African Journal of Education, Science and Technology, April › journals › ajest › vol_3_iss_2 › ... · Computer-Aided Learning (C AL) in recent time has received considerable

African Journal of Education, Science and Technology, April, 2016 Vol 3, No. 249

Android Based Computer Aided Learning System for Improved Education System in Nigeria

Okpalla, Chidimma L.Dept. of Computer. Sci.ence FUTO, Nigeria

[email protected]

Odii, Juliet, N.Dept. of Computer. Sci.ence FUTO, Nigeria

[email protected], Nnaemeka, C.

Dept. of Computer. Sci.ence FUTO, [email protected]

Ezenwanne, Ebuka, CDept. of Computer. Sci.ence FUTO, Nigeria

[email protected]

ABSTRACTComputer-Aided Learning (CAL) in recent time has received considerable attention among researchers by providing

interactive, multi -sensory, and autonomous learning opportunities. But none of these researches has taken intoconsideration the learners’ access to the computer, neither have they captured some individual learning differences.This present study, therefore, is primarily concerned with the design and implementation of an Android Based CALmultimedia Application that is poised to providing flexible self-instructional materials in mathematical problems andequally tackles some of the learners’ personal learning problems such as poor assimilation or inability to easily figureout solutions. In achieving this system, the waterfall methodology was employed while Visual C-Sharp (C#) is thechoice programming language and Macromedia Flash (11.0) for the video output display. The system obtained is avirtual classroom where the teacher is no longer the focal point of classroom activity and also a potential system onwhich the concept of university teaching and learning can be targeted. With an “export-book” function included inthe application, any material can be shared. The software is as effective as other methods of teaching and can be usedas a substitute to the conventional learning paradigm. It has much to offer when it is integrated into the curriculumin a well-organized fashion.

Keywords: Computer- Aided Learning, Multimedia Software, Virtual Classroom, Export

INTRODUCTIONIn most of our institutions of higher learning it has become a common practice for lecturers to be physically presentin the classroom in order to deliver lectures to students. This norm is part of the reasons for inefficiencies andbackwardness being recorded in our educational sector as both the lecturers and students are restrained to specifictime and space. Learning through this conventional means only is no longer in vogue since the emergence ofinformation and communication technology. Also the students are known to be more engaged in a learning processwhen they are in control over the process according to their needs, lacks or wants. Computers help students developtheir reading skills in three ways: incidental reading, reading comprehension and text manipulation in which learnersread the text with the purpose of completing the activities successfully, answer traditional comprehension questionsand study a text in terms of content and structure (Jones et-al (1987).

Modern ways of structuring lectures, establishing and monitoring students’/ teacher interaction, as well as evaluatingoverall performance of students using relevant computer aided applications have evolved. A lot of drastic innovationsthat facilitate learning are now being employed rather than passively listening to the lecturers in classroom. AndroidBased Computer Aided learning (ABCAL) is one of the applications that can allow students to easily participate inmore interactive learning. With ABCAL students are now offered opportunities to communicate and learncollaboratively whenever and wherever they want and at their own pace. This application gives the students theleverage to work independently, define their specific objectives, use the materials effectively, assess their results andredirect their minds according to the feedback and results they receive.

Though literatures review that a lot of work has been done on the Computer aided learning. But while the previousworks centred on just the use of computers in learning, our work incorporates the learner’s /computer interactions,and also takes into consideration some individual differences such as personal attitudes towards learning. The beautyof this present study, is that it is Android based and equally a multimedia application which is poised to providingflexible self-instructional materials that tackle particularly mathematical problems.


LITERATURE REVIEWA framework on how to conceptualize Computer Aided Learning (CAL) was defined as early as 1980 by RobertTaylor, (Taylor, 1980) to help understand computer use in education. He described the roles of computer as tutor, tooland tutee. In the tutor role, computers can provide instruction, feedback, and testing in grammar, vocabulary, writing,pronunciation, and other dimensions of language and educational learning. The computer evaluates the students’responses and keeps complete records of them. In the tool role, computers provide statistical analysis, supercalculation, word processing and ready access to written, audio, and visual materials relevant to the language andculture being studied. They also provide reference tools such as online dictionaries and encyclopaedias, grammar andstyle checkers and concordances for corpus analysis. Also, Warschauer (2002), argues that the role of the computer ineducation has been transformed from that of tutor to that of tool. While Kern (2006) states that CAL’s original focuswas on tutorials but now the general trend has been toward tool and especially medium tools. Nevertheless, Hubbardand Siskin (2004) point out that despite its marginalization from the pedagogical mainstream, tutorial CAL is verymuch alive and debunking common myths, they declare its significant assistance in developing learners’ consciousknowledge, improving listening and reading comprehension and pronunciation (Hubbard et-al, 2004). Computers havebeen used in banking, test administration, scoring, data analysis, report generating, research, and the dissemination ofresearch (Fulcher, 2001).

The current computer technology has many advantages for CAL and testing. According to Lee (2000) they are somany reasons why computer technology should be integrated as aided instructions. These reasons include: To providepractices for students through the experiential learning offer students more the learning motivation, enhance studentachievement, increase authentic materials for study. Encourage greater interaction between teachers and students andstudents and peers, emphasize the individual needs, Regard independence from a single source of information, andEnlarge global understanding.

The use of CAL tutorials and tools in and out of the classroom provides new opportunities to promote students’development by improving reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills together with grammar, vocabularyknowledge and computations. In testing, CAL has some advantages in terms of test administration and humanconsiderations. Among test administration advantages, using computers increases test security and using computersinstead of humans may reduce the marking cost while maintaining the reliability. IRT (Item Response Theory) andcomputer-adaptive testing allow flexibility and individuality in test administration as it can tailor the items in termsof difficulty according to the test takers proficiency. Thus, it provides more accurate assessment of the examinee’sability since computers are more accurate than humans in scoring and reporting the results. The use of different testsfor each student may minimize any special practice effects, studying for the test, and cheating (Drasgow et-al, 1987).Diagnostic feedback can be provided very quickly and effectively to each student on his or her incorrect answers.Such feedback can even be fairly descriptive if artificial intelligence is used (Baker, 1989; Bunderson et-al, 1988).

From the human point of view, the use of computers allows students to work at their own pace. Computerized testsgenerally take less time to finish than traditional paper-and-pencil tests and are therefore more efficient (Kaya et-al,1991; Fulcher, 2001). CAL tools involve simulations, multimedia production, and communicative and interactiveinput that can be accessed 24 hours a day. In a word, computer technology also provides the interdisciplinary andmulticultural learning opportunities for students to carry out their independent studies. Computer and its attachedlearning programs could provide learners more independence from classrooms and granting learners the space to workon their learning material at any time of the day and as many times as they need. Providing the necessary environment,equipment and privacy for students, computers allow both slow and fast achievers to work on their own pace withoutfeeling anxious and worried to catch up or bored as they need to wait for the others. In addition to that, as Warschauer(2004) states, shy or inhibited learners can greatly benefit from the individualized technology-learning environment,and studious learners can also proceed at their own pace to achieve higher levels. Students tend to express themselvesbetter than face-to-face interactions in a classroom where students feel pressure. A more relaxed atmosphere motivatesstudents and enhances learning outcomes as they perform better. According to Robertson et al. (1987), the participantswho joined CAL programs also have significantly higher self-esteem ratings than regular students.

When computer technology combines with Internet, it creates a channel for students to obtain a huge amount of humanexperience and guide students to enter the ‘global village’. The novelty of working with a new medium is also amotivating factor. They become the creators not just the receivers of knowledge. When they become more autonomouslearners and take initiative for their learning, students not only can extend their personal view, thought, and experience,but also acquire the skills to survive in the real world.


EXISTING COMPUTER AIDED LEARNING TOOLS AND RESEARCH FINDINGSExamples of existing computer aided learning are the Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operation (PLATO)and Time-Shared Interactive Computer Controlled Information Television (TICCIT) that were designed to teachhigher-order concepts using an instructional design. The TICCIT and PLATO systems attempted to test theeffectiveness of computer-aided instruction (CAI) against the traditional classroom format. Though they recordedimpressive achievements, research highlighted some factors beyond the instruction materials which influenced theireffectiveness. For example, many students could hardly complete the mathematics CAI course because little or noattention was paid to their learning abilities. The application is characterized with minimal interaction with thestudents. Instead of the existing CAL applications analysing the needs of the users, and build in adequate support, theTICCIT math students did not receive sufficient feedback about their progress, and consequently made poor controldecisions about what and when to study, practice, and test. Also, whereas all these instructional technologies werebeing developed and used overseas, here in Nigeria, there has not been any significant advancement andstandardization of any CAL software and its associated tools in universities. This invariably implies that lecturingonly still makes use of traditional methods where lecturers prepare lecture materials and would have to be present todeliver the lectures. Hence we summarize our findings as follows:

i. The existing CAL is characterized by the absence of evaluation of how much learner control is appropriategiven the skill base of the targeted learners.

ii. Lack of availability of quality lecture materials, which have poised a lot of problem to a good number ofstudents.

iii. Lack of embedded feedback mechanism either into the program itself or through instruction training.

THE PROPOSED ANDROID BASED COMPUTER AIDED LEARNING SYSTEMThe application developed in this work is not just another computer aided learning but it is android based with greaterinformation access. This proposed system is a primary source of information on demand. A mastery of this softwarewill become essential in order to gain access to an ever-growing body of recent and up-to-date knowledge availableelectronically. These new technologies when integrated effectively into the classroom environment have the capacityto facilitate higher order thinking skills and develop new ways of learning. Most interestingly, it operatesasynchronously. This innovation favours every category of students by removing the barriers such as time, distanceand space which before now impeded our normal learning culture in Nigeria.

METHODOLOGYA hybrid methodology which consists waterfall methodology, the Object Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology

(OOADM) and prototyping are used to realise this package. While Visual C-Sharp (C#) is the choice programminglanguage and Macromedia Flash (11.0) for the video output display.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE LANGUAGE USEDC sharp (C#) is a simple, powerful, and type-safe programming language that allows a more flexible implementationof call-backs which in turn reduces the complexity of code and reduces the likelihood of logic errors. It increasesrobustness by providing type checking and reduces “copy-paste” errors because enumerations can be converted totheir string equivalent unlike with Java where developers will need to spend more time testing and debugging.C# allows more natural syntax. It allows developers to embed metadata and program against that metadata. Thisincreases the power and flexibility available to software developers. C Sharp modules are discoverable which greatlyreduces the need to distribute related information across multiple source files. This reduces potential errors and hencetesting and debugging time as well as increases reliability and robustness. This is one of the strongest benefits of usingC#, hence the choice language for this type of application.


HIGH LEVEL MODEL OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM:

Figure 1: High Level model design.

HOME PAGE

CHOOSETOPICS

VIEWDIFFERENTTOPICS

VIEW LECTURE TOPICS

SOLVEQUESTIONSSELF TEST

CHOOSE VIDEOVIEW LECTURE VIDEOS


PROGRAM FLOWCHART

Figure 2: Program Flowchart


RESULTS

Figure 3: Sample Course Topic Page

Figure 4: Self-Test Page


CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, we have been able to develop an Android Based Computer Aided Learning System in this paper thathas the capability to drastically change every aspect of study when incorporated with the latest advances in technologyand educational curriculum. This innovation has indeed challenged the conventional means of learning. However,students’ attitudes play a great role in the success of the application developed in this paper. When students havepositive attitudes towards it, they will be more motivated and are more likely perform better and achieve higher levelsof knowledge acquisition. When it comes to preparing students for the future on their higher education and work,ABCAL has a lot to offer. Therefore, it is not just a technology for learning, but also an urge to assist students developlife skills.

RECOMMENDATIONBased on the findings and conclusion above we recommend as follows:

i) In teaching, new approaches, methods, methodologies, strategies and tools such as ABCAL should beintegrated into the curriculums in a well-organized way in order for students to keep up with the vastchanging world.

ii) A facility to maintain the system's files, directories, programs and documentation should be developedin further studies.

iii) A system that monitors learner’s co-operation should be looked into. Such first-hand observations canreveal the effectiveness of ABCAL in supplementing teaching and or learning.

iv) Also, a study capturing teachers’ attitude towards the realization of efficient ABCAL should beconsidered in subsequent researches.

REFERENCESBaker, F. B. (1989). Computer technology in test construction and processing. In R.L. Linn Educational measurement (3rd ed., pp. 409-428).

London: CollierMacmillan.Bunderson, C. V., Inouye, D. K., & Olsen, J. B. (1988). The four generations of computerized educational measurement. In R. L. Linn (Ed.),

Educational measurement (3rd ed., pp. 367-407). London: Collier Macmillan.Drasgow, F., Levine, M. V., & McLaughlin, M. E. (1987). Detecting inappropriate test scores with optimal and practical appropriateness indices.

Applied Psychological Measurement, 11, 59-80.Fulcher, G. (2001). Computers in Language Testing.Language learning & Technology, 5 (2), 95-98.Hubbard, P., & Siskin, C. B. (2004). Another look at tutorial CALL. ReCALL Journal, 16(2), 448-461.Jones, P. K. (1987). The Relative Effectiveness of Computer Assisted Remediation with Male and Female Students.Technical Horizons in

Education, 14, 61-6.Kaya-Carton, E., Carton, A. S. & Dandonoli, P. (1991). Developing a computer adaptive test of French reading proficiency. In P. Dunkel (Ed.),

Computer assisted language learning and testing: Research issues and practice (pp. 259-284). New York: Newbury House.Kern, R. (2006). Perspectives on technology in learning and teaching Languages.TESOL Quarterly, 40 (1), 183-210.Lee, K.W. (2000). English teachers’ barriers to the use of computer assisted language learning, The Internet TESL Journal.Robertson, E. B., Ladewig, B. H., Strickland, M. P. & Boschung, M. D. (1987). Enhancement of self-esteem through the use of computer-assisted

instruction. Journal of Educational Research, 80 (5), 314-316.Seels, B., (1989). The Instructional Design Movement in Educational Technology, Educational Technology, 29/5, 11-15.Schoen, H., and Hunt, T., (1977). The effects of Technology on Instruction: The literature of the last 20 years, AEDS Journal, 10: 62-82.Skinner, B.F. (1954). The Science of Learning and the Art of Teaching. Harvard Educational Review, 24, 86-97Taylor, R. (1980). Tutor, Tool, Tutee- CITE Journal. www.citejournal.org.semnl .article.Accessed July 2015.Warschauer, M. (2002). A developmental perspective on technology in language education. TESOL Quarterly, 36(3), 453-475.

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African Journal of Education, Science and Technology, April › journals › ajest › vol_3_iss_2 › ... · Computer-Aided Learning (C AL) in recent time has received considerable