Uncle Sam’s America
K-12 Teaching Application Support—Ongo8c
Project Team Information
Team Members
David Boike, EE
Jonna Jahnke, CprE
Daniel Kline, EE
Tunde Olatunji, CprE
Sara Showman, EE
Brian Spanbauer, CprE
Abstract
Problem Statement
Ames Community Schools
Design Objectives
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Program must be accessible to students via the Internet
Results must be stored in database for teachers to retrieve and review
Program must be similar to Globey’s World (Ongo8b) but with US Geography
Functional Requirements
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To develop software for 3rd-6th grade students
To be user-friendly and interactive
To provide updated U.S. geographical information
To include practice and performance exams
Program includes login with a username/password scheme
Students choose a state using an easily navigable map of the United States
Program displays state information upon request
Server stores software and database
Database contains geography data
Database has exercises, exams, results
Students operate from own client PCs
Server talks to clients via the Internet
Server generates a customized web
page based upon client input
Multiple platform use (PC, Macintosh)
User-friendly for 3rd-6th grade students
Basic instructions for new users
Measurable Milestones
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General Solution-Approach Statement
response
PHP/MySQL education
Database population
Software coding
Testing
Proposed Approach and Considerations
client
Proposed Approach
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search
query
server
data
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Components include: database design and population, HTML design, graphic
design, and application code design
Components divided amongst team members
Testing Considerations
Technologies Considered
Operating Environment
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Dr. John Lamont
Professor Ralph Patterson, III
Design Constraints
General Problem Statement
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Project Client
Project Requirements
Ames Community Schools (ACS) has been concerned with the performance of
their students’ problem solving abilities on a nationally standardized exam. While
ACS traditionally scores in the 90+% on traditional math skills, results from the
problem-solving section were around 40+%. The purpose of this project is to
provide web-based software that supplements classroom learning, particularly in
the area of geography. By utilizing the software to extend classroom learning, the
students of ACS will be better prepared for standardized tests, resulting in higher
test scores.
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Jau-Ming Tan, EE
Ricky Tan, CprE
Faculty Advisors
Program exists on LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) architecture
Application code written in PHP on Apache web server
Database backend written in MySQL
Program runs on Linux operating system
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ASP.NET
SQL Server 2000
HTML
Development testing
Installation testing
Functional testing
Resources and Schedule
Financial Resources
Personnel Effort
Intended Users and Uses
Intended Users
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Students in grades 3-6
Instructors
School administrators
Intended Uses
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Supplement classroom instruction
Improve standardized test scores
Monitor student progress
Assumptions and Limitations
Assumptions
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Computers have Internet Explorer
or Netscape 5+ browsers
Computers are connected to the
Internet
Supervision with computer
experience exists
Students have previously been
exposed to U.S. geography topics
Limitations
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Students may not have much prior
experience using computers
Team members must learn PHP and
MySQL
Internet bandwidth can limit
performance
Computer/processor speed of the
client machines can limit performance
Tan, Ricky
(129 hrs.)
13%
Jahnke, Jonna
(119 hrs.)
12%
Copying
$10.00
14%
Boike, David
(111 hrs.)
11%
Tan, Jau-Ming
(123 hrs.)
13%
Spanbauer,
Brian (130 hrs.)
13%
Kline, Daniel
(126 hrs.)
14%
Olatunji, Tunde
(118 hrs.)
12%
Showman, Sara
(115 hrs.)
12%
World
Almanac
$12.00
17%
Binding
$5.00
7%
Poster
$45.00
62%
Other Resources
Printing of
Poster
$45.00
65%
World
Almanac
$24.00
35%
Expected End Product
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Application supplements U.S. geography curriculum
Students will be able to log in
Teachers will be able to access student statistics
Teachers can create additional problems
Solution can be viewed on any platform
Students can work on problem solving skills at home
Summary
Test results and discussions with ACS teachers have shown that additional resources
are needed to boost the district’s performance in the problem solving sections of
standardized tests. This project will provide the supplementary instruction and drills
that ACS students need to meet and exceed the goals of the school and the
community.