ABSTRACT
The proposed thesis is designed to be an online Baze University past question archiving system. The use of technologies has become critically important in the era of the Coronavirus pandemic which has required off-campus distance learning by students of Baze university. With no access to staff and on-campus facilities, the availability of easily accessible online study material has become critical. This project aims to provide students with the necessary materials needed to aid with learning and studying efficiently. It seeks to aid in distance learning by providing online access to past questions which have previously only been accessible as hard paper copies at the Baze university libraries. This web application has been developed using the Python programming language, its supporting flask framework and SQLite for the database. The application was successfully tested and produced the desired results.
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………………………. vi
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………………………. x
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………………….. xi
Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
- Overview………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
- Background and Motivation…………………………………………………………………….. 2
- Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………………… 2
- Aim and Objectives………………………………………………………………………………… 3
- Significance of the Project……………………………………………………………………….. 4
- Project Risk Assessment…………………………………………………………………………… 5
- Scope/Project Organization……………………………………………………………………… 5
Chapter 2: Literature Review……………………………………………………………………………. 6
Chapter 3: Requirements Analysis…………………………………………………………………… 10
3.1 Overview…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
3.2.1 Proposed Methodology………………………………………………………………………….. 10
- Waterfall model…………………………………………………………………………………. 10
- Agile development methodology…………………………………………………………….. 12
- Spiral Development Methodology…………………………………………………………… 14
- Approach to Chosen Methodology/Methods………………………………………………. 16
- Tools and Techniques……………………………………………………………………………. 17
- Ethical Consideration……………………………………………………………………………. 18
- Requirement Analysis……………………………………………………………………………. 18
- Requirements Specifications……………………………………………………………………. 19
- System Design………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
- Application Architecture………………………………………………………………………. 22
- Use Case………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
- Activity Diagram……………………………………………………………………………….. 24
- Data Design Diagram…………………………………………………………………………… 25
- Entity Relationship Diagram…………………………………………………………………. 26
- User Interface Design………………………………………………………………………….. 26
- Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………. 31
Chapter 4: Implementation and Testing…………………………………………………………… 33
- Overview…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 33
Approvals……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 41
Chapter 5: Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………… 53
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………. 57
APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 58
Appendix B – Interview……………………………………………………………………………………. 58
Baze IT department……………………………………………………………………………………….. 58
Baze students……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 58
Appendix C – Source Codes………………………………………………………………………………. 59
Appendix D – Test Cases…………………………………………………………………………………… 65
Appendix E – User Guide/Manual………………………………………………………………………. 67
Students User Guide………………………………………………………………………………………. 67
Admins User Guide……………………………………………………………………………………….. 67
List of Tables
Table 3.2 Non-functional requirements………………………………………………………………… 21
Table 4.1 Test Suite Performed for Login…………………………………………………………….. 42
Table 4.2 Test Suite Performed for Logout………………………………………………………….. 43
Table 4.3 Test Suite Performed for Search engine…………………………………………………. 44
Table 4.4 Test Suite Performed for database update……………………………………………… 45
Table 4.5 Test Suite Performed for viewing/download………………………………………….. 46
Table 4.6 Test Suite Performed for upload…………………………………………………………… 47
Table 4.7 Test Suite Performed for confirmation alert……………………………………………. 48
Table 4.8 Test Suite Performed for home page……………………………………………………… 49
Table 4.9 Test traceability matrix………………………………………………………………………… 50
Table 4.10 Test report summary………………………………………………………………………….. 51
Table 4.11 Error reports and correction………………………………………………………………… 52
Table 4.7 Test Suite Performed for confirmation alert……………………………………………. 65
Table 4.8 Test Suite Performed for home page……………………………………………………… 66
List of Figures
Figure 3.1 Waterfall model (Tutorials Point, 2020)………………………………………………. 11
Figure 3.2 Agile model (Anurina, 2019)………………………………………………………………. 13
Figure 3.3 Spiral model (papertyari, 2015)……………………………………………………………. 15
Figure 3.8.1 Application architecture…………………………………………………………………… 22
Figure 3.8.2 Use Case Diagram…………………………………………………………………………… 23
Figure 3.8.3 Activity Diagram……………………………………………………………………………. 24
Figure 3.8.4 Data Design Diagram………………………………………………………………………. 25
Figure 3.8.5 Entity Relationship Diagram…………………………………………………………….. 26
Figure 3.8.6 Landing page…………………………………………………………………………………. 27
Figure 3.8.7 Login page…………………………………………………………………………………….. 27
Figure 3.8.8 Home page…………………………………………………………………………………….. 28
Figure 3.8.9 Upload page…………………………………………………………………………………… 29
Figure 3.8.9 Admin Registration page…………………………………………………………………. 30
Figure 3.8.10 Search result page…………………………………………………………………………. 31
Figure 3.8.11 Viewing page……………………………………………………………………………….. 31
Figure 4.2.2.1 Search Engine……………………………………………………………………………… 34
Figure 4.2.2.2 Search Engine Result……………………………………………………………………. 35
Figure 4.2.3.1 Upload page………………………………………………………………………………… 36
Figure 4.2.3.3 Upload database view…………………………………………………………………… 36
Figure 4.2.4.1 Viewing and download page…………………………………………………………. 37
Chapter 1: Introduction
Overview
In the past few decades, technology has become a major ally in the education sector. The role of online teaching and learning material availability in quality of learning has become universally acknowledged and supported by decades of research. The importance of this is made even more apparent in developing countries like Nigeria. (Read, 2016)
In spite of the availability of decades of research that shows the importance of ensuring learning materials are adequately provided to students at all levels of education, Universities are yet to take full advantage of the technology that is available in 2020.
Past exam question papers have always been a good resource for learning and specifically for exam preparations. Past question papers give students a general idea of what a certain course is all about, familiarizes them with the exam format and most importantly, it provides an idea of what their expected exam questions may look like. (Docsity, 2013)
This project walks through the importance of having online learning materials for students, specifically the past question papers. The practices used at the university and how this project aims to help improve the current system will be analysed. The implementation and testing process will also be discussed in detail to aid in determining whether or not the goal of the project has been reached.
Background and Motivation
As a final year student at Baze University, I have observed through the years how much of a hassle the search for past question papers is for the students. Currently, some papers are stored at the school library which is where they can be accessed. The problem with the current system is how unorganized it is.
The process of looking for a paper involves searching, one after the other, through all the past papers ever taken to the library since the inception of Baze University. That is hundreds of past papers to sift through without the promise of finding what is being looked for because some papers are never stored there or are taken out and never returned by some students.
If not found in the library, the students turn to their lecturers hoping they are kind enough to share the papers. This is a long process for something that can be automated using the available technology to provide these resources at the click of a button.
As a computer science student, I am fully equipped with the resources and knowledge needed to help in improving the lives of students at Baze University by ensuring that they are able to use their time efficiently on the things that matter like learning and studying for exams.
Statement of the Problem
Using the technology that is widely available to improve the lives of the students for the better is a goal that all Universities are trying to reach. Baze University should not be excluded from this.
Students are having to go to the library and search through hundreds of unorganized past question papers with the hopes of finding what they are looking for. This process takes hours out of their studying time without the promise of success because not all past question papers are stored in the library as expected or because they have been illegally taken out of the library and never returned by other students.
If not found in the library, they turn to their lecturers hoping they are kind enough to share the papers. Because of this long process, a lot of students are discouraged from taking on the daunting task that is looking for past questions at Baze University. This hinders the learning and studying for students, and undoubtedly affects their educational performance.
The second problem is that, due to the Corona Virus pandemic, Baze University is adopting a permanent online school system for those who wish to take part in distance learning. These students deserve to be equipped with all the resources that their on- campus counterpart have access to.
Aim and Objectives
This project proposes a system “Past Question Paper Archive System”, which is a web application system that aims to aid in distance learning by providing online access to past questions which have previously only been accessible as hard paper copies at the Baze university libraries. It will serve as an archive for all past question papers ever written at the institution.
The objective of this project will be to provide all past questions at Baze University, on the student portal, to be downloaded or studied online by the students. The question papers will be organized and indexed to enable easy access and also allow the users to search and retrieve information based on keywords.
The application will also enable the admins (which can be lecturers or other university authorities) to upload new past questions to be accessed by the students. The system will be hosted on the university server as a part of the student and staff portal through which the resources can be accessed by the students.
The objective of the project is to create a fully functioning past question paper archive that can easily be accessed by the students. With that goal in mind, the scope of the project will lie between the following challenges:
- The ability to collect and upload the past question papers.
- The ability for the users to be able to search, open and download and resource.
Significance of the Project
The successful implementation of this project will bring relief for the students and staff of Baze University by enabling them to upload and access all the past examination resources at the comfort of their computers and on the same platform of which they are already proficient.
There will no longer be a need to be physically present at the university to be able to fully access and take advantage of its resources. This is an importance aid for the newly formed Baze University online school. When the system is successfully implemented, using it will be as easy as searching for any past paper by its name or course code after which they can be downloaded or studying online.
