Ongo08 – Project PlanThursday, October 13, 2005
K-12 Teaching Application Software & Support
Project Number: Ongo8
Project Plan
Client:
Iowa School Districts
Faculty Advisors:
Dr. John Lamont
Prof. Ralph Patterson
CprE 492 Students:
Parikshit Advani (8d) / CprE / Laurie Bidrawn (8b/8c) / CprENichole Dugan (8d) / CprE/Com Sci / Nathan Gordon (8d) / CprE
Sara Murphy (8a) / CprE / Samantha Olson (8b/8c) / CprE
John Saterfiel (8a) / CprE / Tiffany Schweer (8a) / CprE
David Wire (8a) / CprE
CprE 491 Students:
E. Ryan Adamson (8d) / CprE / Aaron Hurd (8a) / CprEJennifer Carlson (8b/8c) / CprE / Chun-Pang Kuk (8d) / CprE
Dustin Fee (8b/8c) / CprE / Maria-Cristina Olivas (8b/8c) / CprE
Michael Fong (8a) / CprE / Nate Evans (8b/8c) / CprE
DISCLAIMER: This document was developed as a part of the requirements of an electrical and computer engineering course at IowaStateUniversity, Ames, Iowa. This document does not constitute a professional engineering design or a professional land surveying document. Although the information is intended to be accurate, the associated students, faculty, and IowaStateUniversity make no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, quality, or adequacy of the information. The user of this document shall ensure that any such use does not violate any laws with regard to professional licensing and certification requirements. This use includes any work resulting from this student-prepared document that is required to be under the responsible charge of a licensed engineer or surveyor. This document is copyrighted by the students who produced this document and the associated faculty advisors. No part may be reproduced without the written permission of the senior design course coordinator.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
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Ongo08 – Project PlanThursday, October 13, 2005
Table of Contents
1Introduction......
1.1Abstract......
1.2Acknowledgements......
1.3Problem Statement......
1.4Operating Environment......
1.5Intended Users and Uses......
1.6Assumptions and Limitations......
1.6.1Assumptions......
1.6.2Limitations......
1.7Expected End Product Description......
2Proposed Approach and Design......
2.1Proposed Approach......
2.1.1Functional Requirements......
2.1.2Constraints Considerations......
2.1.3Technology Considerations......
2.1.4Technical Approach Considerations......
2.1.5Testing Approach......
2.1.6Security Considerations......
2.1.7Intellectual Property Considerations......
2.1.8Commercialization Considerations......
2.1.9Possible Risk and Risk Management......
2.1.10Deliverable Schedule......
2.1.11Project Tracking Procedures......
2.2Statement of Work......
2.2.1General Tasks......
2.2.2MTSS-Specific Tasks......
2.2.3GW/USA-Specific Tasks......
2.2.4Framework-Specific Tasks......
3ESTIMATED RESOURCES AND SCHEDULES......
3.1Personnel Effort Requirements......
3.2Other Required Resources......
3.3Financial Requirements......
4CLOSURE MATERIALS......
4.1Project Team Information......
List of Figures
Figure 1: MTSS Welcome Page
Figure 2: Globey’s World Welcome Page
Figure 3: Uncle Sam’s America Welcome Page
Figure 4: “V” Method of Software Development
Figure 5: Gantt Chart
List of Tables
Table 1: Technology Considerations......
Table 2: Deliverable Schedule......
Table 3: Project Milestones......
Table 4: Estimated Personal Effort......
Table 5: Estimated Financial Budget......
List of Definitions
ACS – Ames Community Schools.
Apache – A software product that serves web pages to clients requesting them. Apache can be used in conjunction with PHP in order to produce dynamic web pages that are built and delivered to the requesting client on the fly.
API – Application programming interface – aredefined set of interfaces to a software model
ASP – Active Server Pages – A Microsoft created language used to generate dynamic web pages.
CVS – Concurrent Version System – Provides control in keeping only one current version of the software as changes are made by all team members.
FW – Framework
GW – Globey’s World
GUI – Graphical user interface - A usable interface that interacts with the user and the application.
LAMP – Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP – defines the architecture that runs Globey’s World. Refers to the operating system, server type, and programming language used to maintain Globey’s World.
Linux – An open-source operating system that is optimized for use as a web application server.
HTML – Hyper Text Markup Language - The language used to describe the formatting and presentation of a web page.
MTSS – An acronym for Mathematical Teaching Software System.
MySQL – An open-source implementation of an SQL server.
Open-source – Software whose source-code is open to the public.
PC-compatible – A personal computers which runs a Microsoft Windows operating system
PHP – Pseudo-acronym for Hypertext Preprocessor – A computer language that enables Apache web server to dynamically generate HTML documents.
PSA – Problem solving algorithm
SASF – Software Application Support Framework -provides standard functions for use by theeducational software applications to store andmanage student information within acentralized database
SQL – Structured Query Language - A language used to retrieve information from SQL-compliant databases.
USA – Uncle Sam’s America
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Ongo08 – Project PlanThursday, October 13, 2005
1Introduction
This section introduces the background information behind K-12 Teaching Application Software and Support project which includes the abstract, acknowledgements, problem statement, operating environment, intended users and uses, assumptions and limitations, and expected end product description.
1.1Abstract
Ames Community Schools (ACS) has been concerned with its students’ performance in problem solving on a nationally standardized exam. While ACS students usually score in the 90th percentile on traditional math skills, the scores from the problem-solving section were around 40%. While this is significantly higher than the national average of 13%, this score lends room for improvement.
The purpose of this project is to provide web-based software applications to help ACS achieve the goal of improving its students’ performance. These software applications include a Mathematical Teaching Software System (MTSS), a world geography application called “Globey’s World” (GW) and a United States geography program called “Uncle Sam’s America”. (USA) This software will manage student information, grades and users, to make it easier for teachers to track student progress. Additionally, this software will be built on a PHP Software Application Support Framework, which will provide standardized functions for the applications and centralized database management.
The final product will allow students to increase their problem-solving abilities and allow students, teachers and administrators to track performance. By using the software, the students of ACS will become more skilled at problem solving and improve their knowledge of geography.
1.2Acknowledgements
First, thanks to our faculty advisors, Dr. John Lamont and Prof. Ralph Patterson, who have given much guidance and support to the Ongo08 project. Second, thanks to the 492-team members for their leadership, dedication and effort put forth to the project. Lastly, the teachers and administrators of the AmesCommunitySchool District, whose continued guidance and cooperation will be imperative to the success of the project.
1.3Problem Statement
The general purpose of the K-12 Teaching Application Support and Software is to design Internet-based teaching software applications. The project will include the development of a framework that all other applications will rely on for support. The project will result in a set of three teaching applications: Mathematical Teaching Software System (MTSS), Globey’s World (GW), and Uncle Sam’s America (USA). These applications will provide children in elementary school grades 3-6 the opportunity to exercise their computer skills while learning about important lessons. MTSS will emphasize the teaching of core mathematical skills and strengthening mathematical problem-solving techniques. Globey’s World and Uncle Sam’s America will provide an interactive way to learn about both world and United States geography, respectively. The applications will have lessons that are available to students. Teachers and administrators will be allowed access to student progress reports and will be able to customize lessons. The lessons will be able to be varied in both subject matter and difficulty at the teacher’s discretion.
The proposed approach for designing and implementing this application is to create web-based software that will allow students to access a server from their own computer, called a client. The communication between the client and the server will be accomplished via the Internet. Depending on the information provided by the client, the server will generate a custom web page for each individual client; i.e., administrator, teacher, parent, or student. Figure 1 illustrates this relationship. A database will be developed in order to generate example problems, homework problems, practice quizzes and performance quizzes. In order to aid students in developing their problem solving skills, a problem-solving algorithm will be implemented to walk students through the steps of solving problems. The geographical software will also provide educational games for students to use to practice world and United States geography. Development of a software framework which will support web tools that will allow students to keep track of their score via user accounts and allow teachers and administrators access to customize lessons, quizzes, and problems and will allow them to evaluate a student’s performance. This will be accomplished by utilizing dynamic web pages written using PHP, SQL, and HTML.
1.4Operating Environment
The K-12 Teaching Application will exist and run on LAMP (Linux – Apache – MySQL – PHP) architecture. The web application code will be written in PHP, which runs as a module to Apache web server. The software will use a database manager called MySQL and will be run in the Linux operating system. This will provide a powerful open-standards environment for the web applications to run and be platform independent.
The software will need to function on both PC- and Macintosh-compatible machines. This limitation can be bypassed by using platform-independent HTML. The central server will need to be running Linux and must be capable of making many computations simultaneously. If adopted by all ACS elementary schools, the K-12 Teaching Application must have the hardware to support a large number of simultaneous clients (students).
1.5Intended Users and Uses
The primary users for K-12 Teaching Application Software will be the elementary students in grades 3-6, their teachers and administrators. Students of all races, ages, and sexes will access the software application. Other users may include parents, guardians and other relatives of students. This application intended use is as a supplemental instruction tool for 3rd-6th grade in the area of mathematics, United States geography, and world geography. Example problems, homework problems, practice quizzes and performance quizzes will be provided. Students’ performance will be recorded including scores, time, and number of attempts.
1.6Assumptions and Limitations
1.6.1Assumptions
The following assumptions were made regarding Ongo8:
1.6.1.1Client-Centric Assumptions
- All client computers are connected to the Internet, with sufficient connection speed to support the project.
- Clients are operating Internet Explorer (Version 5.0 or later) or Netscape (Version 5.0 or later).
- Client computers have enough processing power to run Internet-based applications.
- Computer expertise will be available locally to assist clients in troubleshooting problems with local software and internet connections and to assist the students when they are using the system.
- No students using the software will have disabilities involving sight, dexterity or reading comprehension.
- The students will have been exposed to the relevant topics prior to their use of the software. This software shall be a supplement to classroom instruction.
- The applications may be used at home with parent supervision and in a classroom environment with teacher supervision.
- Not all students will have access to computers in their homes.
- During development, support for the software will be provided via . This email address can be used to contact the ongo8 team.
1.6.1.2Team-Centric Assumptions
- Team members will have permission to access the server database.
- Final builds of the applications will be hosted on a computer managed by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
- The teams will have access to a development environment on a separate machine from the production environment.
- The framework will have a high level of stability.
- The applications will not use proprietary web browser extensions or enhancements.
- The framework will be used by future developers to create additional educational applications.
1.6.2Limitations
The following are the possible limitations to the project development:
1.6.2.1Client-Centric Limitations
- Internet connections and speeds are limited and may not be consistent or reliable.
- Computer/processor speeds of the client machines are limited.
- Younger students may not have prior experience using computers or know how to type. Students should be able to interact with the program in a way appropriate for their age level.
- The total number of users from all participating school districts will be no more than 40,000.
1.6.2.2Team-Centric Limitations
- New team members may not be familiar with PHP or MySQL.
- The size of the database is limited by MySQL.
- The implementation of portions of the problem solving algorithms may be impractical.
- The PHP language is under development; it is possible that updates must be made to adapt to feature deprecation.
- A limited number of applications will be running on the framework at any one time to prevent overloading the server.
1.7Expected End Product Description
At project completion, the end product will be a set of K-12 Teaching Application Support and Software. It will contain three applications in order to provide an online interactive environment for teachers and students. These applications will be based on the fourth, a framework application, which will tie them all together. Globey’s World (GW) will integrate with the Mathematical Teaching System Software (MTSS) and Uncle Sam’s America (USA) by utilizing the infrastructure currently being developed by the framework team (FT). Students will be able to log in and use any of the three applications. By entering MTSS, students will be able to work on solving mathematical word problems. In GW and USA, students will learn about geography and then solve problems on selected topics. As the software nears deployment to the client, the Ongo8 team will be available under the email address for any concerns that come up and the ability to simulate the problem with their own version of the software. The end product should be thoroughly-tested software that provides benefits to both teachers and students.
Also, one of the most important products this semester will be an updated user’s manual. This will be provided in electronic form, and it will combine the efforts of all the sub-teams to provide an overall guide to the teaching software. This manual will help users have an idea about how to use the features of the system. The user’s manual will include detailed instructions on common steps and problems the users may see.
In the software, the homepage will allow access to all three teaching applications. The welcome pages for MTSS, Globey’s World, and Uncle Sam’s America are shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3 below.
Figure 1: MTSS Welcome Page
Figure 2: Globey’s World Welcome Page
Figure 3: Uncle Sam’s America Welcome Page
The eventual end product will be a library of PHP code and MySQL database table skeletons. The framework library will present a common framework for web-based educational application development. Developers will be able to utilize the framework to build highly innovative and customizable applications for web-based training, instruction, assessment, and other forms of education. The framework will be highly customizable and will be open to changes, additions, or corrections. The key to this end product will be detailed documentation and further development. The framework is a low-cost alternative to traditional specialized educational software. Thus, it should provide for an improved return on investment for both existing and future computer networks. The savings incurred should allow schools to further enhance or expand their technology base throughout the school system. This semester, the main deliverables in the framework will be code that allows for storage and retrieval of grades generated by quizzes. Security will be incorporated so that only authorized users are able to retrieve these grades.
The first part of the K-12 Teaching Application Software will be mathematical problem-solving software called MTSS that will be available to ACS teachers and their students through the Internet. The end product will result in software to allow students to practice their mathematical problem-solving skills. They will be able to quiz themselves on math problems and adjust the difficulty level to get experience with different problems.
The Globey’s World (GW) application will produce a web application to serve as a supplement for educators to use when teaching world geography. The application will have an extensive help system and full quizzing functionality. In addition, this software will provide games that use world geography information. Teachers will be able to access student statistics in order to gauge student performance. The software will allow instructors to enhance the application by creating new problems, editing existing problems, and modifying/updating solutions as needed. The students will use a map of the world as their main interface into the application, from which they can click on regions and countries to find out more information.
At the conclusion of the project, Uncle Sam’s America will be a web application that allows teachers to have support when teaching United States geography. Students will be able to log in, learn about the states, and solve problems based on comparison problem sets. Game features will further encourage learning through interaction with the computer. In a similar manner as Globey’s World, teachers will be able to access statistics to check the performance of the students. Teachers will also be able to add to the application by creating additional problems for the students to solve. The main interface for USA will consist of a map of the United States, where each state will be a link to an information page about that state. There will also be a function to compare the states to each other in given categories, as well a quiz page.
At project completion, the three applications will be integrated with the framework team’s grade book capabilities. Games will be added features in the software to let students interact with the information in a less structured manner, while still offering educational value. The database behind GW’s world data and USA’s state information will also be able to be updated from an electronic source.