A Requirements Modeling for E-Learning Management System (Elms)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE) ISSN: 2278-3075, Volume-8 Issue-5S March, 2019 A Requirements Modeling for E-Learning Management System (eLMS) Mazni Omar, Abdulkadir Osman Mohamed According to [5], e-Learning is particularly useful for Abstract: Nowadays, technology simplifies the learning people who are already working and have the desire to process and assists in the communication between learners, continue learning, since they can use e-Learning to attend lecturers, and administrators of universities and other classes whenever they want from any location. E-Learning educational organisations. At present, most of the universities in is a synonym for distance education. This term has been Somalia still use the face-to-face teaching approach and lecturers do not have an electronic repository for the learning materials. extensively used to describe distance education products and This demonstrates that an e-Learning model that is able to fulfil processes where learning relies on different technologies the users’ requirements is lacking. This shortcoming is addressed that allow communication between the teacher and the in this study by developing a requirements model for an e- learner irrespective of their location [6]. Learning Management System (eLMS) to improve the quality of At present, educational institutions in Somalia are still the learning process. To achieve this objective, a design research using the traditional ways of managing all learning methodology was adopted. During the modelling process, the activities. The current learning system is based on lecture- Web Application Extension (WAE) for the Unified Modeling centred interactions between learners and lecturers, both Language (UML) model was used to design the requirements inside and outside the classroom. Hence, technology still model for the proposed eLMS. The significance of this model is that it facilitates the interaction between students, lecturers, and does not feature in the learning process, indicating the need administrators, thus enhancing the learning process at the for better alternatives that would improve the learning university. In addition, the proposed model will be a useful environment. The cost associated with face-to-face faculty reference for other researchers working in a similar domain, or education is higher than that incurred by e-Learning. for developers who are interested in developing similar models. Moreover, the financial benefits of e-Learning are higher Additionally, the expected output of this research is the eLMS than its costs [7]. Thus, the main goal of this research is to system that will enable students, lecturers, and administrators to overcome the problems faced by Mogadishu University in communicate with each other. order to improve its learning environment. This is achieved by proposing a requirements model of an e-Learning Keywords: e-Learning Management System (eLMS); Management System (eLMS) for Mogadishu University that Requirement Engineering; Unified Modeling Language(UML); Web Application Extension(WAE); Learning Management would improve the quality of the learning process, as well as System(LMS) facilitate communication among the university stakeholders. I. INTRODUCTION II. RELATED WORKS The internet has provided the means for fast Requirement Model for e-Learning communication and access to information and services. Both Requirement identification is considered as an essential synchronous and asynchronous interactions between activity in any system development process. Software learners and teachers can be used in designing distance success or failure depends on how the requirements are learning [1]. The internet has become one of the most collected and interpreted. Thus, requirements modelling has significant ways to deliver learning materials to students in an essential role in the Requirement Engineering (RE) order to contribute and gain information [2]. Todays’ process [8]. It provides a structured explanation of the students are digital natives, as they have grown up utilising requirements that can be used throughout the requirement advanced technologies like laptops, mobiles, and the internet process and other system development processes. It is also [3]. the most important communication language among E-Learning is a relatively new learning mode that is fully participants with dissimilar backgrounds [9]. Modelling dependent on the internet. It is an ICT that is based on notation delivers an abstract level of requirement applications for learning purposes. It assists in eliminating description, which is achieved by using terminologies and the distance between learners and universities. Saving time structural rules for problem components. Modelling assists is another e-Learning objective, due to which it has become in analysing and classifying detailed requirements [10]. popular in the current education scenario [4]. Requirements models are characterised as an information technology used to capture, interconnect, track, analyse, verify, validate, view, and manage hierarchical and interrelated system requirements [11]. Revised Manuscript Received on March 08, 2019. Mazni Omar, School of Computing, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia, Abdulkadir Osman Mohamed, School of Computing, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia, Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering Retrieval Number: ES3406038519/19©BEIESP 132 & Sciences Publication A Requirements Modeling for E-Learning Management System (eLMS) Chumpia [12] proposed the development of a provide the web-specific constructs for modelling the web requirements model for social network learning sites, information. Thus, in order to design the prototype, the particularly forums and chat rooms, for Hatyia Technical StarUML software was used, which can be employed to College. The author used UML diagrams to represent the draw the essential UML diagrams that help in developing requirements model. However, [12] did not study the system components. Additionally, it provides support in significant requirements for educational purposes. On the designing web applications, as it includes modules for the other hand, [13] proposed a requirements model used to implementation of notation extensions, which allow diagram store and retrieve IOS documents for the teaching and representation for WAE. learning process. While he used UML diagrams to model e-Learning the requirements, [13] focused on management requirements, rather than capturing other significant E-Learning enables the educational institutions to share requirements and tools that can improve e-Learning information with the entire student body via electronic performance. More recently, [14] proposed a generic communication channels. It is also simple to use, as users requirements model for eLMS. During the requirement can retrieve records and create reports without much effort collection process, the story card technique was used. The [19]. E-Learning is a tool that helps students and lecturers collected requirements for this study were presented using interact while learning [20][21]. In general, it is a web- UML diagrams, which were based on the use case and class based system that offers access to the learning environment diagrams. Moreover, [14] focused on communication [22] and supports virtual learning [23]. channels, such as announcements and forums. The National Centre for e-Learning and Distance According to [15], The King Saud University’s e- Learning (NCEL) has created its own learning management Learning Management System offers most functionalities system in partnership with a meteor group of companies in needed by the university to provide courses. It manages Malaysia named Jusus LMS [24]. Jusur LMS was created them via the internet—including the management of according to universal standards and has the following 17 admissions and registration—and provides virtual class tools: the course description tool, survey manager tool, tools. However, some important e-Learning management announcements tool, learning content management system activities and aspects are not available. Furthermore, [15] tool, courseware controls tool, glossary tool, forum tool, file stated that there is no material sharing activity on the sharing tool, assignments tool, tests and assessment tool, existing system that would allow lecturers to share materials virtual classroom tool, lecturer information tool, user with students. Another weakness of the existing system is administration tool, tracking forum participation tool, that there is no forum for students to discuss various topics general chat tool, questions bank tool, and grad book tool of interest with each other. [25]. A number of universities in African countries, especially The advantage of Jusus LMS, as highlighted by [26], is in Rwanda, still lack IT support systems for teaching and that it is easy to understand and use. It comprises of learning activities. Moreover, the e-Learning systems that numerous instructional and administrative functions that have been implemented several years ago in other higher assist students in completing their tasks speedily and allows education systems are not available to the students and them to download many types of documents. It also enables faculty [16]. In addition, the systems that are available are students to recover from mistakes easily by providing error not functional and have failed to meet users’ expectations messages