DEVELOPMENT A OF SCHOOL EVENT NOTIFICATION SYSTEM
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study
The integration of email and SMS technology has revolutionized mobile communication,
enabling users to easily send and receive text and binary messages. With the advent of the
Internet and powerful computers, communication among individuals has greatly improved.
This study explores the background that led to the initiation of this research, including the
identified problems, aims, objectives, significance, scope of work, methodology, and
definition of technical terms.
The emergence of web applications has significantly impacted education, from schools to
workplaces. In particular, the school notification system facilitates seamless
communication between lecturers, school administration, and parents/guardians through
email and SMS notifications. The widespread availability of web-enabled devices has
opened up new channels of communication, allowing for efficient information
dissemination. The proposed system aims to enhance student awareness by delivering
timely updates and enriching their understanding of events and academic activities within
the school. While this system serves as a supplementary communication method, it does
not replace existing forms of communication like notice boards were lecturers post
announcements. Instead, it enhances and supports the communication channels already
established by the institution. In today's information-driven era, computers and mobile
devices have become indispensable tools. These technologies offer numerous possibilities,
including the rapid development of mobile phones and services such as SMS, MMS, and
emails. Such communication mediums enable swift transmission of information within
educational institutions. The school notification system addresses the limitations faced by
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higher learning institutions in disseminating information by providing a convenient way
for students to receive valuable information on the go.
Notification, as a form of machine-to-person communication, plays a vital role in
conveying important and time-sensitive information. It encompasses reminders, alerts, and
notifications, ensuring individuals can stay informed about crucial matters. Notification
messaging originated from the study of Personal Information Management (PIM), which
focuses on how people acquire, organize, maintain, retrieve, and use relevant information.
By leveraging notification services, individuals can stay up to date with the information
that matters most to them. Advanced notification systems offer various delivery channels
such as email, SMS, instant messaging, voice portals, and more. Users can even schedule
their own alerts, creating personalized scenarios. The availability of these features allows
for sophisticated delivery systems tailored to the specific context of the content being
conveyed.
In the modern world, technology plays a significant role, and mobile phones, in particular,
have become an integral part of our daily lives. The popularity of the Android system, with
its convenient hardware platform and free development tools, has led to the creation of
numerous applications. These technologies facilitate the seamless sharing of information
through the mobile communication channel.
The advancement of technology has profoundly impacted the field of education,
revolutionizing the way knowledge is delivered and facilitating effective learning
experiences. This integration of technology not only contributes to the development of
advanced economies but also offers new avenues for leisure activities. In the realm of
education, the successful integration of technology across all aspects of society holds
immense potential for fostering educational leadership in economics and academic
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matters (Marsha, 2012). Tai Solarin University of Education, as a state-owned institution,
recognizes the importance of information and communication technology in achieving
academic excellence and embraces it as an integral part of their educational delivery.
The rapid growth and popularity of smartphones have led to the integration of mobile
applications as a new way of learning, teaching, and information dissemination,
prompting extensive research on how to provide students with timely access to
information through mobile devices. This research focuses on the development of a
mobile student result notification system based on the Android platform, aiming to
provide students with quick and convenient access to their academic results.
In the current academic landscape, advanced communication technologies dominate,
with students and staff at higher learning institutions extensively utilizing these
technologies to access and share information. The widespread adoption of wireless
communication systems is evident in the proliferation of wireless gadgets around us,
signifying the world's shift towards wireless connectivity. A study by Song and Lee
(2012) highlights the high ownership rate of smartphones among international business
students, indicating that approximately 82% of students possess these devices. Olatokun
(2008) notes that mobile phones have become an inseparable part of our daily lives, and
their attractiveness is further enhanced by the availability of e-commerce applications
and the ease of accessing desired information anytime and anywhere. The rise of web 2.0
applications, enabling active user participation on the web, has been a driving force
behind the growth of mobile devices in academic institutions. The ubiquity of wireless
gadgets, such as cell phones, iPods, iPads, Android devices, and mini-laptops, coupled
with the remediation of wireless internet access, underscores the increasing reliance on
mobile devices for academic purposes (Jacobs, 2009). While younger generations,
including students, are more familiar and early adopters of new technology, it is important
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to recognize that technology is a tool that can both enhance and potentially hinder
physical presence for learning activities.
In today's world, mobile phones and the internet have become indispensable aspects of
our daily lives, paving the way for the proposed mobile alert/notification system. This
system aims to provide students with real-time updates through push notifications
whenever there is new content on the university's website. While alternative mechanisms
such as SMS and email subscriptions can also deliver updates, this research specifically
focuses on the most recent and efficient form of communication, push notifications.
The implementation of this notification system in the institution aims to encourage active
student participation in future events and foster engagement through social and
intellectual interactions. It is envisioned to enhance the university's credibility and
promote dynamic and interactive information dissemination methods. By embracing this
technology, the institution seeks to create a vibrant learning environment that empowers
students and cultivates a sense of active involvement in their educational journey.
1.2 Statement of Problem
In Ajayi Crowther University, information is primarily disseminated through
noticeboards, memos, and other manual methods. However, these methods are often
ineffective as they do not reach a wide enough audience, and many staff and students
miss out on important information. Additionally, there is no system in place to keep
parents updated on school activities, and students face difficulties in communicating with
their lecturers. As a solution, the proposed web notification system aims to enhance the
current notification method in ACU and make communication more efficient for the
school administration, lecturers, and students. This study seeks to address these
communication challenges and improve overall communication in the university.
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1.3 Aim and Objectives
The aim of this project is to develop a school notification system that will assist the
administration and lecturers to stay connected to each other and pass information
adequately on academic activities. The specific objectives of this project is to:
1. To design a Web notification system.
2. To implement the design of a web notification system.
3. To evaluate the performance of the developed software.
1.4 Significance of Study
The proposed notification system will provide the main features to overcome the
problems that were stated above. The school administration will be able to communicate
to students, lectures, and Parents/guardians while lecturers will be able to communicate
to students and Parents/guardians and students will have access to their lecturers through
the Web application
Important announcements will not only be available on the school website and the web
application but students will get access to this information in their mobile devices through
email and SMS notification. Despite being unaccustomed to using their mobile phones
for academic notification, Many students particularly value reminders in support of their
time management, an important self-regulating strategy known to be a component of
successful transition. According to this source email and SMS notification can bring a
significant improvement during learning activities and other academic activities. Once
this project is concluded, this mobile notification system will show that students will be
more aware of the classroom activities and school events than they were before, because
information will reach them in a faster and more effective way
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1.5 Methodology
This proposed project will be carried out using UML tools which is a way to visually
represent the architecture, design, and implementation of complex software systems will
be used to design the outline of the school notification system. The system will be
developed using Laravel which is a PHP framework, Wamp server which is used to test
all the features of the web application locally without any internet connection and Visual
studio code which is collection of tools that allow the development of applications and is
optimized for building and debugging modern web and cloud applications will be used
for the implementation of the software. The evaluation of the project will be done to
determine Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, Currency and Coverage of the web
application. A laptop with a windows OS will also be necessary during the development
and testing. The project will only require a minimal amount of cost as most of the
materials and tools are available for free in the internet.
1.6 Scope of Study
The project will cover a Web Notification System, a system that will allow a better
dissemination of academic information in the Faculty of natural sciences. The
administration of the faculty and lecturers will be able to deliver announcements through
a Web-based Notification System using Email and SMS notification. This system shall
include the following features:
1. The lecturer can send out notifications to the students if he/she has to miss the class on a
specific day or time.
2. The lecturer can inform students about tests, quizzes or projects in the E-learning
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platform and students can be notified of the news on their mails and through SMS
notification.
3. The Faculty administration can send notifications to lecturers and choose which group of
students that receives information about a particular event.
4. The Faculty administration and lectures will be able to send important information to
parents/guardians.
5. Students will be able to send messages to the lecturers in their department through the
platform
The main users for the application will be the school administration, lecturers and
students. In order to use this application there will be a need for the users to pursue a
mobile device or Personal computer with internet access
The system will be developed using Visual Studio Code which is set of development
tools that helps in the creation of applications and utilities, Laravel, webserver and open
source database MySQL.
1.7 Project Layout
The project will contain five chapters and as follows. The background of study,
introduction, aim and objectives of the project, scope of the project and significance of
the work are presented in chapter one. Chapter two presents literature review and related
works. The methodology along the system analysis and design of the project are made
clear in chapter three the system implementation and documentation of the system, tools,
software, and hardware requirements of the new system, system testing and maintenance
are presented in chapter four. Finally, summary, conclusion and recommendations are
discussed in chapter Five
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1.8 Definition of Terms
SMS: It stands for Short Message Service and is also commonly referred/called to as text
message. With SMS, you can send a message of up to 160 characters to another device.
MMS: It stands for Multimedia Messaging service and this type of text messaging is an
evolution of the SMS. With a MMS, you can send message in including pictures, Video, or
audio content to another device.
Alert: It is a notification that a threshold has been reached.
Email: It is a message that contain text, files, images, or other attachments sent through a
network to a specified individual or group individuals.
HTML CODE: HTML stands for Hyper Text Mark-up Language. It is a type of computer
language that is primarily used for files that are posted on the internet and viewed by web
browsers. HTML files can also be sent via email.
Push Notification: A push notification is a message that pops up on a mobile device. App
publishers can send them at any time; users don’t have to be in the app or using their devices
to receive them.
Web browser: A Web browser is a software program that interprets the coding language
of the World Wide Web in graphic form, displaying the translation rather than the coding.
This allows anyone to “browse the Web” by simple point and click navigation, bypassing
the need to know commands used in software languages.
Email: Email, also sometimes written as e-mail, is simply the shortened form of electronic
mail, a protocol for receiving, sending, and storing electronic messages. Email has gained
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popularity with the spread of the Internet. In many cases, email has become the preferred
method of communication.
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