Online Grading System

Chapter I
The Problem and its Background
Introduction
Computer technology has become an essential tool in the current human race. Computers serve as efficient data storage systems and excellent information processors. It can store, organize and manage huge amount of data. Moreover, it operates on incomparable speeds, thus saving human time and effort to a large extent. True, computers are an integral part of the lives of the people today. It said that inventions change the way people live. Computer technology is a classic example of this adage. It has indeed changed the way of living of the people all over the world. In essence, grading is an exercise in professional judgment on the part of instructors. It involves the collection and evaluation of students’ achievement or performance over a specified period of time, such as one month, a semester, or entire school year. Through this process, various types of descriptive information and measures of students’ performance are converted into grades that summarize students’ accomplishments. The increasing usage of computers gave way for the birth of a new technological advancement that had assisted teachers to easily compute for grades, the digitization of spreadsheets. The main advantage is speed, since no manual calculations are needed, and confirmation of grade for any further necessary alterations can also be performed more quickly than traditional means. Managing grades had become easier for instructors when using electronic spreadsheets1. With the advancement of information technology, the Internet suddenly became an important aspect for local and global connectivity. Because the computers around the globe were logically connected through the Internet, communication had been easier with the use of E-Mail, message boards and other communication programs. As the technology’s complexities and bandwidth arise, so does the need for software to utilize them. From basic text and images, innovation pushed web sites to include tools for specialized services. The need to inject applications to the fundamental web pages gave birth to server-side scripts like PHP, and database applications like MySQL. Thus, having an online system for a particular company, means having advantages, advantages like having to visit the own website whenever wanted with comfort and without having to walk yourself to the company itself. The current Grading System of Asian Development Foundation College is done manually. The researchers observed that the current aforementioned system allocates a lot of time before having to submit the grades of the students from the teachers. The posting and viewing of grades in Asian Development Foundation College is also manually processed. The teachers go through a lot of computations for each of their student’s grade which causes a lot of effort and consumes time as well, then after computing the grades, the teachers then presents the grades to the school administration of Asian Development Foundation College to provide it for the students. The students will have to wait for their teacher to finish computing their grade and will need to go to school to ask for their grades. So if there would be a much easier way in posting the grades by the teachers and viewing the grades by the students, it is through an Online System. The researchers proposed an Online Grading System of Asian Development Foundation College so that the submission and viewing of grades would be much easier. It is far more convenient for a student to visit a website of their school and is able to view their grades through online without any hassle. Moreover, it is very less stressing for the teachers to just input the grades of the students through online without computing manually. So if an Online Grading System for Asian Development Foundation College would be developed, then the process of submitting the grades of the students by the teachers would be easier and less stressing. Because the teachers will not have to compute manually anymore, the Online System will be the one to compute the grades once inputted. And the students of Asian Development Foundation College will be able to see their grades through online.
Statement of the problem The proposed Online Grading System is exclusively designed for Asian Development Foundation College Tacloban city. It aims to answer the following: 1. What are the problems encountered by the respondents on the present Grading System of Asian Development Foundation College(High School Department)? 2. What system will be proposed to lessen the problems with regards to the Grading System of the institution? 3. What are the inputs needed to develop an Online Grading System of the Aforementioned institution? 4. What are the assessment of the respondents on the developed Online Grading System of in terms of: a. Contents? b. Usefulness?
Theoretical Framework As saying knowledge is power. Gagne suggest that learning tasks for intellectual skills can be organized in a hierarchy according to complexity: procedure following, the use of terminology, discriminations, concepts formation, rule application and problem solving. The primary significance of the hierarchy is to identify prerequisites that should be complete to facilitate learning at each level. Doing a task analysis of learning and training task identifies prerequisites. Learning hierarchies provide a basis for the sequencing of instruction. Learning strategies refer to methods that students use to learn. These ranges from techniques for improved memory to better studying. The method of logic is a classic memory improvement techniques, it involves in making associations between facts to be remembered in a particular location. In order to remember you have to visualize place and associated facts. Some learning strategy involves changes to the design of the instruction. For example, the use questions before, during or after instruction has been shown to increase the degree of learning that occurred have called “mathemagenic”. Information Processing Theory, this concept of information processing states that this theory is primarily concerned with the study of memory and on the evaluation of information. Like computer the human mind takes in information and performs operation when needed and retrieval. Having accurate information in conducting the study will help in the process evaluation primary concern. The researchers in getting information to their pilot area that will be needed as the study continues have applied the theory2. Constructivism Theory views that knowledge is not about the world but rather constitutive of the world. Knowledge is not a fixed about the individual through his practice of the object constructs it. A person who has the exact knowledge of a certain activity is so much important. When people work collaboratively in an authentic activity they bring their own framework and perspective to the activity. They can see the problems form different perspective and are able to negotiate and generate meaning and solution through shared understanding3. Elaboration Theory of Instruction deals with the macro level of instruction. It is primarily concerned with the sequencing of ideas as opposed to the individual ideas themselves and examples relating to them. The sequencing of ideas relates to fundamental and representational ideas or core principles. This theory serves as foundation from which more specific maybe developed. This is applicable to the researchers study because this ideas with the analyzing of the program4.
Conceptual Framework The basis for conceptualizing the Online Grading System of Asian Development Foundation College which is proposed by the researchers is that it can help envision the path that the aforementioned system would be heading to. The researchers used the input-process-output paradigm shown at fig. 1.1 which is consist of the inputs needed, the process that would take place, and the output of the project wherein it will be discussed further.

Fig.1.1
Schematic Diagram of the Development of the Online Grading System for Asian Development Foundation College The inputs of this paradigm will be the assessment of needs of the students as well as the faculty of Asian Development Foundation College wherein the researchers will be giving out questionnaires to the students and faculty to consult the needs of it. Next is the present status of the Grading System of for Asian Development Foundation College. Then the problems encountered by the assessors of the current Grading system of Asian Development Foundation College. And the last input is the efficient software to be designed to meet the desired output of the management of for Asian Development Foundation College. The process then takes place after the input wherein the first process is the interview. Interviewing the school president of for Asian Development Foundation College and gathering the information needed about the school. Then consulting the faculty of Asian Development Foundation College and the current Grading System. Then after Interviewing, the next process is to analyze the gathered data and the researchers about the study. Then after analyzing, the next process is to start developing the system that will be created for Asian Development Foundation College and its desired outcome for the finished product. Then after the development of the system, the next process is testing the system. This is to determine if the system is running properly and flawlessly. Then after testing the system, the next process is debugging wherein in this process, the programmer runs the system in search for some errors that would be fixed. Then the last process is the evaluation of the proposed system. The output is the Online Grading System of Asian Development Foundation College.
Significance of the Study this study aims to improve the Grading System of Asian Development Foundation College to make teachers and more comfortable in posting and viewing the grades. The researchers hope that this study will be benefited to the following. The Management will no longer have a hard time keeping and searching the files manually. It will be less stressing and will only require them to maintain the stability of the flow of the system. The Staff can benefit from the proposed online grading system since it is user friendly. This system will help to be more accurate, fast and easier in processing their task. It would be easy for them to update records. The teachers of the school will no longer need to manually compute the grades that they are about to give to the students. All the teachers have to do is to input the grades in the website and let the system compute the grades itself for the students to view. With this method, it surely is free from stress and is truly comfortable. The students will be able to enter the website of the school and upon logging in, will be able to see or view their grades. Very convenient than having to go to school personally and ask for the grades of each subjects. The researchers are benefited in this study as well mainly for having to develop employability skills, implement a career plan, hone each skills and participant in career pathway in preparation for the researchers’ career in the industry. The future researchers could help them to make high quality standards systems and maybe make this study as paradigm.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study The scope of this study is to provide the students as well as the teachers, to easily access, compute, and view the grades online. The system’s features are: students and teachers will able to log in using their respective username and password. Upon log-in, the student will be able to view the grades of the current school year he/she is attending to, including all the past semester grades. The teachers’ access upon logging in is that they will be able to input the grades. This system will also be accessible by the administrators of Asian Development Foundation College The limitations of this Online Grading System of Asian Development Foundation College is that the users of this System is only the School Administrators, Teachers, Students and Principal. There will be no other users entertained other than one’s mentioned.

Definition of Terms For the better understanding of the study following terms are operationally and conceptually defined:
Grades: A teacher's evaluation of a student's performance in class.
Grading System: A process of computing the grades of the student.
Online: A condition of being connected to a network of computer or other devices.
Online Grading System: A process of computing grades with the use of online and can view grades via online.
Process or Transaction: These are step-by-step procedure.
Records: It can be accessed as collection units of eliminates or the elements that can be accessed individuality.
Schematic Diagram: Represent the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures.
Spreadsheet: A computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet.
System: Any collection of component elements that work together.
Website: A collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets.

Notes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreadsheet 2Janice Amoyoet., al, “On-line Information System of Leyte Park Resort Hotel Tacloban City.” (Unpublished Undergraduate thesis, Asian Development Foundation College, 2004) p.4
3Leandro Abanes & Joel Boquilla “Computerized Educational Management Information System for the Secondary School in the Division of Leyte” (Unpublished Undergraduate thesis, Asian Development Foundation College, 2001) p.3
4Janice Amoyoet., al, “On-line Information System of Leyte Park Resort Hotel Tacloban City.” (Unpublished Undergraduate thesis, Asian Development Foundation College, 2004) p.3

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Feedback

• Assessment of needs • Present status of the Grading System • Problems encountered of the current Grading System • Efficient Software to be designed to meet the desired output of the management. • Mission and Vision • References and books • Downloaded researches

• Downloaded materials

INPUTS

• Interview • Analysis • Designing the System • Developing the System • Testing • Debugging • Evaluation

PROCESS

• Online Grading System of Asian Developmet Foundation College

OUTPUT

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Computer Studies Department