education in efficient ways.

Chapter 2:Literature Review

2.0   Introduction

Due to poor infrastructure and lack of technological know-how, it is believed that distance learning in Nigeria is still in its infancy stage[3]. A courses offer portal will go a long way in in providing an easy, effective and efficient way of managing education in Nigeria.Developing an Online course portal requires a deeper knowledge and understanding of the existing system to know the areas that needs to be improved on. This chapter reviews related literatures written by different authors on online – course offer portal. The concepts and technologies that will be used are also reviewed.