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Chapter 1

THE PROJECT AND ITS BACKGROUND

Project Context

The growth of Internet technologies specifically the World Wide Web (www)

introduced changes in countries, societies and people. It is considered as one of the most

effective communication technologies today. Social Networking websites such as

Facebook, Google+ and Twitter have provided individuals and groups means of interacting

with friends and even complete strangers. Events and experiences are chronicled on these

websites that act as our public diary that is visible by everyone on our network. These

social networks have also served as marketing tools to promote companies, organization,

events, and people.

The exposure of the generation of youth today to the electronic tools have enabled

them to develop technology competencies which they use in their many activities.

According to the National School Board Association (2007), the accessibility of the

internet and the presence of online services and tools like web portals and search engines

allow the users to get information about any topic, anytime and anywhere which has not

only been used for entertainment or social interactions but more importantly also for

learning. In the educational setting, the World Wide Web introduced a shift from the

traditional learning teaching-learning process to online learning milieu. The Internet and

the websites became important tools for instructional learning and communication

alongside with social networking. For an academic institution, using social networks is

valuable in the interaction and relationship of its members. Through different methods of
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communication, students, faculty and administrator can easily communicate with each

other. Administrators can easily promote school events to hundreds of students at the same

time, teachers can send learning materials and assignments to their students and students

can voice out their opinions and concerns about their school aside from responding to their

teachers’ assigned tasks.

Websites have become potent tools to facilitate acquisition, sharing and transfer of

knowledge and discoveries between and among individuals, between and among teachers

and learners. If used properly, they can open doors for multiple exchange of knowledge,

philosophies, innovative ideas, data and information.

The problem with social networking websites today when used in an academe is

that it provides inappropriate and unsuitable information that may not be beneficial to the

members of the academe. Irrelevant information becomes a distraction and saturates the

relevant information that is important to the academic community. Implementing a social

networking website specifically for an academe will limit if not remove any information

that is not related.

Background of the Study

In a survey and evaluation of the St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan (SMCM)

Information Technology Services conducted by the Information Technology Education

Center (ITEC) to 169 college students from different courses (BS Hotel and Restaurant

management, BS Tourism, BS Elementary Education, BS Education, BS Computer

Science, BS Information Technology, BS Accountancy, and BS Business Administration)

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school year 2013-2014, it was revealed that majority of the students agreed that technology

helps them learn faster, makes schoolwork easier, makes schoolwork more fun, and earn

better grades. The student respondents also expressed that they prefer to use computers in

completing their work and that their teachers should use technology.

The survey also revealed that about 75.15% has either desktop computer at home,

85.80% has either a laptop or notebook, 80.48% has internet access (DSL/Broadband),

71.60% has wireless (Wi-Fi) internet access, 84.62% has smart phone and 75.15% has

tablets. All of these technologies are present in their respective homes. In terms of the

frequency of usage of the computer and the internet it was observed that 69.82% of the

students use the social networking sites on a daily basis while 23.08% of the students use

it weekly. The survey also showed that desktop computers, internet, Wi-Fi, word

processing software are available at the school computer laboratory while limited number

of desktop computers are available in other school facilities such as the library and

classrooms. Teaching is usually conducted using classroom discussion aided by

PowerPoint presentations. The students expressed that the school should utilize the

following technology to communicate with them: text message, e-mail, social media

(Facebook/Twitter) and the school website.

On the basis of these realities, the researcher proposed and installed a system that

has the advantages of an online interactive system utilized by the students and other school

users, at home, in or out of school during their non-class hours. The project was the

development of the Online Interaction System for St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan,

Bulacan. It has considered the results of the evaluations of the IT services in terms of the

students’ preference for using technology to do school work and the availability of
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resources at home and in school. The system was made accessible and available twenty

four hours a day, seven days a week and anywhere as needed by the user. This is

particularly helpful when students and teachers are unable to attend classes due to sickness

or illness, inclement weather or other valid reasons which will have an impact on the

teaching-learning process.

Functions of the system included a secure login and registration, an academic

profile for each registered user, a forum where users can have academic discussions, and a

broadcast function where faculty members can post announcements to their students, and

a messaging system. Software requirements pertain to the software applications and

development software that will be used such as Linux Operating System, PHP (HyperText

Preprocessor), MySQL, and Apache Web Server. Hardware Requirements for the

webserver should be have at least 2.4 GHz dual core processor, 1 GB worth of RAM, 80

GB hard drive, network card, reliable web hosting and a fast internet connection.

Theoretical Framework

This project is anchored on the Social network theory which is applied to a variety

of levels of analysis from small groups to entire global systems. The theory emphasizes

that there are emergent properties at different system levels, but these are extensions of

what can be done at a lower level and not entirely different forms of organization. The

theory defines a network as a set of relationships. More formally, a network contains a set

of objects (in mathematical terms, nodes) and a mapping or description of relations

between the objects or nodes. The simplest network contains two objects, 1 and 2, and one
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relationship that links them. Social scientists have investigated three kinds of networks:

ego-centric, socio-centric, and open-system networks. Ego-centric networks are those

networks that are connected with a single node or individual. To be considered networks

these connections must not only be lists of people or organizations, but information must

be available about the connections between these people or organizations. Otherwise, there

is no network to analyze. In popular discourse, especially when social support is discussed,

any list is considered to be a network. A person with a large number of good friends whom

he or she can count on is said to have a large “network.” This network cannot be discussed

in social network terms, however, unless we know whether and how these people are

connected with one another. It is obviously one thing to have a supporting network in which

most people know one another and a very different matter if the people are unknown to

one another. Socio-centric networks are, in Russell Bernard’s term (personal

communication), networks in a box. Open system networks are networks in which the

boundaries are not necessarily clear, they are not in a box -- for example, the elite of the

United States, or connections between corporations, or the chain of influencers of a

particular decision, or the adoption of new practices. In some ways these are the most

interesting networks. They are also the most difficult to study. Connection between

children in a classroom, between executives or workers in an organization are closed

system networks and the ones most often studied in terms of the fine points of network

structure. (Kadushin, 2004).

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Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework of the project is presented in Figure 1. The Input-

Process-Output model was used in developing the Online Interaction System for St. Mary’s

College of Meycauayan, Bulacan.

Figure 1.0 Conceptual Framework

The first part of the diagram is the input stage, these are the information, ideas, and

resources used in the development of the system. The input includes the following: the

current system being used will determine the functions to be developed, improved, and

added to the proposed system. The Interview will provide technical requirements of the

project. The survey will provide data about the needs of the users of the proposed system

as well as additional functions for the system.

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The Rapid Application Development (RAD) Model was used in the process of

developing the system. Data gathered from the input stage will be passed to the process

stage and will be processed using the Rapid Application Model. The Rapid Application

Model combines linear and iterative system development methodologies, with the primary

objective of each being to reduce inherent project risk by breaking a project into smaller

segments and providing more ease-of-change during the development process.

Phase 1 or Analysis Phase involved determining the content and functionality of

the entire system by analyzing the gathered information from the faculty, employees and

students.

Phase 2 was the Design Phase. In this stage a system was designed based on the

content and functionality in the analysis phase.

Phase 3 is the Construction, Testing, and Refine Phase. Phase 3 was an iterative

phase. The implementation of the design is carried out in this phase. The coding of the

system is done in this phase. Testing of the system is also administered in this phase to

determine the errors and to verify if the requirements of the beneficiary is accomplished.

Phase 4 or Launch Phase involved the deployment of the system to the server,

performing final testing to all aspects of the system, training the users and putting the

system online.

Phase 5 is the Maintenance Phase. Any necessary repair, upgrade and renovation

of the system will be done in this phase.

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Statement of the Problem

The major focus of the project is the development of an Online Interaction System

for the College Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan that will provide a venue

for students and faculty to interact primarily for academic purposes. The project sought to

answer the following questions:

1. What were the current systems being used by the college department of St. Mary’s

College of Meycauayan to interact with one another?

2. How was the model used in the development of the Proposed Online Interaction

System for the College Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan,

Bulacan?

3. What were the features of the Developed Online Interaction System for the College

Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan, Bulacan?

4. How acceptable was the proposed system in terms of the following:

a. Accuracy

b. Efficiency

c. Reliability

d. Security

e. User-friendliness

f. Functionality
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Significance/Importance of the Project

The development of the Proposed Online Interaction System for the College

Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan, Bulacan would be beneficial to the

following:

Students. This project will be beneficial to the students of St. Mary’s College of

Meycauayan who are seeking other students/educators whom they can learn, share, discuss,

and collaborate ideas. Interacting with their teachers can enhance student learning.

Faculty. The implementation of the project will help the educators to communicate

with their students and mentor them in their studies. They will also be able to provide them

with up to date information regarding their subjects and other topics.

School Administrators.

Researchers. This project will also benefit future researchers of the same subject

are who will be needing references for their project. This Capstone project will serve to

guide them throughout their project.

Scope and Delimitation of the Project

The project utilized the system specifically designed for the faculty, personnel and

college students of the College Department of St. Mary’s College in Meycauayan. The

system consists of specific features such as: A secure login and registration for the users

to enter the website and use its functions, an user profile for each registered user that will

be used to create and edit one’s own profile and view other users profile, a discussion

board where users can have discussions, collaborations on different topics and projects, a
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broadcast function where faculty members can post messages to their students, a messaging

system to help the users communicate with one another securely and privately, and a

management system for the system administrators to monitor and manage the contents

created by the users.

Definition of Terms

Online. The term refers to a web based application which is accessible through the

internet.

Interaction In this project this refers to exchange of information, data and

messages between and among college students and educators of St. Mary’s College of

Meycauayan that focus on topics that are informative in their academic setting and also for

social interaction between users.

Current System. This term refers to methods that the school practices in

interaction. Includes personal interaction, use of telephone and/or cellphone, use of social

networking websites like Facebook and E-mail services.

Linux Operating System. A free, open-source operating system that manages that

software and hardware of the webserver.

PHP. Hypertext Preprocessor; A server scripting language, and is a powerful tool

for making dynamic and interactive web pages.

MySQL. My Structured Query Language; is a relational database management

system and runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases.

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Apache Webserver. Apache provides server side scripting to generate dynamic

web pages. Apache executes PHP scripts to generate HTML code that web browsers can

understand.
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Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND SYSTEMS

In the past three decades, the presence of technology in the school and classroom

has gone from practically nonexistent to being a vital part of the learning experience. As

computers and other forms of technology filtered into the classroom, the ability to improve

school communication via computer also impacted the way school districts kept parents

and staff members informed.

New technologies have changed the nature of education in the last decades by

providing a way for communities of learners and their teachers to interact with one another

despite being situated in differing geographical locations. Online interaction is also

increasingly being introduced into a flexible model of learning for campus-based learners.

Research has shown that the electronic environment can be structured for effective social

constructivist teaching (Stacey, 2002) that requires an interactive online discussion.

The rapid growth of social media websites offers communication opportunities that

are not found so easily by visiting a school district website. Many of these websites, though

they are well-intended, require the visitor to click through several screens to get to the

information they desire. As technology progresses, people are less willing to go through

this process when more efficient methods of communication exist. The use of social media

to communicate with students and parents can help everyone stay up-to-date with what is

going on and what is coming up. (http://www.edudemic.com/improve-school-

communication-using-social-media/)
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Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are virtual communities where users can create

individual public profiles, interact with real-life friends, and meet other people based on

shared interests. They are seen as a ‘global consumer phenomenon’ with an exponential

rise in usage within the last few years. Anecdotal case study evidence suggests that

‘addiction’ to social networks on the Internet may be a potential mental health problem for

some users. A review of literature intended to provide empirical and conceptual insight

into the emerging phenomenon of addiction to SNSs conducted by Kuss and Griffiths

published in 2011 indicated that SNSs are predominantly used for social purposes, mostly

related to the maintenance of established offline networks. Moreover, extraverts appear to

use social networking sites for social enhancement, whereas introverts use it for social

compensation, each of which appears to be related to greater usage, as does low

conscientiousness and high narcissism. Negative correlates of SNS usage include the

decrease in real life social community participation and academic achievement, as well as

relationship problems, each of which may be indicative of potential addiction

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3194102/

Online Interaction in the Educational Setting

In the historical progression of distance education from correspondence courses to

online learning, opportunities for interpersonal interaction have increased. Early

correspondence courses enabled learners and instructors to interact, albeit with a significant

time lag between message production and reception. Videoconferencing made it possible

for learners and instructors to interact in rel-time, and it also facilitated learner to learner

interaction, although the required equipment often made this means of distance educaton

too costly for mainstream use. With the emergence of the Internet, particularly email and
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World Wide Web (www), it became possible to promote high degrees of interaction within

a technologically mainstream and cost-effective learning environment. (Woods and Baker,

2004)

This progression has not only been driven by the myriad of interactive opportunities

available in the online environment, but also by the belief that high levels of interaction,

particularly those which promote social engagement can have positive effects on the

learning experience. Indeed, numerous studies suggest a positive correlation between

relationally supportive online environments and cognitive learning. Collaboration with

faculty and other students can be a strong motivating force for learning and online

instructors are frequently encouraged to actively co0nstruct a positive social dynamic in

parallel with content delivery. Failure to fully consider the relational dynamics in the

online setting may produce greater feelings of isolation among distance learners, reduced

levels of student satisfaction, poor academic performance and increased attrition. (Rovai,

2002)

Interaction alone, however, is insufficient to create a positive social dynamic in the

online classroom. Although increased interaction among participants may lead to more

opportunities for positive social penetration, it may also lead to competition, “flaming”

and other forms of negative communication. Research demonstrates that the integration of

verbal and non-verbal immediacy communication behaviors lets instructors move from

mere interaction to authentic intimacy and interpersonal closeness. In short, an instructor’s

understanding of interaction and immediacy dynamics will affect the nature and quality of

communication in the online learning environment. Interaction is at the heart of the online

learning experience. . (Woods and Baker, 2004)

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Transactional distance was conceived as a function of dialogue. Structure and

learner autonomy. Distance was postulated as a pedagogical phenomenon, rather than a

function of geographic separation, which existed in face-to-face classes as well as distance

classes. This was a significant shift in the pedagogical perspective toward distance

education, which “moved the discourse on the subject from a traditional paradigm and

grounded it in a contemporary postmodern science. According to this dynamic or time

sensitive and systemic or self-organized view of mediated communication, what is

important is communication and construction of knowledge” One of the foundational

theories in distance education is Moore’s (cited by Woods and Baker, 2004) transactional

distance theory which emerged from his doctoral research into educational programs where

the instructor and student were physically separated. His research acknowledged that:

“Interaction is another important term that carries so many meanings as to be almost useless

unless specific sub-meanings can be defined and generally agreed upon. Therefore, he

proposed three distinct types of interaction in distance education: learner-content, learner-

instructor and learner-learner. Learner-content interaction is the process in which students

examine, consider and process the course information presented during the educational

experience. Accordingly, “Every learner has to construct knowledge through a process of

personally accommodating information into previously existing cognitive structures. It is

interacting with content that results in these changes in the learner’s understanding”.

Learner-instructor interaction is communication between the instructor and the student in

a course. In the case of online learning, such interaction usually occurs via computer-

mediated communication and is not strictly limited to instructional communication that

occurs during the educational experience, but may include advising, offline
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communication and personal dialogue. Finally, learner-learner interaction is

communication between two or more students in a course. Such interaction often occurs

via asynchronous computer-mediated communication, although it may include other forms

of interpersonal and small group communication, online and offline, that occurs during

the duration of the course.

This threefold interaction construct has been extended and adapted by subsequent

researchers in the area of distance and Web-based learning. Hillman, Willis and

Gunawardena (cited by Woods and Baker, 2004) added learner-interface interaction to

reflect the growing roles of technology in the distance education process. They noted:

“When dealing with any tool, it is necessary for the user to interact with the device in a

specific was before it will do his or her bidding”. They also distinguished between learner-

interface interaction and the necessary mediation of an interface which occurs in any

interaction, by noting that for the technically-challenged learner, the interface itself

becomes “an independent force with which the learner must contend. Learner-environment

interaction was defined as “ a reciprocal action or mutual influence between a learner and

the learner’s surroundings that either assists or hinders learning”. Anderson (2003) added

teacher-teacher interaction, teacher-content interaction and content-content interaction to

the mix. Teacher-teacher interaction considers the professional development efforts of the

teachers to engage one another in order to enhance their own pedagogical abilities. Such

interaction might occur at conferences, in seminars or through informal electronic

communication. Teacher-content interaction, generally viewed as a prerequisite to the

distance course, is proposed as another component in the interactive model, because new

technologies enable teachers to interact with the content far more easily and creatively than
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in the past. They noted that: “The opportunity for teachers to interact with the learning

content provided by other teachers is increasing dramatically as a result of the WWW”.

Similarly, they noted the growing sophistication of online tools such as databases, search

engines, and intelligent agents and propose content-content interaction. While they noted

that this is the most embryonic type of interaction, more recent technologies such as blogs,

wikis and content syndication aggregators merely increase the likelihood of content-

content interaction actually occurring in a meaningful way.

Dating back to Moore’s threefold model of interaction, these approaches have

generally emphasized the “who” of the interaction at the expense of the “what”. In other

words, these various models of interaction have largely focused on which entities were

interacting rather than clearly defining the nature of interaction itself. Wagner, cited by

Anderson (2003) distinguished between interaction and interactivity and noted that neither

concept had been sufficiently defined. She thus wrote: “Simply stated, interactions are

reciprocal events that require at least two objects and two actions. Interactions occur when

these objects mutually influence one another”. In distance education, such interactions are

interpersonal and occur within an instructional context. She distinguishes between such

human interaction and interactivity, which she describes as a characteristic of the

technology itself. “Interactivity may eventually be viewed as a machine attribute, while

interaction maybe perceived as an outcome of using interactive instructional delivery

system.

Anderson (2003) revisited the issue of defining interaction in distance education.

After surveying a variety of definitions and characteristics of interaction, he returned to

the Wagner definition as a suitable foundation. He stated that despite concerns about the
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application of Wagner’s simple and broad definition of interaction, her definition does

seem to include the essential components and nature of interaction without compromising

or restricting the wide range of possible types of interaction. He then proposed a

comprehensive model of interaction which included student-teacher, student-student,

student-content, teacher-content, teacher-teacher and content-content interaction. In a

follow-up effort, he confirmed his previous definitional conclusion but distinguished

between interaction leading to learning in any informal context and those types of

interaction that occur in a formal interaction context. He then developed a more

sophisticated interaction model of e-learning incorporating all six types of interaction in an

expansive framework which covers a variety of online learning models including

independent study, paced collaborative learning, structured learning resources and

communities of inquiry.

A major challenge for today’s instructors involves creating a consistent level of

interaction that fosters genuine learning and cultivates a community atmosphere. This will

require developing strategies that provide guidance and instruction for individuals and

student groups. For instance, the instructor must decide how often to provide specific

feedback on student work and dialog comments. Instructors can sometimes struggle in

establishing an effective online presence because they are experimenting with their

intervention strategies.

Through online interaction, instructors strive to provide intellectually stimulating

student dialogs and quality learning experiences which should involve productive

individual and learning team activiti4es. Instructors need to foster a secure online setting

that affirms diversity of thought and critical inquiry into the subject matter. Student
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discussions should be monitored to insure that students avoid being excessively polite

which will undermine genuine sharing. Teachers can model appropriate sharing of

messages and establish an online tone that encourages genuine questioning and reflection.

Veteran online instructors have learned how to effectively create an online tone that

matches the needs of their students. The wise instructor will offer emotional support at

times and there will be other moments when students need an intellectual challenge.

Garrison and Anderson (2003) recommend establishing the following online presence:

 A feeling of trust and being welcomed;

 A sense of belonging to a critical community;

 A sense of control;

 A sense of accomplishment;

 A willingness to engage in discourse;

 A conversational tone; and

 A questioning attitude

Research studies have identified three basic student characteristics that are often

found in successful online learners: internal locus of control, self-motivation and

independence. Students who view their academic accomplishments due to their own work

are more likely to be successful in online classes (Vrasidas and Glass, 2002). In contrast,

even graduate students can struggle with a lack of confidence in their learning abilities.

A vital factor to successful online learning is the student’s perspective on the teacher and

the learning environment. Shearer (2003) observes “student self-perception has as great

an impact on observable interactivity levels as the instructor’s teaching style or the

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instructional design”. The psychological readiness of students can be diminished by a

diversity of factors and life events:

 Lack of prerequisite subject matter knowledge

 Inadequate instructional feedback on assignments from teachers

 Absence of clear goals for pursuing their degree program

 Ineffective study habits and \stress of multiple roles

Examining research studies on student interaction with course content is often

complicated by a multiple of variables. Thurmond cited by Muirhead, 2004 highlights

four factors that can influence students perspectives on their ability to learn course

curriculum. They are the following:

1. Clarity of course design or the structuring of the materials and the manner in

which it is sequenced will help make it both accessible and easy to understand.

2. Time. Adequate time is needed for students to engage with the materials and

discourse and to reflect on their learning.

3. Participation in online discussions. This enables the students to learn by

constructing meaning and knowledge through dialogue and from other

perspectives.

4. Mode of delivering course content. Appropriate sequencing of content and

learning activities will enhance interactivity and make learning more effective

and meaningful.
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The Internet has an effect on nearly every aspect of the world's higher education –

research and learning- and its impact is considerably assessed as a vital means. Actually,

the Internet attracts academic institutions to take into account being the basic source of

information, an essential medium for academic communication, learning support systems,

and a challenge to promote online learning. New versions of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 add

superfluous enthusiasm and excitement for young people to spend hours with their

applications, specifically SN. Such excitement encourages researchers to investigate issues

related to students' academic achievement and the correct use of this application, the

frequency of use, the skill level, the trust and privacy, the expectations and personality,

team communication, and so on.

In Bloomberg's Business Week article of September. 14, 2009, Maney stated that

the higher education has been changed by the Internet revolution, and that the current

century is no more being of the only "university model dominated. In fact the technological

developments "foster new models of higher education … without gathering students and

teachers in the same physical space" (Maney, 2009). Basically, many universities devoted

their efforts to establishing effective online approaches for gathering students to work

interactively in groups.

In recent years, there has been much discussion about the potential use of social

technologies in higher education (Boyd, 2007; Hemmi, Bayne & Land, 2009). It is

generally assumed that the affordances of and positive commentaries provide enough

justification for adoption of social networking technologies in higher education. Social

technologies are said to be valuable learning tools because they enable learners to create,
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publish and share their work and they can be used to facilitate learner interaction and

collaboration. (Boulous, Maramba & Wheeler, 2006)

Hamid and others (2010) suggested the use of Activity theory as a theoretical lens

in investigating the use of online social networking in higher education. Their paper

proposed a conceptual model of appropriation and repurposing of social technologies in

higher education. The model emphasized the improvement of engagement in educational

activities and increase participation in the classroom particularly among the quiet learners,

the enhancement of learning motivation where social technologies can further boost

students’ motivation, encourage their attention to detail and contribute to an overall

improved quality of work. The model also highlighted the offering of personalized course

materials where teachers can learn more about the students they teach simply by viewing

the students’ profiles. In addition the model stressed the development of inquiry-based

collaborative skills and activities.

Online interaction is also increasingly being introduced into a flexible model of

learning for campus based learners. Research has shown that the electronic environment

can be structured for effective social constructivist learning that requires an interactive

online discussion. Such models of collaborative learning are becoming almost mandatory

in course design and delivery as e-learning is being introduced into institutional policies.

(Stacey, 2002). The importance of interaction in forms of flexible, online and distance

education have been researched and described at length - whether learners interacting with

individualized computer programs, or learner-to-teacher or learner-to-learner interaction

that at a distance requires the mediation of technology. Sims (2003) in researching the

expectations of learners for an interactive online environment that engages them concluded
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that learner control of the environment with active communication providing feedback was

an essential component of interactivity. The revival of interest in Vygotskian social

constructivism as an explanatory theory for the effectiveness of online learning claims

interactive learning, as achieved by the process of communicating electronically, enables

the learners to actively construct their own perspectives which they can communicate to a

small group.

Benefits of an Online Interactive System in Schools

A common element for learning in a typical classroom environment is the social

and communicative interactions between student and teacher, and student and student. The

ability to ask a question, to share an opinion with a fellow student, or to disagree with the

point of view in a reading assignment are all fundamental learning activities. Web-based

learning requires adjustments on the part of students and teachers for successful

interactions to occur. Many online courses provide students and faculty, and students and

students the ability to interact with each other via an electronic bulletin board, discussion

board, email, or synchronous chat areas. The success of these courses frequently depends

upon the nature of this interaction. It is not unusual for instructors to encourage, and in

some cases require a certain amount of participation in the form of postings per week in

online discussions as part of the grade for the course. The research literature on Web-based

learning supports this approach. Yet issues exist regarding the nature and extent of the

interaction and its effects on student performance.

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Schools and classrooms are dynamic, interactive, social places where students and

teachers communicate, share information and challenge each other’s ideas. Teachers guide

student learning by posing problems, encouraging student questions and offering

opportunities for students to find solutions. The Internet basically expands the resources

available and decreases the time and location dependencies that can be limiting factors in

schools. It offers powerful and varied ways for students and teachers to interact,

manipulate data and conduct research. It is a tool that makes additional information

resources available, it enhances dynamic communication and it makes collaboration easier

by reducing the need for collaborators to be in the same place at the same time. The

strength of the Net is in its ability to greatly increase the communication and collaboration

among students and teachers, to increase the range of resources available to students and

to provide students with multiple ways of presenting their ideas and opinions. It is up to

the teacher to decide how these resources best fit their educational beliefs. The Net is a

tool that when used intelligently is very powerful. (Brownstein, 2004).

There is a lot to gain for schools having their own school websites. Some of the

advantages are the following: 1. this can be a potent promotional tool of the school’s

services and facilities. Websites could take the place of more costly traditional billboards

and flyers, 2. This can serve as an avenue for interactive information exchange. With

added website features such as chat room, school websites facilitate immediate response to

queries about the school. 3. This can be a virtual office which is open 24 hours a day

seven days a week, this saves money and time which could be used for other investment

priorities of the schools. 4. This can be a venue for implementing a feedback mechanism.

Because it is very convenient to use the Internet, visitors could easily post feedback on
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school services and other related issues which they would not bother with telephones and

letters. With the interactive feature of the website, queries and issues can be readily

responded to.

The research literature regarding the importance of interaction in education

especially in Web-based distance learning is extensive. There have been a number of

studies and opinion papers on the relationship of interaction to learning. Many observers

and researchers have supported the concept that student to faculty and student to student

interactions are important elements in the design of a Web-based course. (Picciano, 2002).

Both students and faculty typically report increased satisfaction in online courses

depending on the quality and quantity of interactions. For example, Shea, Fredericksen,

Pickett, Pelz, and Swan in a survey of 3,800 students enrolled in 264 courses through the

SUNY Learning Network (SLN), conclude that the relationship of satisfaction, interaction,

and performance (grades) was as follows:

“The greater the percentage of the course grade that was based on discussion, the

more satisfied the students were, the more they thought they learned from the

course, and the more interaction they thought they had with the instructor and

with their peers”. (Hartman and Truman-Davis, 2001.)

The study of Kernstock in 2006 entitled, “A Web-Based Knowledge Management

System for Information Technology Education” attempted to transform tacit knowledge

into explicit knowledge in order to benefit students in an academic program. The system

aimed to focus on providing help for the most common issues and relevant points in

specific CIS courses and projects at Texas State University, San Marcos. Findings of the
 26

study revealed that instructors and students share knowledge, new tacit knowledge is

formed in the process of sharing and applying explicit knowledge. Students come from

varied backgrounds needing quick help in subjects in which they may not have prior

experience. The study concluded that the model can be applied in many academic settings

and that the small scale of knowledge is ideal for a department or a program.

Another study was conducted by Jabr in 2011 where he looked into social

networking as a tool for extending academic learning and communication in an Oman

university. A research questionnaire was designed and electronically emailed to students

of Sultan Qaboos University through the University e-mail server. A response rate of 3%

was avoided for missing data and 97% or 650 was obtained from 670 respondents. The

analyzed data showed that students are personally achieving the basic competencies

required to access social networking applications by themselves or through friends while

the university highlights the importance of the constantly adapting technologies efforts to

improve successfully practice and to be engaged with universal knowledge. The study

revealed that 83% of the student respondents were willing to establish systematic training

courses regarding the use of social networking for better academic communication and

learning. The study conclude that the university needs to take a more interactive role in

creating a collaborative learning environment and constructing a community of practice

among students, faculty and other staff rather than just wasting time on unproductive and

fruitless communication. The research recommended to encourage group academic

communication that will involve efforts to learning and problem solving to achieve better

utilization of the Internet and other available technologies.

 27

A university research knowledge based website was developed by Jones, Provost

and Pascale in 2003. The project focused on knowledge management as representing a

systematic means of acquiring, sharing and using knowledge effectively within the

university research activities. Following a system analysis and design process as a learning

experience for the students to understand the information and knowledge needs of

university faculty the researchers came up with a university knowledge portal to fill a

perceived gap in knowledge sharing and accessibility within the university. While the

concept of knowledge management maybe new, institutions of higher education have been

creating and disseminating knowledge as long as they’ve existed, through research and

teaching. (Metaxiosis, 2003). Faculty participate in knowledge transfer internally, within

their respective departments and externally, through their communities of practice.

Muirhead, cited by Wilson and Stacey (2003), conducted a research on internet

interaction he termed as “interactivity” defined as ‘communication, participation and

feedback’. The study revealed that both students and teachers had to be active participants

in a relevant academic discussion for this interactivity to be as effective as is assumed.

Blau and Hameiri (2010) examined the implementation of a Learning Management

System (LMS) in secondary schools in Israel in 2007-2009. The system allowed teacher-

student and teacher-parent online interactions concerning lesson topics and events entered

by teachers into the system. A log analysis showed a significant increase of interactions

among school staff as measured by the number of logins into the system and significantly

enhanced the amount of interactivity among teachers compared to schools that used the

system for staff interaction only. The findings suggest that students and parents are
 28

important stakeholders whose active involvement increases exchange of pedagogical

information and promote interaction among teachers.

In the Philippines, a study on the use of university web portal as information

management tool was conducted by Tolentino (2010) in the University of the East. The

research aimed to; (1) explore faculty members’ acceptance of university web portal as an

information management tool in teaching and (2) identify the key intention determinants

of University of the East web portal use. With the forty faculty respondents coming from

six randomly selected colleges of the University of the East, the findings revealed that they

have positive attitude towards the use of the portal as information management tool because

of its usefulness and ease of use. The analysis depicts the respondents’ full intention to

continue using the university web portal. The results confirmed perceived usefulness as a

determinant for behavioral intention to continue using the university web portal as

information management tool.

Another local study on online learning was conducted by Inventado, Legaspi and

Suarez in 2009 at De La Salle University Manila. It investigated transitions in affect and

activities for online learning interventions and focused on student online learning and non-

learning related activities. The research used the experimental method with twenty four

students taking an introductory programming course in Bachelor of Science in Information

Systems as participants. Data collected showed that students felt certain affective states

when performing particular activity types and performed particular activity types when

they felt certain affective states. These transitions were further investigated by generating

transition likelihoods between all pairs of activity types and affective states. The transition

likelihoods were used to create a model that could predict possible student behavior when
 29

they learn online. Certain transitions wherein students may need interventions were

identified, so that feedback can be put in place to prevent them from transitioning to activity

types and affective states that do not support learning.

In summary, it can be said that the different articles and studies emphasized the

beneficial uses of online interaction system as powerful instruments for knowledge

organizations such as Universities or schools to improve and strengthen their academic

activities. These tools can facilitate knowledge acquisition, sharing and discovery by

allowing people to acquire, transfer and utilize information at their advantage. As stated,

these systems particularly in schools are becoming an increasingly important part of the

information technology infrastructure of educational institutions as they seek to integrate

the vast intellectual resources within a central virtual space that is easily accessible via a

web interface. Many universities, colleges and schools are developing academic social

interaction systems to maximize learning and learners resources.

 30

Chapter III

METHODS AND PROCEDURES OF THE STUDY

Methods of Research Used

The study focused on the development of the Proposed Online Interaction System

for the College Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan. The researcher used

the descriptive developmental research method.

Descriptive developmental research method deals with the definition of the

problem of the current system, identify the factors associated with the problem and provide

a meaningful solution. Descriptive Developmental Research is appropriate for software

development for it make use of steps that are generally being applied in all software

development life cycles therefore supporting the Rapid Application Development Model

employed. The steps conducted by the proponent using descriptive developmental research

were the following:

1. Identification and definition of the problem

2. Selection of the appropriate subjects/source materials

3. Selection/Development of the data gathering instruments

4. Validation of the instrument

5. Collection of data

6. Analysis and interpretation of data

7. Writing the descriptive report

 31

Locale of the Project

The project was implemented at St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan and used by

the College Department of the school. St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan was founded in

1916. It is managed and administered by the Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM). It is

located at Mc Arthur Highway, Saluysoy, Meycauayan City, Bulacan. The College

Department have Teacher Education Programs, Business and Accountancy Programs,

Hotel and Restaurant Management Program, Tourism Management Program, and

Computer Science and Information Technology Programs. During the school year 2013-

2014 the college department have 450 enrolled students under the different programs, 39

Faculty members and 4 Program Heads, 1 College Dean and 8 Non-Academic Personnel.

Respondents

The Online Interaction System for St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan was aimed

to be utilized by the Students and Faculty of the college department. Table 1 presents the

respondents who evaluated the Online Interaction System for St. Mary’s College of

Meycauayan:

Table 1. Respondents of the Proposed Online Interaction System for St. Mary’s College of

Meycauayan

Respondents Frequency Percentage

Students 40 66.67%
Academic Personnel 10 16.67%
Non-Academic Personnel 5 8.33%
IT Expert 5 8.33%
Total 60 100%
 32

Table 1 shows the target respondents for the evaluation of the proposed Online

Interaction System for St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan, Bulacan. About 40 or 66.67%

of the respondents were the students of the 4 departments of the college, a total of 10 or

16.67% of the respondents were academic personnel, 5 or 8.33% of the respondents were

from the non-academic personnel of the college department and 5 or 8.33% were IT

experts. A total of 60 respondents evaluated the system in terms of accuracy, efficiency,

reliability, security, user-friendliness, and functionality.

Sampling Procedures

The proposed system is intended for all college students, administrators, faculty,

and non-teaching personnel of the school. For the evaluation of the system that was

implemented, the researcher selected 60 respondents coming from the college department.

40 students were selected, 10 from each of the 4 departments of the college, 10 academic

personnel, 5 non-academic personnel, and 5 IT experts.

Instrument

A locally made evaluation questionnaire was used to determine how acceptable the

proposed system is. The questionnaire was utilized in previous online systems or projects

and was subjected for validation of three authorities in Computer-related professions. The

system evaluation involved assessment of the following areas: accuracy, efficiency,

reliability, security, user-friendliness and functionality. Each of the criteria used had

specific indicators. The specific indicators per criterion are presented in the following table.
 33

Table 2. Criteria for System Evaluation

Criteria Indicator
 The record inserted on the database is correct
Accuracy  Validate and prompts errors for incorrect data submitted by
the user
 The webpage appeared on the browser in less than 60
seconds
 The webpage application responds within 30 seconds once
Efficiency
the data is entered
 The data presented is updated within 30 seconds after the
refresh button was pushed
 Incorrect use of keys/commands does not cause the system
to halt.
Reliability
 The site contains what is expected as indicated in its title or
URL
 Requires all users to have unique accounts
Security  Functions given to users are limited based on access level
 Access to records are limited based on access level
 Users can navigate through the webpage without difficulties
User-friendliness  Text are easy to read and uses appropriate font size and
color
 Ease of operation in using the system
Functionality
 Provides the desired functions given by the academe

Table 2 presents the six (6) criteria and the specific indicators for each. The criteria

included checking the system for accuracy, efficiency, reliability, security, user-

friendliness and functionality.

 34

Data Gathering Procedure

For the development of the system, the researcher used the subsequent steps:

1. Preliminary preparation. The Information Technology Education Center (ITEC)

conducts yearly survey to determine what areas needs improvement. Results of the

evaluation survey conducted by the St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan (SMCM)

Information Technology Services to 169 college students from different courses

(BS Hotel and Restaurant management, BS Tourism, BS Elementary Education,

BS Education, BS Computer Science, BS Information Technology, BS

Accountancy, and BS Business Administration) were used as a springboard to

design a system that will facilitate the communication between and among teachers

and students.

2. Conducted an interview and survey to identify possible features of the system to be

designed. An interview and survey was conducted by the researcher to determine

the specific needs and characteristics of the system to be developed.

3. The Researcher gathered information on existing system similar to the proposed

project from books, capstone projects of other researchers, websites, articles and

print materials.

4. An evaluation of the system was administered to determine the usability and

functionality of the online interaction system developed. For this procedure, the

assistance of the IT Network Administrator of St. Mary’s College was sought. He

was requested as one of the system evaluator aside from 4 IT personnel and

instructors. Other evaluators were Non-Teaching personnel and students from

different departments who were users of the system.

 35

5. All data gathered were encoded using MS Excel software for easier computations

and statistical treatment.

Treatment of Data

The study utilized statistical tests such as means and weighted mean to determine

how acceptable the proposed system is. Data were analyzed, interpreted and presented in

tables and graphical forms. Ratings of evaluators were interpreted using the 5 point Likert

scale with the rating of 5 as the highest and 1 as the lowest. The scale and its interpretation

is presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Likert Scale

Rating Scale Range

5 Very Acceptable 4.50 - 5.0
4 Acceptable 3.5 - 4.49
3 Moderately Acceptable 2.5 - 3.49
2 Limited in Acceptability 1.5 - 2.49
1 Not Acceptable 1.0 -1.49

Table 3 presents the 5-point Likert scale used to measure and interpret the results

of the evaluation of the respondents of the study. A rating from a low 1.0 to 1.49 was

considered not acceptable, 1.5 to 2.49 as limited in acceptability, 2.5 to 3.49 was

interpreted as moderately acceptable, 3.5 to 4.49 was acceptable and very acceptable rating

was from 4.5 to 5.0. The results were used as basis for interpreting and analyzing all the

data generated according to the criteria identified.

 36

Accuracy of the system comprised the following indicators: correctness of record

inserted on the database, ability of the system to validate and prompt errors for incorrect

data submitted by the user. Efficiency involved adequacy of system in terms of ensuring

that the web page appeared on the browser in less than 60 seconds, the webpage

application responds within 30 seconds and data presented is updated within 30 seconds n

after the refresh button is entered. Reliability was evaluated in terms of content consistency

and dependability of the system even during occurrences of incorrect use of keys and

commands. The system was also assessed in terms of security indicated by users having

unique accounts, access level functions given to users and access to records. User

friendliness was evaluated according to the following indicators: users can naviage

through the webpage without difficulties and texts are easy to read and uses appropriate

font size and color. The last criteria appraised was functionality of the system which would

refer to ease of operation in using the system and provision of the desired functions given

by the academe.
 37

Chapter IV

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS

This chapter presents all information and data that provides answers to the problems

specified. The tables are organized according to the order of problems stated.

Current Interaction Systems Used by the College Department of St. Mary’s College of

Meycauayan

The Information Technology Center of the St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan

provided information that at present, Internet and Wi-Fi are available at the school

computer laboratory and within the campus while limited number of desktop computers

are available in other school facilities such as the library and classrooms. These facilities

are utilized for personal interaction between and among faculty, personnel and students.

It was also reported that most of the academic and non-academic personnel and

students use social-networking websites and e-mail services to interact with one another.

Interactions were limited to exchanges of personal information about daily events,

happenings or minor issues about work or activities.

 38

Development Model Used in the Development of the Online Interaction System for the

College Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan, Bulacan

Figure 2.0 Rapid Application Development Model

The Rapid Application Development Model was utilized in developing the Online

Interaction System for the College Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan,

Bulacan. The model was used in developing the interaction system specifically for the

school according to the phases identified in the model. The task is composed of 6 phases

namely:

Phase 1 or Analysis Phase involved determining the content and functionality of

the entire system by analyzing the gathered information from the faculty, employees, and

students. This involved studying the results of evaluation of the IT services of the college

which was conducted by the Information Technology Education Center (ITEC) to 169

college students from different courses (BS Hotel and Restaurant management, BS

Tourism, BS Elementary Education, BS Education, BS Computer Science, BS Information

Technology, BS Accountancy, and BS Business Administration) school year 2013-2014.

 39

Phase 2 was the Design Phase. In this stage a system was designed based on the

content and functionality in the analysis phase. The design phase involved the creation of

the physical model of the database, features of the system, and interface design.

Phase 3 is the Construction, Testing, and Refine Phase. Phase 3 was an iterative

phase. The implementation of the design is carried out in this phase. The coding of the

system is done in this phase. Testing of the system is also administered in this phase to

determine the errors and to verify if the requirements of the beneficiary is accomplished.

Phase 4 or Launch Phase involved the deployment of the system to the server,

performing final testing to all aspects of the system, training the users and putting the

system online.

Phase 5 is the Maintenance Phase. Any necessary repair, upgrading and renovation

of the system will be done in this phase.

Features of the Developed Online Interaction System for the College Department of St.

Mary’s College of Meycauayan, Bulacan

The system was developed for the college department of St. Mary’s College of

Meycauayan, Bulacan. The system provided a simple, easy to use, user friendly and

functional system, that shall enable users to search for useful information, search and

communicate with other users, share ideas and contribute to discussions posted on the

forum.
 40

Functions of the system included a secure login and registration for the users to

enter the website and use its functions. Management of the users is also done by the

administrator such as creation of user accounts and disabling user accounts.

The system also contains an academic profile for each registered user that will be

used to view other users profile and to edit one’s own profile. The academic profile displays

the user’s information such as course, year level, contact information, address, skills, and

experience. A forum where users can have academic discussions.

The forum serves as the area where all users can participate in the discussion of

topics that they are interested. All users can create topics in the forum. The forum is manage

by the administrator to monitor the content that are being posted. Only the administrator

can delete content posted in the forum.

A broadcast function where faculty members can post messages to their students.

Announcements and events created and posted in the system can be viewed by the

registered users.

The group function of the system helps to create a private space within the system

for a specific group of users. Only the administrator and faculty can create groups and

invite members.

The messaging system to help the users communicate with one another securely

and privately.
 41

Acceptability of the Online Interaction System

Assessment of the developed interaction system is important to determine its

acceptability and efficacy. Acceptability is determined using 6 criteria defined as follows:

accuracy, efficiency, reliability, security, user-friendliness and functionality of the system.

Evaluation on the basis of the identified criteria to determine system acceptability was

sought from 5 IT experts, 10 faculty, 5 personnel and twenty students from the different

departments of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan. The results of the evaluation are

presented in Tables 4 to 9 while the overall assessment was summarized in Table 10.

Table 4. Acceptability of the Online Interaction System in terms of Accuracy

Evaluation Ratings
In Weighted Means Mean of
Accuracy
Weighted Interpretation
Indicators Faculty/
IT Experts Students Means
Personnel
The record
inserted on the 4.6 4.53 4.52 4.55 Very
database is acceptable
correct
Validate and
prompts errors
for incorrect 4.5 4.2 4.32 4.34 Acceptable
data submitted
by the user
Overall 4.55 4.36 4.42 4.44 Acceptable
weighted mean

Table 4 pictures the acceptability evaluation in terms of accuracy of the system

developed. An accurate system would require that the database of the site is free of errors

and it validates and prompts errors for incorrect data submitted by the user.
 42

A perusal of the table would show that the IT experts recorded the highest

computed mean ratings for accuracy of the system which is described as very acceptable

with a weighted mean of 4.55. Faculty, personnel and student users gave acceptable

ratings of 4.36 and 4.44 respectively. As a whole, the computed weighted means for

accuracy reveal an acceptable rating of 4.44 for criterion accuracy. This would mean that

the evaluators perceived that the record inserted on the database is correct and that the

system is able to validate and prompt errors for incorrect data submitted by the user or

users.

Table 5. Acceptability of the system in terms of Efficiency

Evaluation Ratings
In Weighted Means Mean of
Efficiency Weighted Interpretation
Indicators Faculty/ Means
IT Experts Students
Personnel
The webpage
appeared on the 4.8 4.33 4.42 4.52 Very
browser in less acceptable
than 60 seconds
The webpage
application
responds within 4.8 4.6 4.37 4.59 Very
30 seconds once acceptable
the date is
entered
The data
presented is
updated within
5.0 4.53 4.37 4.63 Very
30 seconds after
acceptable
the refresh
button was
pushed.
Overall 4.87 4.49 4.39 4.58 Very
weighted mean acceptable
 43

Efficiency of a system is an important determinant of its acceptability. To be

efficient, a system should be characterized by speed in showing the webpage, application

and data. Table 5 presents the computed weighted means gathered from the responses of

the evaluators. Based on the data presented, it can be gleaned that all the group of

evaluators rated the system as very efficient. Very acceptable and acceptable weighted

means of 4.87, 4.49 and 4.39 were computed for the IT experts, faculty/personnel and

students responses to the evaluation questionnaire respectively. It is significant to note

that the highest mean was recorded for the IT experts group. An overall weighted mean

of 4.58 was recorded for efficiency criterion and would mean that the respondents

considered the system as very acceptable or very efficient particularly in terms of speed

of the system in presenting the webpage, its application and the requested information or

data.

Table 6. Acceptability of the system in terms of Reliability

Evaluation Ratings
In Weighted Means Mean of
Reliability Weighted Interpretation
Indicators Faculty/ Means
IT Experts Students
Personnel
Incorrect use of
keys/commands 5.0 4.33 4.5 4.61 Very
does not cause acceptable
the system to halt
The site contains
what is expected 4.6 4.2 4.45 4.42 Acceptable
as indicated in its
title or URL.
Overall 4.8 4.26 4.47 4.51 Very
weighted mean acceptable
 44

Reliability is another vital component of a system’s acceptability. Specifically, this

refers to the ability of the system to perform its functions as indicated in its title or URL.

It also pertains to the capacity of the system to continuously perform when users incorrectly

use its keys or makes erroneous commands. Evaluation results referring to these indicators

are presented in Table 6.

A scrutiny of Table 6 would reveal that the IT experts gave a weighted mean of 4.6

for reliability acceptability which is described as very reliable. The other evaluators rated

the system as acceptable in the same criterion as shown by the 4.47 and 4.26 ratings of the

students and faculty/personnel. The overall mean rating of 4.51 would indicate that the

evaluators were in agreement that the system’s reliability is very acceptable particularly

with regards to the item where incorrect use of keys/commands does not cause the system

to halt.

Table 7. Acceptability of the system in terms of Security

Evaluation Ratings In
Mean of
Security Weighted Means
Weighted Interpretation
Indicators Faculty/
IT Experts Students Means
Personnel
Requires all
4.6 4.6 4.47 4.56 Very
users to have
acceptable
unique accounts
Functions given
to users are 4.6 4.27 4.32 4.39 Acceptable
limited based on
access level
Access to
records are 4.6 4.27 4.42 4.43 Acceptable
limited based on
access level
Overall 4.6 4.38 4.41 4.46 Acceptable
weighted mean
 45

Security is a very crucial component of any interaction system. This would provide

protection for system users and ascertain that only authorized users can access the system.

This criterion defines the accessibility limitations to ensure that system achieves its

academic interaction related functions only. Security indicators include unique account

requirements, limitation of functions based on access level and limitation of access to

records based on access level.

Analysis of data presented in Table 7 reveals that the system’s security is rated as

very acceptable by the IT experts and acceptable by the teacher, personnel and student

evaluators. This is shown by the computed weighted means of 4.6, 4.41 and 4.32

respectively. It can also be gleaned that they rated the system very highly in terms of its

ability to require all users to have unique accounts. The overall weighted mean is 4.46

which indicates a general acceptability for the security component of the system.

Table 8. Acceptability in terms of User-friendliness

Evaluation Ratings
In Weighted Means Mean of
User-
Weighted Interpretation
friendliness IT Experts Faculty/ Students Means
Indicators Personnel
Users can
navigate through
4.8 4.4 4.47 4.56 Very
the webpage
acceptable
without
difficulties
Text are easy to
read and uses 5.0 4.8 4.57 4.79 Very
appropriate font acceptable
size and color
Overall 4.9 4.6 4.52 4.67 Very
weighted mean acceptable
 46

Acceptability in terms of user-friendliness is another essential characteristics of an

interaction system. This criterion indicates that users should be able to navigate through

the webpage without difficulties and that text are easy to read and uses appropriate font

size and color. With regards to the user-friendliness of the online interaction system, the

evaluators are in agreement that all the indicators were very acceptable. This is shown by

the computed weighted means of 4.9, 4.6 and 4.52 for the IR experts, faculty/personnel

and students. The overall weighted mean is 4, 67 which is interpreted as very acceptable

in terms of user-friendliness. This would mean that there was facility in navigating

through the webpage and text are easy to read and uses appropriate font size and color.

Table 9. Acceptability of the system in terms of Functionality

Evaluation Ratings
In Weighted Means Mean of
Functionality Weighted Interpretation
Indicators IT Experts Faculty/ Students Means
Personnel
Ease of
4.8 4.53 4.42 4.58 Very
operation in
acceptable
using the system
Provides the
desired functions 4.8 4.73 4.37 4.63 Very
given by the acceptable
academe
Overall 4.8 4.63 4.4 4.61 Very
weighted mean acceptable

Functionality of a system was indicated by ease of operation in using the system

and provision of desired functions identified by the system owner which is St. Mary’s

College of Meycauayan. A close look at Table 9 would show that the system’s functionality

is very acceptable as indicated by very high ratings from 4.4 to 4.8. It can be noted that

both the IT experts and the faculty/personnel groups gave very acceptable ratings while the
 47

student evaluators gave acceptable assessment. As a whole, the computed mean is 6.61

described as very acceptable. This would indicate that the developed system is very high

in functionality particularly with regards to ease of operation is using it and provision for

the desired functions given by the academe.

A system to be considered acceptable needs to comply with the required criteria to

ensure that it serves its purpose for its target users. In this case, the Online Interaction

System specifically designed for St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan students, faculty,

personnel and administrators.

Table 10. General Weighted Means

Criteria Weighted Means Description

Accuracy 4.44 Acceptable
Efficiency 4.58 Very acceptable
Reliability 4.51 Very acceptable
Security 4.46 Acceptable
User-friendliness 4.57 Very acceptable
Functionality 4.61 Very acceptable
General weighted mean 4.53 Very acceptable

Table 10 presents the summary of the weighted means and description of the six

indicators of the developed system. From the table, it can be seen that four indicators were

given the highest ratings of 4.61, 4.58, 4.57 and 4.51 for functionality, efficiency, user-

friendliness and reliability respectively. High weighted means of 4.46 and 4.44 were

computed for security and accuracy of the system. It can be said that as a whole, the
 48

evaluators agree that the system is very acceptable as shown by the computed general

weighted mean of 4.53.

 49

Chapter V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The growth of Internet technologies specifically the World Wide Web (www)

introduced changes in countries, societies and people. It is considered as one of the most

effective communication technologies today. The exposure of the generation of youth

today to the electronic tools have enabled them to develop technology competencies which

they use in their many activities. The accessibility of the internet and the presence of online

services and tools like web portals and search engines allow the users to get information

about any topic, anytime and anywhere which has not only been used for entertainment

or social interactions but more importantly also for learning. In the educational setting, the

World Wide Web introduced a shift from the traditional learning teaching-learning process

to online learning milieu. The Internet and the websites became important tools for

instructional learning and communication alongside with social networking. For an

academic institution, using social networks is valuable in the interaction and relationship

of its members. Through different methods of communication, students, faculty and

administrator can easily communicate with each other. Websites have become potent tools

to facilitate acquisition, sharing and transfer of knowledge and discoveries between and

among individuals, between and among teachers and learners.

The study focused on the development of the Proposed Online Interaction System

for the College Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan. St. Mary’s College of

Meycauayan a school founded in 1916 is managed and administered by the Religious of

the Virgin Mary (RVM). It is located at Mc Arthur Highway, Saluysoy, Meycauayan City,
 50

Bulacan. The College Department have Teacher Education Programs, Business and

Accountancy Programs, Hotel and Restaurant Management Program, Tourism

Management Program, and Computer Science and Information Technology Programs. The

Online Interaction System was aimed to be utilized by the students and faculty of the

College department.

The researcher used the descriptive developmental research method. Descriptive

developmental research method deals with the definition of the problem of the current

system, identify the factors associated with the problem and provide a meaningful solution.

Descriptive Developmental Research is appropriate for software development for it make

use of steps that are generally being applied in all software development life cycles

therefore supporting the Rapid Application Development Model employed.

Summary of Findings

The major focus of the project was the development of an Online Interaction

System for the College Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan that will provide

a venue for students and faculty to interact primarily for academic purposes. The project

sought to answer the following questions:

Problem 1: What were the current systems being used by the college department of St.

Mary’s College of Meycauayan to interact with one another?

 51

Currently St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan provides access to the Internet thru

the Library, Internet and Computer Laboratories, and provided Wi-Fi areas throughout the

campus for the students, employees and personnel. It was also reported that the students,

employees and personnel use social-networking websites and e-mail services as a means

of interacting with each other.

Problem 2: How was the model used in the development of the Proposed Online

Interaction System for the College Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan,

Bulacan?

The Rapid Application Model (RAD) was used in the process of developing the

system. Data gathered from the input stage will be passed to the process stage and will be

processed using the Rapid Application Model. The development model comprises of 5

phases that tackles different aspects of the development process. The Analysis Phase

involved determining the features, functions and content of the entire system by analyzing

the gathered information from the Faculty, Employees and Students. In the Design Phase,

the system was designed based on the features, functions and content in the analysis phase.

The Construction, Testing, and Refine Phase was an iterative phase, the implementation of

the design is carried out in this phase and the coding of the system was done in this phase.

Testing of the system was also conducted in this phase and corrected any errors discovered

and verified the requirements of the beneficiary. Phase 4 or Launch Phase involved the

deployment of the system to the server, performed final testing to all aspects of the system,
 52

trained the users and put the system online. Phase 5 is the Maintenance Phase. Any

necessary repair, upgrade and renovation of the system was done in this phase.

Problem 3: What were the features of the Developed Online Interaction System for the

College Department of St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan, Bulacan?

The system included a secure login and registration, this provided the users access

to the website and its functions. It also contains an academic profile for each registered

user that will be used to view other users profile and to edit one’s own profile. Another

feature is the provision of a forum where users can have discussions on different topics. A

broadcast function where faculty members can post messages to their students is also a part

of the system. It also has a group function where the faculty and administrator can create

private spaces for specific group of users. The last function is a messaging system to help

the users communicate with one another securely and privately.

Problem 4: How acceptable was the proposed system in terms of the following:

a. Accuracy

b. Efficiency

c. Reliability

d. Security

e. User-friendliness

Four indicators were given the highest ratings of 4.61, 4.58, 4.57 and 4.51 for

functionality, efficiency, user-friendliness and reliability respectively. These are

 53

described as very acceptable. On the other hand, high weighted means of 4.46 and 4.44

were computed for security and accuracy of the system which are described as acceptable.

It can be said that as a whole, the evaluators agree that the system is very acceptable as

shown by the computed general weighted mean of 4.53.

Conclusions

On the basis of the aforementioned findings the following conclusions were derived:

1. St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan provided access to the Internet thru the library,

Internet and computer laboratories and thru Wi-Fi areas around the campus. Most

of the faculty, employees and students use social networking websites such as

Facebook and Twitter, and E-mail services to interact and communicate with one

another.

2. The Online Interaction System has the following features:

Features of the system included a secure login and registration, this

provided the users access to the website and use its functions. An academic profile

for each registered user that will be used to view other users profile and to edit one’s

own profile. A forum where users can have discussions on different topics. A

broadcast function where faculty members can post messages to their students and

a messaging system to help the users communicate with one another securely and

privately.
 54

3. The model used in developing the Online Interaction System for St. Mary’s College

of Meycauayan is the Rapid Application Development Model and was found to be

effective in creating an acceptable and efficient system.

4. The Online Interaction System is very acceptable in terms of accuracy, efficiency,

reliability, security, user-friendliness and functionality.

Recommendations

In the light of the findings and conclusions of the study, the following are

recommended:

1. The Online Interaction System developed for St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan

be utilized by the school administrators, faculty, personnel and students.

2. Regular evaluation of the system to ensure continuous usage and identify possible

areas that need improvement or repair.

3. The system be periodically monitored by the school’s IT department for the

needed revision and upgrading.

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APPENDIX A

Letter to the Company

 58

APPENDIX B

Database Schema
 59

APPENDIX C

System Flowchart

Home

Annoucements

Users
Main Menu
Groups

Forum

Events

Post Annoucement

Announcements Edit Post

Delete Post (Admin)

Create Event

Events View Event

Delete Event
(Admin)

Home Page Log-In Page Add New User

(Admin)

Users Update

Disable User
(Admin)

Create

Add Member

View Member
Groups
Profile

Send Message

Edit Group

Add New Topic

Delete Post/Topic
Forum
(Admin)

View Topic Post Reply

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APPENDIX D

System Evaluation Form

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APPENDIX E

User’s Manual

Log In Page

The login page authenticates the users who wish to enter the system. Only

registered users will be able to enter the system. The system requires the user to enter the

correct username and password before the user can enter the system. Entry to the system

will be granted to the user upon entering the correct username and password.
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Home Page

Upon successful login to the system, the homepage will now be displayed. The

homepage provides access to the systems features and functions. The homepage enables

the user to view announcements, events, users, groups and forums.

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Announcement Page

The announcement page provides the user to post announcement the other

registered users can view. Posting of announcements are limited to Faculty and

Administrator accounts while deleting announcements can only be done by administrator

accounts.

Posting an announcement in the system automatically creates a topic in the forum

where all users can discuss and comment on the announcement.

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Events Page (Administrator Account)

Events Page (Student Account)

The Events page displays the events that are posted in the system. Student

accounts are limited only to viewing the events posted in the system while faculty and

administrator accounts can create and post events in the system. Deletion of events can

only be done by the administrator account.

Posting an event in the system automatically creates a topic in the forum where all

users can discuss and comment on the event.

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Message Page

The message page gives the users a way to communicate to other users privately.

Group Page

The group page allows users to create and invite other users to join the group. Members of

the group can interact with it each other directly thru this function. Only Faculty and

Administrator accounts can create group and invite members. Invited users will

automatically be added to the members of the group.

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Forum Page

The forum page allows the users to interact with other users on specific topic. All

users can create, view and reply to topics. Only the Administrator can delete topics.

Registration Page (Administrator Account)

The registration page is accessible only by the administrator. Creation of user

accounts is done through this function of the system.

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Manage Users Account Page

User Status Page

In the manage users page gives the administrator access to all registered users in

the system. The administrator can also change the status of users from active to inactive

depending on the situation. Inactive accounts are not deleted from the system but are not

given access to the system and its functions.