Thesis Abstract

A lot of problems are associated with the traditional way of teaching mathematics because it uses manual approach to impact knowledge to student which makes it time ineffective, time wasting, and high level of energy dissipation. Also due to the calculative nature and vast scope of mathematics, some students develop loss of interest during classroom learning. Although computer aided learning of mathematics have been used in the past in the department of mathematics at Heriot- Watt University in Edinburgh in 1985 but was based on classroom lecture and was not interactive. In this new system l intend to reduce the problem student encounter during classroom learning by developing interactive tutor, which gives the student the feeling of being aided by a teacher to make learning easier, friendly and less stressful for student. Also to eliminate time wasted when educating people on mathematics. This project will use visual basic 6.0 for the implementation. This is because of its capabilities interface. It involves specifying the nature and structure of the database, the data being stored in the database and the data security measure enforced. The software is made up of set theory, algebra, and simple interest. The research methodology used helps to ensure that a thorough study of the present system is effectively carried out thus helping the project researcher to completely understand how the new system should be structured and the functionalities needed.

Thesis Overview

1.0 INTRODUCTION1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDYThe term Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) covers a range of computer-based packages, which aim to provide interactive instruction usually in a specific subject area and many predate the internet. These can range from sophisticated and expensive commercial packages to applications developed by projects in other educational institutions or national initiatives to simple solutions developed by individuals with no funding or support to tackle a very local problem. The amount of time and money invested in development is high and partly because of the very subject specific nature of the education market as well as the very personalized nature of the teaching process- particularly at FE and HE level- means that commercial success is difficult to achieve and work done in one subject area rarely transfers to others subject areas.In general, the use of computer in education through CAL has been sporadic a great deal of effort was expended with little general impact. Many of those academics that took part in that earlier crusade are now cynical about effectiveness of computers in teaching.There are still good reasons to use CAL rather than internet based technologies. CAL is run either straight from a CD or floppy disk drive or over a local network so the constraint of the internet-slow download times for multimedia materials may not apply. This, couple with the fact that CAL technology has been around a bit longer, means that CAL packages have the potential to offer more advanced, interactive, multimedia learning experience than it is currently reasonable to expect from the web. This has been changing as web technologies develop and bandwidths improve but there are currently many things that can only be achieved with CAL rather than the web and CAL has been an integral part of the curriculum in many departments at Warwick for some time.1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objectives of this project are as follows:· Develop a systematic way to make the study of mathematics more enjoyable.· Create an interaction through the tutor, which gives the student the feeling of being aided by a teacher.· Help the students improve in mathematics. This is possible by making user-solve questions at different steps while the answers to frequently asked questions are stored in the software to aid the student.· To eliminate time wasted when educating people on mathematics 1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMOwing to:The difficulties people face during learningLack of conducive environment of learningTime consuming due to the calculative nature of mathematicsThe vast scope of mathematicsInability of some people to understand mathematics during classroom learning due to lack of concentrationThe need arise for the development of software for computerized aided learning system on mathematics in order to solve these problems.1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY With the growth in information technology, the study offers numerous examples in software tutor. People do not need to depend totally on mathematics lecturers to know more about mathematics but slot aided learning system software on mathematics to learn it. Time wasted in educating people on mathematics is reduced to the bare minimum as the software help to facilitate work. Individuals on their own can also buy the software in order to know more about maths1.5 ASSUMPTION OF THE STUDY One of the major assumptions made in this project work is that manual methods of enlightening on mathematics are times ineffective, time wasting and high level of energy dissipation. It is also assumed that with level of development in information technology, there is serious demand to join this trend of information technology. It is also assumed that computerized aided learning system on mathematics software will enhance and facilitate educational work. 1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This project is a tutorial on senior secondary school mathematics but it is restricted to the following topics:Simple interestAlgebraSet theory1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY Due to time constrains resulting from other schools activities, the topics treated are limited compared to the whole scheme of work for senior secondary schools (senior) with an automated test center of maximum of seven questions per topic. This means that the user can only answer seven questions on any area of his choice. But it is advisable that the user studies through the tutor before answering questions. However it is noteworthy that the tutor is complementary to teacher’s effort and not a replacement for the teachers’ effort.1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMSInternet: a network that links computer networks all over the world by satellite and telephone, connecting users with service networks such as e-mail and the World Wide Web CD plate: this is optical disk on which sound is recorded in a digital format by assigning numerical value to measurement of the sound.Computer: electronic device that accepts processes, stores and output data at high speeds according to programmed instruction.Website: An address identifying the location of the file on the internet, consisting of the protocol, the computer on which the file is located, and the file’s location on that computer.Tutorial: A chapter of book or manual, or a sector of a computer program, designed to provide instrument or training using exercise and assignment.Software: programs and applications that can be run on a computer system, e.g. word processing or database packages