1.

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge and the wide use of computers have helped man fill his needs and satisfy his pleasures. At present, advances in science and technology have made it possible for us to overcome distance and physical barriers so we can travel and communicate across the globe. Internet and computers play a vital role in the fields of research, engineering, military, medicine, automobile, entertainment, business and even education. Most schools and universities develop new ways of learning and educating through the use of IT concepts. One example of this is online learning. Through computers and the net, one can enjoy and learn in the comfort of their homes.

The term distance education or distance learning has been applied by different researchers to a great variety of programs, providers, audiences and media. Its hallmarks are the separation of teacher and learner in space and/or time, the choice of learning by the student rather than the distant teacher and their communication in between as mediated by print or some form of technology.

The earliest form of distance learning took place through correspondence courses in Europe. This was the accepted norm until the middle of this century, when instruction radio and television became popular. According to Margaret Cambre (1991), in the late 1950s and early 1960s television production technology was largely confined to studios and live broadcasts, in which master

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-1

teachers conducted widely-broadcast classes. Unfortunately, teachers who were expert in the subject matter were not necessarily the best and most captivating television talent, nor was the dull taking head medium, the best production method for holding the interest of the audience. In the early 1970s, the emphasis turned from bringing master teachers into the classroom to taking children out of the classroom into the outside world. This gave a negative effect of relegating television to the position of enrichment, which was not perceived as really related to school work. This trend was reversed later in the 1970s, as professionally designed and produced television series introduced students to new subject matter that was not being currently taught, yet was considered to be an important complement to the classroom curriculum. Then, in the 1980s, the pendulum swung back to the basics. The most recent trend has been one of multiculturalism, humanities, and world affairs. Currently, the most popular media are computerbased communication including electronic mail (E-mail), bulletin board systems (BBSs), and Internet, a telephone-based audioconferencing and

videoconferencing with one- or two-way video and two-way audio via broadcast, cable, telephone, fiber optics, satellite, microwave, closed-circuit or compressed video and cost solution for transmitting visuals as well as audio.

Today, political and public interest in distance education is especially high in areas where the student population is widely distributed. Each region has developed its own form of distance education in accordance with local resources, target audience, and philosophy of the organizations which provided the

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-2

instruction. Many institutions, both public and private, offer university courses for self-motivated individuals through independent study programs. Students work on their own, with supplied course materials, print-based media and postal communication, some form of teleconferencing and/or electronic networking and learner support from tutors and mentors via telephone or e-mail.

Like any other online learning, Online Learning for STI College Southwoods will be develop to serve as a learning venue for working students and professionals who wish to pursue a degree in spite of their busy schedules.

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-3

1.1

Statement of the Problem

Education is considered to be the greatest treasure a person can have. Most parents are trying their best to send their children to school just to be educated, however, some individual are not fortunate enough to have the chance to go to school. Those individuals knowing the importance of education in their lives worked just to be able to study. Even some professionals who already finished a degree still want to learn more and study in school. However, those professionals and working students are having a hard time managing their schedule with work and school. There are times that they meet conflicts with their schedules.

Generally, this study aims to develop and implement an Online Learning for STI College Southwoods that will serve as a learning tool for working students and professional with lifelong learning objectives.

Specifically, the study intends to solve the following problems:

1.

How will the system monitor the learning of online students? In the current system, the teacher monitors the learning of the student by manually computing the grades of the students based on his participation in class discussion and on the result of every quizzes or exams. In the proposed

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-4

system the problem would be the automation of the process of computing the scores and viewing the graphical representation of results that will help the teacher in monitoring his students performance.

2.

How will the system administer online examinations? In the manual system, the teachers are the one making a set of examination and the students answer it manually inside the classroom. In the proposed system, the problem would be on how to create the facility that will create different sets of exams based on the teachers provided questionnaire. Another problem would be on how the students will take their examinations online.

3.

How will the system support the need for exchanging of information between students and teachers, and vice-versa? In the current system, student can ask question for clarifications whether they understand the lessons or not. Moreover, announcements are usually done in classroom or inside the campus. In the proposed system the problem would be on how to create a facility that will allow teachers to post announcements and schedule of activities through bulletin boards. Another problem is how the system will provide the

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-5

students the capability to view the announcements online. Moreover, how will the proposed system provide a chat facility that will allow teachers and students in a particular subject to discuss it online.

4.

How will the system organize and present online lessons? Manually, teachers have different ways presenting their lessons; they write on the board, uses projector or even computer to present their lessons. In the proposed system, the problem is on how the teachers will upload lessons that could help enriching their students knowledge with the subject.

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-6

The system will be beneficial to the following:

Working Students and Professionals The system will be a great help for working students and professionals in budgeting their time between work and studies. They dont have to go back and forth to school just to attend a class. They will be able to study while working. With this system, they can save time, money and effort.

Teachers The system will help the teachers in lessening their loads. The problem often encountered by teachers and working students is conflicting schedules. In that case teachers are the one who always adjust their schedules for the benefit of their students. The system will allow the teachers to upload lessons online thus helping them to reach their students.

STI Southwoods The school alone will handle management and control of the system. It will be of big help to market the school. With its features and functions, the possibility of the schools marketability will be higher.

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-7

 Future Researchers The system will serve as guide for future researchers who would also want to develop an online learning system. It will give them an idea of know-how in an online learning system, how it works and its probable services and functions.

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-8

1.2

Current State of Technology

Education is the process of training and developing an individuals mental, emotional and physical aspect in formal schooling or instruction.

Based on observation, our current educational system requires each student to regularly attend class. Each student is required to study in a specific place commonly known as the classroom. The common classroom scenario is that the teacher is the one discussing the lessons and giving exercises to help students understand their lessons well. The teachers also give quizzes and examination inside the classroom to determine if the student really learned the lessons. In case the students did not understand the lesson, the teacher sometimes repeats the topic. The teacher keeps track of the performance of the students in every topic taken and grades are given at the end of each grading period.

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-9

1.3

Objectives of the Study

1.3.1

General Objective

Generally, the study aims to develop an online learning system for STI College Southwoods, which would help working students and professionals in budgeting their time between work and study.

1.3.2

Specific Objectives

Specifically, the systems objectives are the following:

1.

To design a facility that will allows the teachers to view for the scores and grades of their students and will show its graphical representation of the results. The viewing of scores and progress chart facility will help the teacher in monitoring his students performance.

2.

To design a system that will randomly select questions from a database, automatically check exams of students and store corresponding results. This can help teachers in administering exams and monitor his students performance.

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-10

3.

To design a facility that will allow the students to take their quizzes online and store the score in the database. This examination module will help students in analyzing questions well and thus giving them the chance to evaluate themselves if they learn something from their lessons.

4.

To design a message board and chat facility for both students and teachers which will provide a venue for sending and receiving of messages. Through message board and chat facility, students and teachers will be allow to communicate with each other.

5.

To create a facility that will let the teacher create and present lessons. Through uploading of lessons facility, teachers can administer their lessons online.

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-11

1.4

Scope and Limitations

The Online Learning for STI College Southwoods will provide the following features/functions for each specified users:

Administrator A module that will allow the administrator to: Give access rights to the user Add new student and teacher Maintain courses base on the courses offered by the school Maintain subjects offered online Send email of passwords and account to the user Maintain the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Activate and deactivate student accounts that are not enrolled in the subject Maintain the student and teacher information Maintain links of the system Maintain the grading policy and other static information

Students A module that will allow the student to: View lessons of the subject they have enrolled in Take their examinations online
1-12

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

Take their quizzes online Book mark the lessons they have finished Edit their student information View their accomplishment in terms of chapters completed View the summary of their examination results as shown in progress chart

View posted announcements and schedule of activities View message alerts whether it has announcements and activities, or received messages

Chat with their teacher or even with other student who are also enrolled in the same subject

View procedure in taking examinations, lessons and quizzes

Teachers A module that will allow the teacher to: Create multiple choice type of exam in text format Post announcements and schedule of activities through bulletin board View and record student scores in every examination, submitted assignments and other requirements View subjects handled and list of students enrolled in the subjects View students scores and grades

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-13

Upload lessons in PDF format View message alerts whether it has announcement and activities, or received messages

View the graphical representation of students performance based from their computed grades

Chat with their students Schedule and reschedule the exams Maintain examinations, lessons and quizzes of students

Guest A module that will allow the guest to view the following information: Subjects and courses offered for both online and regular programs Enrollment requirement and procedures Information about STI branches that offer the courses Contact numbers of different STI campuses Registration facility for guests Other links related to the site Admission requirements

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-14

The study will be done in PHP and JavaScript as its scripting language, Flash MX 2004, Photoshop CS, and Dreamweaver for its design and MySQL for its database.

However, the following are the systems limitations: Online enrollment of subjects The system will only focus on online learning. Enrollment transaction will be done in school. Interactive lessons and discussions The system will not contain videos or any animated or interactive lessons and discussions. Lessons are present in a PDF format. Forum and attachment facility Forming of group like in yahoo groups

Online Learning for STI College Southwoods

1-15