K-12 Teaching Application Support

Project Number Ongo8

Project Plan

Client: Ames Community Schools

Faculty Advisors:

Dr. John Lamont

Dr. Ralph Patterson

CprE/EE 492 Team Members:

Joel Folkerts / Joshua Herbolsheimer / Varsha Goswami

CprE/EE 491 Team Members:

David Boike / Ryan Pospisal / Owan Watkins
Dan Kline / Joe Ratterman / Jason Weirather
Ju-Dee Lee / Sara Showman / Sam Wong
Meng-Hoay Lim / Brian Spanbauer / Jau-Ming-Tan
Tunde Olatunji

September 24, 2002

Ongo8 Project PlanCprE/EE 491Revision 1.0

Table of Contents

Abstract......

Acknowledgements......

Definition of Terms......

Introduction......

General Background......

Technical Problem......

Operating Environment......

Intended Users and Uses......

Assumptions and Limitations......

Design Requirements......

Design Objectives......

Functional Requirements......

Design Constraints......

Measurable Milestones......

End-Product Description......

Approach and Design......

Technical Approaches......

Technical Design......

Testing Description......

Risks and Risk Management......

Financial Budget......

Personnel Effort Budget......

Project Schedule......

Project Team Information......

Client......

CprE/EE 492 Team Members......

CprE/EE 491 Team Members......

CprE/EE 491 Team Members (continued)......

Faculty Advisors......

Summary......

Expansions......

References......

List of Figures

Figure 1: Client-Server Relationship...... 4

Figure 2: Degrees of Testing...... 10

Figure 3: Gantt Chart...... 14

List of Tables

Table 1: Definition of Terms...... 2

Table 2: Estimated Financial Budget...... 13

Table 3: Estimated Effort Budget (Current Semester)...... 13

1

Ongo8 Project PlanCprE/EE 491Revision 1.0

Abstract

Ames Community Schools (ACS) has been concerned with the performance of their students in problem solving on a nationally standardized exam. While ACS traditionally scores in the 90th percentile on traditional math skills, results from the problem-solving section were much lower. The purpose of this project is to provide software that supplements classroom learning in the areas of mathematics and geography while stressing the improvement of problem-solving skills. To this end, a suite of web applications will be produced. The final product will allow students to solve problems, and allow teachers to view the results. By utilizing the software to extend classroom learning, the students of ACS will be better prepared for standardized tests, ultimately resulting in higher test scores.

Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our thanks to Dr. John Lamont and Dr. Ralph Patterson, our faculty advisors, for the guidance they have given us and will continue to give us throughout this project. We would also like to thank our 492 team members for their invaluable help and advice. Lastly, we would like to thank our client, the teachers of the Ames Community School District, who will be guiding us toward our final product.

Definition of Terms

The following table will help to define technical terms and project-specific terms used throughout this document.

Table 1: Definition of Terms

Term / Definition
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.
ASP / Active Server Pages – A Microsoft-created language used to generate dynamic web pages on the fly
GUI / Graphical User Interface – what the user looks at and interacts with while using the software
LAMP / A development environment utilizing Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP
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, one of the subprojects of the Ongo8 project.
PHP / Pseudo-acronym for Hypertext Preprocessor. A computer language that enables Apache web server to dynamically generate HTML documents.
SQL / Structured Query Language – a language used to retrieve information from SQL-compliant databases.
MySQL / An open-source implementation of an SQL server

Introduction

This section will describe the general background for the application, discuss the technical problem, describe the operating environment for the solution, lay out the intended users and uses for the products, and outline the assumptions and limitations inherent in the development of the products.

General Background

Internet-based teaching software will provide children in upper elementary school the opportunity to learn core subjects while exercising computer skills. The software system will provide lessons to students, and provide a privileged access to teachers and administrators with which they can monitor student progress and customize lessons.

The software system being developed consists of three core applications which will be supported by a more general support framework. These applications are as follows.

MTSS (Mathematical Teaching Software System) offers students math problems which seek to develop problem solving strategies. The problems are offered at increasing difficulty, and the software gives individual students the opportunity to visualize the problems and keeps their attention by keeping the complexity of the problem at a level which will challenge the particular student. MTSS focuses on subjects with which teachers would like to give students the most assistance.

Globey’s World offers students a chance to learn more about world geography through a software system involving a map students can click on to learn more about the country of their choice. This system includes a rich database full of statistics and information about each individual country. Globey’s World can give students an opportunity to learn more about the world while simultaneously developing their mathematical skills through carefully planned exercises involving comparisons of nations’ statistical data.

The as-yet unnamed product on U.S. Geography is similar to the Globey’s World interface, however , it focuses on teaching United States geography on a state-by-state level. It will have an interface where students can click on states to learn more about the state. It will provide exercises for the student to practice learning about different states while at the same time developing their mathematical skills through comparison of state statistics.

These three core applications will be supported by a software framework capable of managing user accounts, allowing teachers to customize their lessons, and maintaining information about each student’s performance. The system as a whole will make access and maintenance of lessons easy for teachers, and the feedback provided from the system will assist teachers in evaluating student performance.

Technical Problem

A server or main computer will store all the math problems and student results. Each student will sit at their own computer, called a client, where they will solve the problems. The server will talk to the clients via the internet. This relationship is shown in Figure 1. Based on the information provided by the client, the server will generate a specialized web page for that particular client. This way, each student can work at his/her own pace.


Figure 1: Client-Server Relationship

The three products that comprise this project will utilize dynamic web pages written using PHP, Structured Query Language (SQL), and Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML).

Operating Environment

All three software packages will exist and run on a LAMP (Linux – Apache – MySQL – PHP) architecture. The web application code will be written in PHP, which runs as a module to the popular and powerful Apache web server. The software will use MySQL as its database backend and run on the Linux operating system. This will provide a powerful open-standards environment for the web applications to run in.

However, MTSS is currently written in ASP with a Microsoft Access database backend and runs in a Windows server environment. The ASP code for MTSS will have to be ported to run in PHP, and the database data will be transferred to MySQL.

Intended Users and Uses

The intended users for MTSS will be the primary students in grades 3-6. The objective of this application is to help these students learn mathematics more efficiently through the example problems, homework problems, practice examinations and performance examinations provided in the software system.

The intended users for Globey’s World are students in grades 3-6. The purpose of this software is to enable students to learn world geography in a computer-based environment. Through this software these students will have the ability to learn the diverse nature of countries including data such as population, land area, national flags, national anthems, natural resources, religions, manufactured products, and form of government for nations throughout the world.

The intended users of the U.S. Geography program are also students in grades 3-6. The purpose of this software is to enable the students to learn U.S. geography using a computer-based environment. Through this software, students will learn information about the United States including population, land area, state flags, state songs, natural resources, religions, and manufactured products for each state.

Assumptions and Limitations

The technical assumptions include the following:

  • Clients are operating Internet Explorer or Netscape (Version 5.0 or later).
  • The MTSS, Globey’s World, and U.S. Geography team members will have write-access to the server (will require coordination with Ongo7).
  • All client computers are connected to the Internet.
  • Have a developed PHP framework to support a set of Internet educational activities
  • The U.S. Geography program database will be similar to the Globey’s World database but with U.S. states in place of countries of the world.

Non-technical assumptions include the following:

  • There will be adequate supervision with computer experience to assist the students when they are operating the system.
  • The students have been exposed to the mathematical, world geography, and U.S. geography topics prior to their initial use of the software. This software shall be a supplement to classroom instruction.

Challenges and limitations to development include the following:

  • Team members must learn and become comfortable with PHP and MySQL.
  • Team members must convert the existing MTSS Access database to a MySQL database.
  • Team members must learn to port ASP to PHP.
  • Primary students may not have much prior experience using computers. The client software must be easy to understand.
  • Younger students may not know how to type. MTSS, Globey’s World, and U.S. Geography should provide means for feedback appropriate for their age level.
  • Computers are not really interactive. They only respond to predefined commands. The commands available to students must make the computer appear alive. For example, when asked for a hint, the computer will supply one it has not supplied before. When asked to picture the problem, the computer will display a figure relevant to the problem and may allow the students to rotate the figure as they see fit.

Other technical limitations include:

  • Internet connection and internet bandwidth.
  • Computer/processor speed of the client machines.
  • Quality of available database (MS Access, MySQL)

Design Requirements

This section will describe the design objectives and functional requirements for the application, as well as some design constraints to be followed while developing the software. Additionally, measurable milestones by which to gauge project success will be presented.

Design Objectives

The overriding design objective for all three applications is to have three end products that all run in a LAMP environment. More specifically, the following design objectives apply to all three products:

  • Develop web-based software that will allow students to exercise problem-solving skills.
  • Build tools for teachers to monitor the progress of students throughout the problem solving and learning process.
  • Maintain a framework that will allow currently unforeseen expansion.

The following design objectives apply specifically to MTSS:

  • Port existing format to PHP/MySQL.
  • Users of PHP version should see no noticeable differences from ASP version.

The following design objectives apply specifically to Globey’s World:

  • Update database information to incorporate changes in world climate.
  • Review database information to clear up any typos or misinformation.
  • Complete approximately eight percent of database left untouched by previous project teams.
  • Enable students to compare country data and find specific facts easily.
  • Expand Globey’s World to couple geography with mathematics, such as finding percentages of land mass, comparing populations, or any other mathematical applications determined to be useful.

The following design objectives apply specifically to the U.S. Geography project:

  • Create a product similar in nature to Globey’s World, using U.S. Geography facts in place of world geography.
  • Database should include data similar to Globey’s world, but revised for states (i.e. state song instead of national anthem).
  • Obtain a final product different enough from Globey’s World to encourage use of both programs without boredom on the part of the user.

Functional Requirements

The following functional requirements apply to all three software packages.

  • The program should be accessible to students via the Internet.
  • Users should be able to log on with a username/password scheme. Access permissions for each user are stored in a user database that is common to all three applications. Users can then choose which application to use.
  • Teachers are able to log in with administrator privileges, which allows them to add and delete students, view students’ statistics, and create or delete problems, where appropriate.

The following requirements apply specifically to MTSS:

  • The program should present a problem to the student to solve using proper mathematical problem-solving skills.
  • The program should be able to print answers and student evaluations for the teacher to review.
  • The program should store results in a database table for each student.
  • The program should store problems in a database. Teachers must possess the ability to create, modify, and delete problems.

The following requirements apply specifically to Globey’s World:

  • The program should allow the student to choose a country using an easily navigable map of the world.
  • The program should display information on a country of interest upon request.
  • The program should integrate mathematics problem solving in some meaningful way.

The following requirements apply specifically to the U.S. Geography subproject:

  • The program should allow the student to choose a state using an easily navigable map of the United States.
  • The program should display information on a chosen state of interest upon request.
  • The program should integrate mathematics problem solving in some meaningful way.

Design Constraints

The following design constraints apply to all aspects of the project:

  • The program will be web-based to allow for multiple platform use (PC as well as Macintosh)
  • The program must be easy for third to sixth grade students to understand and operate.
  • Basic help instructions must be available to provide for those students that do not know how to operate computers.

Measurable Milestones

The following is a list of milestones for Project Ongo8:

  • Meet with teachers in a classroom setting to better understand geographic curriculum for targeted grade levels.

Milestones specific to MTSS:

  • Database conversion completed.
  • Software conversion from ASP to PHP completed.
  • Build 1 complete and installed on target system.
  • Quality Assurance completed.
  • QA defects all closed and fixes incorporated into code revision
  • Final build released to ACS.

Milestones specific to Globey’s World:

  • Database revisions complete.
  • Software updates complete.
  • Build 1 complete and installed on target system.
  • Quality Assurance completed.
  • QA defects all closed and fixes incorporated into code revision
  • Final build released to ACS.

Milestones specific to U.S. Geography subproject:

  • Schema for database finalized.
  • Database population completed.
  • Software production completed.
  • Build 1 complete and installed on target system.
  • Quality Assurance completed.
  • QA defects all closed and fixes incorporated into code revision
  • Final build released to ACS.

End-Product Description

At project completion, the end product will be a cohesive set of web applications that allow teachers to supplement classroom learning in the areas of mathematics, world geography, and U.S. geography. Students will be able to log in and use any of the three applications. They will be able to learn about mathematics and geography, and solve problems based on those topics. Teachers will be able to access student statistics in order to gauge student performance. Teachers will also be able to add to the applications in the form of creating additional problems for students to solve.

Approach and Design

The following sections detail how the project team will build the three software packages.

Technical Approaches

Software design for all three projects will be done using PHP/MySQL as the base language. Each project will have a number of components, including database design and population, HTML design, graphic design, and application code design.

Team experts will be assigned for each component of each project, and will primarily be responsible for the completion of that component of the project. Team leaders may decide to assign other duties to team members beyond their area of expertise, but primarily, each team member will do most of his or her work in one or two areas of specialization.

Members of the MTSS subteam must learn how to port code written in ASP to PHP. Because the application is already written in ASP, each team member will be assigned a portion of code to port. The technical approach of the MTSS team must be a bit different because the application does not need to be written, but just converted to another form.

Technical Design

Each project must have a defined technical design. A document will be created for each project that describes how the product will function. Each page that the user views shall be delegated to a section in the design document, which will include the following information: