Description
CERTIFICATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. i
DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………. iii
TABLE OFCONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv
LISTOFFIGURES………………………………………………………………………………………………………. viii
LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ix
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. x
CHAPTER ONE……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
- BACKGROUND INFORMATION………………………………………………………………….. 1
- STATEMENTOF THE PROBLEM……………………………………………………………………. 2
- AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY……………………………………………………….. 2
- ……………………………………………………………………….. 3
- SIGNIFICANCEOF THE STUDY……………………………………………………………………. 4
- LIMITATION OF THE STUDY………………………………………………………………………. 4
- PROJECTORGANIZATION…………………………………………………………………………… 4
CHAPTER TWO……………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
- INTRODUCTIONTOSOCIAL MEDIACONCEPT…………………………………………… 5
- HistoryoftheSocialMedia……………………………………………………………………………….. 5
- Whatis an Online Forum?……………………………………………………………………………….. 7
- Structure of an Online Forum………………………………………………………………………….. 8
- Features of an Online Forum…………………………………………………………………………. 10
- Applicationsof Online Forums………………………………………………………………………. 12
- REVIEWOF EXISTING SYSTEMS……………………………………………………………….. 13
- The Student Room……………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
- Google Groups……………………………………………………………………………………………. 14
CHAPTER THREE……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
REQUIREMENTSANALYSISANDDESIGN………………………………………………………………. 16
- INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………….. 16
- Proposed System………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
- SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND ANALYSIS…………………………………………….. 17
- Software Architecture of StudentHub…………………………………………………………… 17
- SystemAnalysis………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18
- SystemRequirements…………………………………………………………………………………… 19
- SYSTEMDESIGN………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
- Object OrientedAnalysisandDesign………………………………………………………………. 21
- UnifiedModelingLanguage(UML)………………………………………………………………… 22
- Use Case Diagram………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
- Sequence Diagram………………………………………………………………………………………. 29
- Activity Diagram………………………………………………………………………………………… 30
- THE USER INTERFACE DESIGNS……………………………………………………………… 32
- TheStudentHub Home Page………………………………………………………………………….. 32
- TheGuestUserRegistrationInterface………………………………………………………………. 32
- TheLoginPageInterface……………………………………………………………………………….. 33
- DATABASE DESIGN…………………………………………………………………………………… 34
- Description of Tables………………………………………………………………………………….. 34
CHAPTER FOUR……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35
SYSTEMIMPLEMENTATION…………………………………………………………………………………….. 36
- INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………. 36
- Platformsand Tools Used for Implementation…………………………………………………. 36
- THEDIFFERENTFORUM USER INTERFACES…………………………………………….. 37
- The Guest Student’s Post Page……………………………………………………………………… 37
- The Guest Student’s ‘My Posts’ Page……………………………………………………………. 37
- TheStudent’s‘ViewPosts’Page……………………………………………………………………… 38
- The Moderator’s Add News Page…………………………………………………………………. 39
- TheAdministrator’sDeleteAccountsPage……………………………………………………….. 40
- SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS…………………………………………………………………………. 40
- THEHARDWARE REQUIREMENTS…………………………………………………………….. 41
CHAPTER FIVE………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION………………………………………….. 42
- SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………………………………… 42
- RECOMMENDATIONSANDFURTHERWORKS………………………………….. 42
- CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………………… 43
FIGUREI:UsergroupsofanOnlineForum…………………………………………………………………………….. 9
FIGUREII:TheStudentRoom…………………………………………………………………………………………. 14
FIGURE III: Google Groups………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
FIGUREIV:SoftwareArchitectureofStudentHub…………………………………………………………….. 17
FIGURE V: The Use-Case diagramfor the Online Forum………………………………………………….. 23
FIGUREVI: TheAdministrationandInteractionSubsystems……………………………………………….. 24
FIGUREVII: RegistrationSubsystem……………………………………………………………………………… 25
FIGUREVIII: TheSequence diagramfor theSystem………………………………………………………….. 30
FIGUREIX: The Activity diagramfortheGuestStudent…………………………………………………….. 31
FIGUREX: StudentHub HomePage……………………………………………………………………………….. 32
FIGUREXI:GuestStudentRegistrationInterface……………………………………………………………… 33
FIGUREXII:TheLog-inInterface…………………………………………………………………………………… 33
FIGUREXIII: TheAsk Questions/Posts Interface……………………………………………………………… 37
FIGURE XIV: Guest Student’sView Post Interface…………………………………………………………. 38
FIGURE XV: Student’s ViewPosts Interface…………………………………………………………………… 39
FIGUREXVI:AddNewsInterface…………………………………………………………………………………… 39
FIGUREXVII:DeleteAccountsPage………………………………………………………………………………. 40
TABLEI:ResearchObjectivesandMethodology………………………………………………………………….. 3
TABLE II: Manage Accounts Use Case……………………………………………………………………. 25 – 26
TABLEIII: Manage Posts Use Case…………………………………………………………………………. 26 – 27
TABLE IV: Register Use Case………………………………………………………………………………………. 28
TABLEV:DatabaseSchemaforStudentHub………………………………………………………………. 34 – 35
TABLEVI: The SoftwareRequirements……………………………………………………………………. 40 – 41
TABLEVII: The Web ClientSoftware Requirements………………………………………………………… 41
TABLEVIII: The Hardware Requirements……………………………………………………………………… 41
The internet has been a platform for individuals, groups of people and companies to interact withone another through the social media. The social media has truly aided interaction and even otherbusiness services through social networks, forums, blogs, etc. Forums are now been used astools/platforms to create discussions, connect to people (mostly of similar interests) and assources of relevant information. This work intends to make use of forums as tools in helpingprospective university students to make the right decisions about their choice of career, choice ofenvironment,etc.
Based on an in-depth review of some relevant literatures, some key requirements have beenconsideredinthedevelopmentofasuitablewebapplication.Thisonlineforumwillbedevelopedforstudentstocaterforsomeoftheirneedsandsolvesomeoftheissuestheyfacewith their choice of career, their course of study, the accessibility of relevant information aboutany institution, etc.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Communication is a basic human need and for that reason, man has always found a means ofmeeting this need. The media, which is an umbrella term for various means of communication,hasbecomeanintegralpartofhumanlifearoundtheworld.Theearliestformsofpersonalmedia, speech and gestures, had the benefit of being easy to use and did not necessarily needcomplextechnology (Idakwo, 2011).
Through the social media, the internet community has drastically increased over the years. Thesocial media has become a significant part of today’s modern civilization. It is a defining trait ofhowintegratedsocialinteractionshavebecome.Theimpactofthesocialmediahavebeenseeninbasicallyfivedifferentcontexts;news,interactions,politicallandscapes,learningandmarketing(Guha, 2013).
With over 80 percent of teen Internet users frequenting social media sites, it’s no wonder the realworld social lives are seeing some changes. Social media is definitely changing the way peoplecommunicate, but in many ways it’s for the better as we expand our social circles and explorenewhorizons throughour onlineconnections(Chopra,2013).
Every age it has passed through has been based on beliefs and new technologies, responding totheneedsofindividualsanxioustoadjusttonewformsofsocialization.Atimeofgreatchangeis a period in which society looks for meaning. Information is already a tool, the principal tool,whichpeople use to perceive and understandtheirenvironment(Idakwo,2011).
The emergence of online forums has become hugely popular in recent times with interactionsbased on similar discussions, posts and threads (Xiaolin, et al., 2009) (Sumit&Prasenjit, 2010).Online forums have become powerful tools for sharing information (Bedmar, 2010). Onlinediscussion forums have also become one of the most popular places to ask and answer questions(Falls,2012).
Online Forums, compared to the other social media sites, have various unique features likethreads; where discussions and posts are made, RSS feeds, polls, etc. Online Forums, provide aunique type of social environment that enables people to share and access information freely.Users can either start new topics or leave comments in the threads of existing topics (Xiaolin, etal.,2009).
Prospective students of an institution (the University) have had issues in the past when it comestoselectingcareers,choosingtheircourseofstudyandindecisionsabouttherightschooltoapply for (Ogu, 2008) (Orndorff& Herr, 1996). However, to solve these problems, a platformneeds to be created where these students can relate with others who can answer these questions.Consequently, relevant requirements have to be taken into consideration in the development of awebapplicationtosolvetheseproblems statedabove.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To develop a web/online platform where students can share different questions or views onvarioustopicsandmajorlymakeinformationaboutanyinstitutionaccessible.Thiswillbeachievedthroughthefollowingobjectives:
- Gatheringtherightrequirements forthis application.
- ModelingtherequirementsgatheredusingaUnifiedModelingLanguage(UML).
- Implementingthesystembycreatingauser-friendlyplatformthatwillbeeasierforthesestudentstointeractwitheach other and ask questionsusingthreadsandtopics.
The research work will be conducted by using different sources of relevant data for research likeonline surveys, journals, books and reviews of relevant literature. The requirements needed forthe development of this application will be gotten by a review of existing systems. A platformwhere users who will reply to the questions from other users or provide any form of informationwill be created by some ‘question and answer’ techniques to solve the problems stated abovesuccessfully. The online forum will also be designed showing all the different functions that willbe performed by using UML diagrams like use cases, class diagrams, etc. The implementation ofthe web application can now be done by making use of the design diagrams and programmingwill be done with PHP and the database management will be done by MySQL database taking aclue from existing forum softwares. The system will later on be evaluated by making use offeedbacksandreportsfromrelevantusers.
The objectives stated above will be achieved through these means:TableI:ResearchObjectivesandMethodology
| S/N | OBJECTIVES | PROPOSEDMETHODOLOGY |
| 1 | Gatheringtherightrequirementsforthisapplication | · RequirementsElicitation
· Reviewof ExistingSystems |
| 2 | ModelingtherequirementsgatheredusingaUnifiedModelingLanguage(UML). | · ReviewofExistingModels
· Using UML diagrams like classdiagramsand activity diagrams |
| 3 | Implementing the system by creating auser-friendly platform that will be easierfor these students to interact with eachotherandaskquestionsusingthreadsandtopics. | · Thecodeforthefront-endi.e.theinterfacewillbewritteninPHP
· ThemessagesandthreadswillbestoredbyusingMySQLrelationaldatabase. · Review of Forum Softwares likephpBB,vBulletin,etc. |
This study has its relevance in solving real life problems affecting students today like indecisionsabout student’s course of study, career choices and misinformation about that institution. Theapplication will also be flexible to provide different categories where users can have specificchoices to select from. Lastly, this application will be focused on one institution i.e. CovenantUniversityratherthanaddressingagreater audience, in other student forums.
Informationisthebaneofdecision-makingforstudentsandpresenttimewebapplicationscannot live up to providing real time information that can be accessed from anywhere by the enduser. It is important to put interest into the development and usage of online forums in solvingtheseproblems.
The basic limitation of this project is that the right set of university students with the rightinformationandanswerstoanyquestionmaynotbeavailabletomakethisprojectasuccess.But,this willalso betaking into considerationduring theimplementationoftheproject.
In Chapter Two, relevant literatures will be reviewed so as to elicit requirements for the proposedsystem. In Chapter Three, the requirements for the proposed system using the unified modelinglanguageswillbedesigned.ChapterFourwillbediscussingandshowingthesystemdevelopment,deploymentandevaluation.ChapterFivewillsummarizetheworkandgiverecommendationfor future work.
SUMMARY,RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
This chapter gives a summary of this work. A number of recommendations for future works inthisarea were made and consequently the conclusion.
The research work investigated and identified the relevant additional requirements that can becatered for in the design and development of an online forum. Through this study, we have beenableto:
- Explore relevant literatures and existing systems to discover the right requirements to beconsideredin the development ofthis application.
- Model some of the operations of StudentHub employing object oriented analysis and designusingUMLdiagrams
- Develop an effective online forum for prospective students, where they can share differentquestions or views on various topics and majorly make relevant information about thatinstitution accessible.
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS AND FURTHER WORKS
Although online forums are significant tools for interaction, the integration of other popularsocial networks to make it accessible to everyone can be a big plus to this work. Also, moststudents are able to relate with Q&A’s more, so they can get any information they want easily.Theparticipationoftheinstitutioninvolvedwillalsobeanadvantagebecausetheywillbeableto relate with these issues and problems raised by the prospective students to improve some oftheir operations.
Onrecommendations,thesocialmediaisaveryflexiblescene,whereimprovementsareinevitable. More improvements will be done on StudentHub by integrating third-party tools likeSMS services to connect to their mobile devices, etc. Further work should also be carried out onproperlyevaluatingandtesting out the web application.
Asthesocialmediagrows,online forumslike StudentHub will be relevant to students andyouths around the world. Even as other versions will be later developed, the activities andfeaturesonthesitewillincreasebecausetheywillbebuilttomeettheend-usersrequirements.
Online forums have presented students with systems designed for the discussion of topics, witheach topic separated into its own area, called a thread. A thread is begun by a user writing a shortdocument, called a post, which introduces the topic or asks a question about the topic (Liu, et al.,2010).
