K-12 Teaching Application Support

MTSS Ongo08a Status Report November 2004

K-12 Teaching Application Support

Mathematical Teaching Software System

Project Ongo08a

Status Report

Client:

Ames Community Schools

Faculty Advisors:

Dr. John Lamont

Prof Ralph Patterson III

CprE/EE 492 Team Member:
Kwan Chan
Matt Dengler
Mohanish Kalra
/ CprE/EE 491 Team Members:
Tuan Cao
Doug Doan

REPORT DISCLAIMER NOTICE

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.

Copyright 2004 Ongo08a Team

December 10, 2004

1

MTSS Ongo08a Status Report November 2004

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Definitions

1. General Overview

2. Introductory Materials

2.1 Executive Summary

2.1.1. Need for the project

2.1.2. Actual project

2.1.3. Results to date

2.1.4. Work yet to be completed

2.2 Acknowledgements

2.3 Problem Statement

2.4 Operating Environment

2.5 Intended Users and Uses

2.6 Assumptions and Limitations

2.6.1. Assumptions

2.6.2. Limitations

2.7 Expected End Product and Other Deliverables

3. Project Accomplishments and Status

3.1 Previous Accomplishments

3.1.1 Spring 2001

3.1.2 Fall 2001

3.1.3 Spring 2002

3.1.4 Fall 2002

3.1.5 Spring 2003

3.1.6 Fall 2003

3.1.7 Spring 2004

3.3 Present Accomplishments

3.3 Future Required Activities

3.4 Current Project and End Product Status1

3.5 Recommendation for Continued Work3

4. document of current efforts and results3

4.1 project definition activities4

4.2 research activities4

4.3 design activities4

4.4 implementation activities5

4.5 testing and modification activities5

5. Resources and Schedule5

5.1 Resource Requirements5

5.1.1 Personnel Effort Budget

5.1.2 Other Resource Requirements7

5.1.3 Financial Requirements7

5.2 Schedules7

5.2.1 Project Schedule8

5.2.2 Project Deliverables8

6. closure materials9

6.1 lesson learned9

6.2 Risk and Risk Management0

6.3 Project Team Information1

6.4 Closing Summary2

Appendix A4

Screenshots of MTSS4

Appendix B7

MTSS Wish List7

Statistics...... 7

User Administration7

Problems7

Appendix c

Problem solving process8

REPORT DISCLAIMER NOTICE2

List of Figures

Figure 1: Project Schedule

Figure 2: Deliverables

List of Tables

Table 1: List of Acronyms and Definitions

Table 2: Estimated Personnel Resource Distribution...... 16

Table 3: Actual Personnel Resource Distribution

Table 4: Estimated Other Resource Requirements

Table 5: Actual Other Resource Requirements

Table 6: Estimated Financial Requirements

Table 7: Actual Financial Requirements

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MTSS Ongo08a Status Report November 2004

List of Definitions

Table 1: List of Acronyms and Definitions

Acronym

/

Definition

ACS / Ames Community Schools
ASP / Active server pages (a Microsoft web technology allowing a server to calculate and generate web pages)
CGI / Common gateway interface
GUI / Graphic user interface
HTML / Hyper Text Markup Language (any regular web page is written in HTML)
IBM-compatible / Personal computers that run a Microsoft Windows operating system
IIS / Internet information server
MTSS / Mathematical Teaching Software System
MySQL / A variant of Structured Query Language (SQL)
PHP / PHP Hypertext Preprocessor (a recursive acronym) is an open source web technology allowing a server to calculate and generate web pages.
SQL / Structured Query Language (used to talk to the central database)
VB / Visual Basic computer language
VBScript / Visual Basic scripting designed for HTML use

1

MTSS Ongo08a Status Report November 2004

1. General Overview

The purpose of this status report is to record the progress and status of the Mathematical Teaching Software System (MTSS) project throughout the semester. Basically, this report is divided into the following sections:

• Introductory Materials
• Project Accomplishment and Status
• Documentation of Current Efforts and Results
• Resources and Schedules
• Closure Materials

2. Introductory Materials

This section of the report intends to familiarize the reader with the project. It is divided into the following subsections:

1. Executive Summary

2. Acknowledgements

3. Problem Statement

4. Operating Environment

5. Intended Users and Uses

6. Assumptions and Limitations

7. Expected End Product and Other Deliverables

2.1 Executive Summary

The subsections of this executive summary are

1. Need for the project

2. Actual project

3. Results to date

4. Work yet to be completed

2.1.1. Need for the project

The purpose of Mathematical Teaching Software System (MTSS) project is to help students in grades third through sixth improve their mathematical skills, specifically problem solving, on standardized tests. MTSS has the potential to go beyond ACS standardized tests and serve as a corner stone in the development of mathematical skills that students will need throughout their high school and college careers as well.

2.1.2. Actual project

MTSS will provide the supplementary instruction that ACS students need to improve their problem solving skills on national standardized exams. By creating a program that is platform independent, this software will be accessible by all computers with an Internet connection. The problems used with the program will be set up in a basic structure so that teachers and coordinators will have the ability to add/edit/delete problems and use those problems to create/modify quizzes. The statistical analysis modules will provide invaluable insight to the teachers and coordinators by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the students, both as a group and individually.

MTSS will include a series of problems in a specific topic, for instance, fractions, to serve as a supplement to classroom lectures. Students can evaluate their individual performances by looking at the statistics and a database of results that will be generated for the instructors and administrators. By allowing instructors and administrators to view each student’s performance, teachers will be able to focus on specific areas for that students need help, rather than taking a broader approach for a subject.

Problem solving is a skill that develops better with repetition and practice and it is more than being able to perform mathematical operations taught by drill exercises. It includes recognizing when to use those operations in a practical application. It includes visualizing the problem, analyzing the information provided, determining what information is needed, coming up with a solution process, and verifying that the solution makes sense. MTSS will guide the student through the process of problem solving by using a generalized problem solving method. It will help the students go through all the procedures mentioned above one by one until the student understands how to solve the problem.

To avoid becoming yet another drill exercise, MTSS problems in the same category will have varied contexts. For example, fraction problems will range from class statistics (what fraction of students are wearing blue jeans) to three-dimensional challenges (fraction of sides of a cube painted with pattern x). This will help keep student’s attention while having them apply problem-solving skills to different problem types.

2.1.3. Results to date

Even though MTSS has been around for a while, the software is still very much in its infancy. The program as it stand at the moment serves as a workbook that allows (a) teachers to create, edit and delete problems and quizzes, and (b) students to view and solve problems and quizzes. Presently, there are 160 problems in the database with various concepts related to fractions.

2.1.4. Work yet to be completed

A lot of work is yet to be done in the software. User administration and management, tracking student performance, coming up with a general problem solving algorithm that can guide the student through the process of solving a problem, implementing that algorithm so that it is automated, and incorporate grading into the software are the work that still has to be done. Also, more problems would need to be added to the database over the course of every semester. Appendix B contains a ‘wish-list’ of the features that the present MTSS team feels should be available in the final product.

2.2 Acknowledgements

The MTSS team wants to extend its thanks to Dr. John Lamont and Prof. Ralph Patterson, the faculty advisors, for guiding the group throughout the project planning process. Many of the improvements seen in the PHP version of the software (after making the transition from ASP) are just implementation of the recommendations suggested by the faculty advisors, and their continued support and advice are imperative to the success of the project.

2.3 Problem Statement

The general background on MTSS is to design an Internet-based teaching software application that will provide students in grades 3-6 the opportunity to practice more mathematical problems while exercising computer skills and strengthening their problem solving techniques by going through a general algorithm to solving a problem. The software application will provide mathematical lessons to students, and provide a privileged access to teachers and administrators with which they can monitor student progress and customize lessons. The lessons offered will very in both difficulty and in subject matter, using the teacher’s discretion.

The proposed approach to 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, where all the math problems will be stored. The communication between the client and the server will be accomplished via the Internet. Depending on the information provided by the client, the server would generate a custom web page for each individual client.

This allows each student to work at his or her own pace. Development of a software framework will support web tools that will allow the students to keep track of his/her score via user accounts and allow teachers access to customize lessons and evaluate performance of his or her students. This will be accomplished by utilizing dynamic web pages written using PHP, MySQL, and HTML. The MTSS application was initially created by using ASP language but was converted into PHP in order to support a MySQL database.

2.4 Operating Environment

The MTSS application will run on LAMP (Linux – Apache – MySQL – PHP) architecture. The client software needs to function on both IBM-compatible and Macintosh-compatible machines. The web application code will be written in PHP language, which runs as a module in Apache web server. The software will integrate with a database called MySQL to interact between the client and the problem database. This will be run in the Linux operating system. This allows a powerful open-standards environment for the web applications to run.

2.5 Intended Users and Uses

The primary intended users for MTSS will be the elementary students from grades 3 to 6, their teachers and administrators. Students of all races, ages, and sexes will have equal access to the software application.

The intended uses of this application are to give students addition practice in the area of mathematical problem solving and aid them in learning a general problem solving algorithm. The software will supplement their classroom learning by providing example problems, homework problems, practice examinations and performance examinations. The application will also serve as a record-keeping tool, keeping track of scores and students.

2.6 Assumptions and Limitations

Similar to any other projects, there are always a series of assumptions and limitations that need to taken into account. This subsection of the report intends to spell out those assumptions and limitations with regard to the MTSS software project.

2.6.1. Assumptions

Non-technical assumptions include the following:

• When a student is using this software, there shall be an adult or another student with adequate computer experience in the room that capable of helping the other student, if needed.
• The students already been exposed to the corresponding mathematical topic prior to their use of the software. This software shall be a supplement to classroom instruction, as not all of the students have Internet access in their homes.

Technical assumptions include the following:

• Team members will have the write access to the server database, (hosted by Ongo08d.)
• Also, this project will have a developed PHP framework group to support a set of Internet educational activities

2.6.2. Limitations

Challenges and limitations to development include the following:

• All computers using MTSS have Internet connection.
• Clients must have Internet Explorer or Netscape browser (Versions 5.0 or later).
• Elementary students may not have much prior experience of using a computer. Therefore, the client software must be easy to understand and easy to use.
• Younger students may not know how to type. MTSS should provide means for feedback appropriate for their age level.
• Computers are not really interactive. They only respond to pre-defined commands. The commands available to students must make the computer appear alive.
• Team members must learn PHP language as well as MySQL.
• MTSS will be able to check numerical answers, or correctly-spelled words, and then assigns a percentage for the student.
• Problem solving algorithm will have to be simple to follow.
• A general problem solving algorithm is going to be hard to come up with.

Other technical limitations include:

• Internet connection and Internet bandwidth.
• Computer/processor speed of the client machines.
• Size of the database might be limited.

2.7 Expected End Product and Other Deliverables

The end product is a suite of PHP pages that will dynamically build problem and quiz pages for students depending on the problem category and difficulty desired by the teachers or administrators, guide the students through the steps of problem solving method with assistance from teachers/parents. A web solution also allows the pages of generated HTML to be viewed on any platform. Teachers will be able to create/modify/delete quizzes, grades them, view the results and compare them from all participating students. These students do not necessarily need to be in the same classroom with the teacher. The end product would not only give students problem to solve, it would help build the problem solving skills of students who are using this software by aiding them through the process of solving a problem through an automated algorithm. Since this solution is a “web-based” solution, students will have the opportunity to work on problem solving skills from home with their parents. This can indirectly have a large effect on parent involvement with the education process.

3. Project Accomplishments and Status

This section of the report summarizes the works that have been done on this project since its inception. It is divided into the following subsections:

• Previous accomplishments
• Present accomplishments
• Future required activities
• Current project and end product status
• Recommendation for continued work

3.1 Previous Accomplishments

This subsection documents the works done by the previous members of the MTSS team, from Spring 2001 to Spring 2004.

3.1.1 Spring 2001

With the project and the technical approach well defined, the spring 2001 MTSS team devoted the vast majority of their time to researching the implementation of MTSS. The primary area of research was the ASP language. Several practice pages were developed in order to develop a greater understanding of ASP’s ability to interact with databases and text files. Session variables and include files were also experimented with, as their role in the final product is also very important. The first semester students spent significant time honing and perfecting their ASP programming skills so that when coding began in fall 2001 there would be no delay due to lack of knowledge. The second phase of research was to propose various methods of implementing problem solving aids as well as other indirect methods that could be used to facilitate the process further. The team discussed several different architectures and routes that the project could take. At the end of the semester, an extremely loose structure was agreed upon. Team members parted for the summer agreeing to research the problem further and report back in the fall with fresh ideas and perspectives.

3.1.2 Fall 2001

After the first semester, hours upon hours had been dedicated to research and meetings, but nothing of ultimate use to the project had been developed. With the glaring lack of measurable productivity at the forefront, the Ongo08 team decided that a working prototype was the primary goal for the semester. The following list contains the significant goals accomplished by the MTSS team for the fall 2001 semester:

• Designed and implemented a database.
• Designed and implemented several ASP pages that will add, read, and update fields in the database.
• Developed 8 problem pages that present basic mathematical story problems to students. The problems include graphics and multiple parts.
• Recorded the students' answers to the developed problems, compare the students' answers with correct answers stored in a text file, store the final percentage in the database, and the students' answers in a text file.
• Developed coordinator pages and functions that will allow teachers/coordinators to login/logout, add students, and edit student profiles.
• Developed a text-based menu that will provide an intuitive interface to the MTSS ASP pages.

3.1.3 Spring 2002

With the completion of the initial prototype, the main focus for this semester was to increase functionality and capabilities as well as overall system speed and performance. The following list highlights the accomplishments of the MTSS team during the spring 2002 semester

• Problem creation utility - The problem creation utility allows instructors to design their own problems.
• Database redesign - The database was completely redesigned as a more effective and efficient approach was taken as described in the Technical Design section.
• Delete student - This option allows the teachers/computer coordinators to delete students from the database.
• Add/edit/delete teachers - These options allow a computer coordinator to create teachers, edit and delete teachers and their students.

3.1.4 Fall 2002

The major contribution of the MTSS team for the Fall 2002 semester was the identification of PHP and MySQL as the most suitable technologies for the development of the software. PHP was to replace ASP as the scripting language, while MySQL was to replace Microsoft Access for the backend database. This represented a significant turning point in the project – for all the code written needed to be changed to adopt the new and preferred technologies. At the same time, it was felt worthwhile to continue maintaining the ASP code for demonstration purposes. The following list highlights the accomplishments made in Fall 2002.