Uncle Sam’s America



Uncle Sam’s America

Spring 2004 Status Report

Project Number Ongo8c

Client: Ames Community Schools

Faculty Advisors:

Professor John Lamont

Professor Ralph Patterson

CprE/EE 492 Team Members:

|Laura Longoria, EE |Li-Wei Low, CprE |

CprE/EE 491 Team Members:

|David Schwenker, CprE |Robert Sailer, EE |

April 6, 2004

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Executive Summary 1

Acknowledgements 1

Problem Statement 1

General Problem Statement 1

General Solution Approach 2

Operating Environment 2

Intended Users and Uses 2

Assumptions and Limitations 3

Expected End Product and Other Deliverables 3

Project Accomplishments and Status 5

Previous Accomplishments 5

Present Accomplishments 6

Future Required Activities 13

Recommendation for Continued Effort 14

Documentation of Current Efforts and Results 15

Project Definition Activities 15

Research Activities 15

Implementation Activities 15

Testing and Modification Activities 15

Resources and Schedules 16

Personnel Effort Requirements 16

Other Resource Requirements 16

Financial Requirements 17

Schedules 19

Closure Materials 19

Lessons Learned 19

What Went Well 19

What Did Not Go Well 20

Technical Knowledge Gained 20

Non-technical Knowledge Gained 20

What Would Be Done Differently 20

Risks and Risk Management 20

Project Team Information 22

Client Information 22

Faculty Advisor Information 22

Team Member Information 22

Closing Summary 22

List of Figures

Figure 1: Previous Uncle Sam’s America Main Page 5

Figure 2: Previous Uncle Sam’s America State Detail Page 6

Figure 3: Current Uncle Sam’s America Main Page 7

Figure 4: Current Uncle Sam’s America State Detail Page 8

Figure 5: Uncle Sam’s America Comparison Page 9

Figure 6: Uncle Sam’s America Blank Map Page 10

Figure 7: Chart of Current Semester’s Progress 17

List of Tables

Table 1: Recommended Project Completion Timeline 7

Table 2: Estimated Personnel Effort 10

Table 3: Revised Personnel Effort 11

Table 4: Other Required Resources (Estimated) 11

Table 5: Other Required Resources (Actual) 12

Table 6: Estimated Financial Budget 12

Table 7: Actual Financial Budget 13

Definition of Terms

The following table will help to define technical terms and project-specific terms used throughout this document.

Table 1: Definition of Terms

|Term |Definition |

|ACS |Ames Community Schools |

|Apache |A software product that serves web pages to clients requesting them. Apache can be used in |

| |conjunction with PHP in order to produce dynamic web pages that are built and delivered to the |

| |requesting client on the fly. |

|GUI |Graphical user interface – what the user looks at and interacts with while using the software |

|LAMP |A development environment utilizing Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP |

|Linux |An open-source operating system that is optimized for use as a web application server |

|HTML |Hyper-Text Markup Language – the language used to describe the formatting and presentation of a web |

| |page |

|MTSS |An acronym for Mathematical Teaching Software System, one of the subprojects of the Ongo8 project. |

|PHP |Pseudo-acronym for Hypertext Preprocessor. A computer language that enables Apache web server to |

| |dynamically generate HTML documents. |

|SQL |Structured Query Language – a language used to retrieve information from SQL-compliant databases. |

|MySQL |An open-source implementation of an SQL server |

Introduction

This section will briefly describe the project and the reason it is needed, the scope of the actual project undertaking, results to date, and work to be completed. A general problem statement will also be found further down accompanied by a general solution approach. The operating environment will also be discussed, and the intended users and uses will be laid out along with the assumptions and limitations used to lay the groundwork for the project.

Executive Summary

Ames Community Schools has recognized a need for software to enhance instruction in the areas of geography and mathematics. As a part of this effort, Team Ongo8c was formed to create a web application to act as a reference tool for United States geography data. With the tool, students would be able to click on a state in a United States map, which would lead to another page containing information about that state.

The actual scope of the project has been expanded beyond the stated premise to include mathematics problem solving as well. When the project is complete, it will include a reference tool to view state data, a comparison tool to compare one item of data across multiple states, a tool to update the data stored in the database, and a Find Uncle Sam game. The game will integrate mathematics problem solving by presenting the student with a math problem to solve. A correct answer will yield a geographical clue that, when used with the reference tool, will help the student locate where Uncle Sam is hiding.

To date, the reference tool and comparison tool portions of the application has been completed. The entire interface of the software was improved for easier navigation and visual attractiveness, PHP Application Framework from the Ongo8d team has been integrated, as well as an administrator login page. Incoming semesters will implement a game portions of the application.

Acknowledgements

It is only fitting to extend thanks to Professor John Lamont and Professor Ralph Patterson, the faculty advisors for the project, for the guidance they have given and will continue to give throughout this project. Also, thanks go to the client, the teachers of the Ames Community School District, whose needs serve as guidance toward the final product.

Problem Statement

A general problem statement will be found within this subsection. In addition, a general solution approach statement will be included in order to provide a foundation upon which to build the rest of the report around.

General Problem Statement

Ames Community Schools (ACS) has been concerned with the performance of their students in problem solving on a nationally standardized exam. While ACS traditionally scores in the 90+% range on traditional math skills, results from the problem-solving section were closer to 40%. The purpose of this project is to provide software that supplements classroom learning, particularly in the areas of mathematics and geography, while stressing the improvement of problem-solving skills. The software must be easy to use, as the target audience lies in the upper elementary and lower middle school years, and provides a means by which the teacher can enter the program and check on student progress.

General Solution Approach

To this end, a suite of web applications will be produced. The final product will be used in conjunction with Ongo8a’s software to help students solve problems, and allow teachers to view the results. The scope of Team Ongo8c’s involvement in this task will be to produce a geographic program based on the United States named Uncle Sam’s America. Students will be able to log onto the program through an internet-connected computer and research facts about the individual states in the United States of America. The student will also have the option of using this information to complete mathematics-based questions comparing certain state data to that of other states. The final project step will be to produce a game in which the user is sent “around the country” searching for clues to find where Uncle Sam is hiding. By utilizing the software to extend classroom learning, the students of ACS will be better prepared for standardized tests, ultimately resulting in higher test scores.

Operating Environment

Uncle Sam’s America runs on LAMP (Linux – Apache – MySQL – PHP) architecture. The web application code is written in PHP, which runs as a module to the popular and powerful Apache web server. The software uses MySQL as its database backend and runs on the Linux operating system. This provides a powerful open-standards environment for the web applications to run in, which will also allow for easy expansion in the future.

Intended Users and Uses

The program shall be designed for three user types: elementary school students (primarily in grades 3-6), teachers, and school or computer administrators.

The students shall be the primary users of the system, so most of the application’s interface has been designed with them in mind. They will access the program through a basic web browser. In this way, they may be able to access the program at school, at home, or anywhere else that they have access to an Internet-enabled system. The student can then navigate through the program using a point-and-click interface. In using the program, the student should learn different facts about the states of the US, and see the differences from state to state. The program will be appealing and entertaining enough to keep a young student’s attention for some time.

Teachers shall be able to track a student’s progress when using the program and review the results of their activities. They will also make suggestions to the administrator regarding anything that they would like to be changed in order to make the program more complete and useful.

Administrators will be involved in database maintenance. They will be able to update or correct the actual data values. They will also be responsible for managing user information.

Assumptions and Limitations

Assumptions made in the development of the software design include the following:

• Clients are operating Internet Explorer or Netscape (Version 5.0 or later).

• Team members have write-access to the server.

• All client computers are connected to the Internet.

• The software will eventually run on top of an infrastructure supporting common functionality across multiple applications.

• There will be adequate supervision with computer experience to assist the students when they are operating the system.

• The students have been exposed to relevant topics in mathematics and geography.

• This software shall be a supplement to classroom instruction.

• Integration of mathematics will best be achieved using a game-style interface in order to keep the user from getting bored with the software.

Challenges and limitations to development include the following:

• Team members must learn and become comfortable with PHP and MySQL.

• Primary students may not have much prior experience using computers. The client software must be easy to understand.

• The software can only do what it has been coded to do, but needs to be “alive” as possible in order to retain the interest of the intended users.

• Internet connection and internet bandwidth.

• Computer/processor speed of the client machines.

• Capabilities of target database. (MySQL)

Expected End Product and Other Deliverables

At project completion, Team Ongo8c will deliver to ACS a cohesive web application that will include the following:

• A navigable map of the United States that will retrieve information about any state that may have been selected

• A “compare” function allowing users to select certain states and aspects and compare the values between those states.

• An administration utility that will allow the addition and deletion of teachers, students, and school administrators. The utility should also include gradebook functionality to keep track of student success; it should track each problem’s rate of success, and should allow for the addition and deletion of problems.

• A “Find Uncle Sam” game that will allow the user to go on a virtual trip around the United States solving problems to obtain clues to determine the location of Uncle Sam.

Project Accomplishments and Status

This section will highlight in further detail the accomplishments met this semester, those remaining to be completed, a brief outline for total project completion, as well as a recommendation of work beyond the scope of the project.

Previous Accomplishments

Team Ongo8c was created at the beginning of Fall Semester 2002. The first semester’s accomplishments involved conception, design, and documentation of the project for future semesters to use. Main accomplishments during Fall Semester 2002 were the conception, finalization and acceptance of database schema and the completion and acceptance of the general design behind Uncle Sam’s America. The main accomplishments for Spring 2003 semester were population of the database with state information and the completion of a working reference tool, which allows users to click on an active map of the United States and call up information pertaining to that state.

Figure 1 (below), shows a screenshot of the main page of the reference tool, in which a student can select a state from the United States.

[pic]

Figure 1: Previous Uncle Sam’s America Main Page

Figure 2 (below) shows a screenshot of a state detail page (in this case, Delaware) from the application, which is obtained by clicking on Delaware in Figure 1 (above) or by selecting Delaware from the drop-down menu and clicking the Go button.

[pic]

Figure 2: Previous Uncle Sam’s America State Detail Page

For the semester of Spring 2003 the database was refined until it was fully complete and error-free. The reference tools for the main country page and state detail pages were improved. Finally, the state comparison tools were coded and implemented, allowing users to compare up to ten states’ information side-by-side on one page.

Figure 3 (below), shows a screenshot of the current main page of the reference tool, in which a student can select a state from the United States.

[pic]

Figure 3: Second Semester Uncle Sam’s America Main Page

Figure 4 (below) shows a screenshot of a state detail page (in this case, Iowa) from the application, which is obtained by clicking on Iowa in Figure 1 (above) or by selecting Iowa from the drop-down menu and clicking the Go button.

[pic]

Figure 4: Current Uncle Sam’s America State Detail Page

Figure 5 (below) shows a screenshot of the comparison tool page from the application. This particular page shown below is obtained by clicking on the Comparison menu button, and then selecting Population as the data to compare, Large as the chart size, and Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio as the states to compare.

[pic]

Figure 5: Uncle Sam’s America Comparison Page

Figure 6 (below) shows a screenshot of the blank map page from the application, which will be used for the implementation of exercises, tests and games.

[pic]

Figure 5: Uncle Sam’s America Blank Map Page

Present Accomplishments

This semester of work for Ongo8c was one of success. The project is now ready to be demonstrated to its client, the Ames Community Schools. Its visual design has been improved for visual attractiveness, Alaska and Hawaii were added into the contry page picture, Implementation of the framework from ongo8d was completed, and finally, the authentication screen was added.

Figure 7 (below) shows the updated country page with Alaska and Hawaii

[pic]

Figure 7: Uncle Sam’s America Country Page

Figure 8 (below) is a screenshot of the authentication page that appears when the user tries to enter the website.

[pic]

Figure 8: Authentication Page

Future Required Activities

In order to complete the project as its scope is currently defined, it is believed two semesters beyond the current semester will be required in order to successfully implement all necessary functions of Uncle Sam’s America.

One future activity too broad to be included in any of the semester-specific paragraphs is the periodic review of database information. Much of the information in the database is time-sensitive and therefore subject to change. In order to avoid deviation from the scope of the project by providing false information to the student users, the database must undergo a complete overhaul on a regular basis. It is the determination of Team Ongo8c that time be devoted to this activity every third semester from now until project completion. Further, if an electronic information source becomes available at any time, it is desirable to code an automatic update feature that would change the Uncle Sam’s America database without any administrative interface.

During Fall 2004, final administrative implementation will be completed. The “Find Uncle Sam” game will be implemented, this semester is also planned for a sort of odds-and-ends implementation semester.

Table 1 (below) illustrates the timeline upon which completion of Uncle Sam’s America is scheduled.

Table 1: Recommended Project Completion Timeline

|Task |Timeframe |

|Project sufficiently completed for initial demonstration to |Fall 2003 |

|client | |

|Integrated Framework and Authentication page |Spring 2004 |

|Implement quizzes and “Find Uncle Sam” game with limited |Fall 2004 |

|question set | |

|Fully implement software infrastructure and all remaining |TBD[1] |

|functionality | |

Recommendation for Continued Effort

The design conceived at the creation of this project constitutes a scope far too broad for implementation in two semesters. Therefore, it is the recommendation of Team Ongo8c that the project be continued following the timeline laid out above. Further, it is recommended that Ongo8c continue into the following semesters until all aspects of this document, as well as any subsequent additions, have been fully implemented.

It is important to note that much of the future activities depend on the software application framework from the Ongo8d team. Much of what it will offer Uncle Sam’s America or the difficulty with which it can be implemented remains unknown.

Documentation of Current Efforts and Results

Contained below will be a more detailed report of the project definition, the research and design steps taken, as well as implementation and testing activities.

Project Definition Activities

No project definition activities were performed this semester, because the project was defined last semester with the creation of the design report. Being only two semesters beyond project inception, the scope of the project has remained constant.

Research Activities

Research activities performed this semester were limited to determining a suitable location from which to pull data about all fifty states. Unfortunately, no suitable electronic source was known to exist, and therefore all population was required to be performed manually from an almanac.

Implementation Activities

Team Ongo8c has entered the stretch of the project that involves little more than implementation. The semester was begun by dividing up the states and assigning each team member a group of states to test and update. In the meantime, the visual design was improved and the comparison tool implemented. Later in the semester, the project was prepared for its initial demonstration to the client.

Testing and Modification Activities

Testing activities this semester have included testing of code as it is written, as well as data integrity tests.

In order to test the functionality of code, team members test each page of each build, making sure that errors do not occur.

Because the data is entered by hand from the World Almanac, it is prone to human error, and therefore must be reviewed. The database from the previous semester was tested and modified to eliminate all errors.

Resources and Schedules

This portion of the report will detail the requirements for the project specific to the personnel and finance arenas.

Personnel Effort Requirements

Table 2 (below) shows the original estimates for personnel effort required for Team Ongo8c.

Table 2: Estimated Personnel Effort (Hours)

|Member |Class |Meetings |Presentation |Research |Documentation |Coding |Overall |

|Low, Li-Wei |15 |30 |6 |20 |10 |25 |106 |

|Longoria, Laura |15 |30 |6 |20 |10 |15 |96 |

|Schwenker, David |15 |30 |6 |20 |12 |20 |103 |

|Sailer, Robert |15 |30 |6 |20 |12 |15 |98 |

|Totals |60 |120 |24 |80 |44 |75 |403 |

This estimate was calculated early in the semester for the CprE/EE 491 Project Plan. As this estimate was based on the experiences of the previous semester, it was a fairly accurate estimate. To date, the estimated hours still hold true and need not be revised.

Other Resource Requirements

Due to the Internet/coding-based nature of this project, very few outside resources were necessary for its completion.

Table 4 (below) lists the estimated resources (not inclusive of man-hours) required to either complete or have the necessary tools to complete work this semester.

Table 1: Other Required Resources

|Resource |Team Hours |Other Hours |Cost |

|Design and Printing of Project |12 |0 |$45.00 |

|Poster | | | |

|Totals |12 |0 |$45.00 |

This is very close to the actual total resource requirements of $65.40, although the distribution of this total was different.

Table 5 (below) lists the actual resources (not inclusive of man-hours) required to either complete or have the necessary tools to complete work this semester.

Table 5: Other Required Resources (Actual)

|Resource |Team Hours |Other Hours |Cost |

|Printing of Project Poster |12 |0 |$63.40 |

|Copying/Binding |1 |0 |$2.00 |

|Totals |13 |0 |$65.40 |

Financial Requirements

The internet-based nature of this project helps to keep costs down while at the same time maximizing the size of the eventual target audience. With this in mind, the financial budget contains project costs with labor and without labor. Essentially, senior design students are working for free, so to see what the project cost our group, refer to the first column of calculations. However, if this project were to be developed in industry, there would be substantial development cost associated with its production and subsequent marketing. To gain a more realistic idea of what this project would cost to develop in industry, refer to the second column of calculations.

Table 6 (below) highlights our original financial budget.

Table 6: Estimated Financial Budget

|Item |W/O Labor |With Labor |

|Parts and Materials | | |

| Poster |$45.00 |$45.00 |

| Miscellaneous Binding |$5.00 |$5.00 |

| Copying |$10.00 |$10.00 |

|Subtotal |$60.00 |$60.00 |

|Labor at $10.50 per hour | | |

| Low, Li-Wei | |$1113.00 |

| Longoria, Laura | |$1008.00 |

| Schwenker, David | |$1081.50 |

| Sailer, Robert | |$1029.00 |

|Subtotal | |$4231.50 |

|Total |$60.00 |$4291.50 |

The only changes made to this budget over the course of the semester were purely made to reflect changes in the actual cost of the poster and copying/binding.

Table 7 (below) shows the actual financial requirements for Team Ongo8c.

Table 7: Actual Financial Budget

|Item |W/O Labor |With Labor |

|Parts and Materials | | |

| Poster |$63.40 |$63.40 |

| Binding/Copying |$2.00 |$2.00 |

|Subtotal |$65.40 |$65.40 |

|Labor at $10.50 per hour | | |

| Low, Li-Wei | |$1113.00 |

| Longoria, Laura | |$1008.00 |

| Schwenker, David | |$1081.50 |

| Sailer, Robert | |$1029.00 |

|Subtotal |$65.40 |$4231.50 |

Schedules

Figure 7 (below) is a Gantt chart outlining all the required project activities for the current semester. The team was able to meet the scheduled datelines on time.

Figure 7: Schedule

[pic]Figure 5: Chart of Current Semester’s Progress

Closure Materials

This section contains a brief summary of the lessons learned thus far, risks and risk management, general information about Team Ongo8c, and a closing summary.

Lessons Learned

Below are the descriptions of what worked, what did not work, technical and non-technical knowledge gained by group members, and what would be done differently if the team had the option of starting over.

What Went Well

The weekly status meetings with team advisors were very well attended. Another thing that seemed to work very well was the modularity of the project implementation. All the tasks that seemed large and intimidating were broken up into sub-tasks that were much more manageable. Tasks that fell into this realm were the database population and the coding of the comparison tool. Overall, the coding of the application went well.

What Did Not Go Well

The lack of PHP coding experience on the team resulted in unavoidable delays in order for group members to get up to speed.

Technical Knowledge Gained

Every team member gained an understanding of PHP/MySQL and how they work together. Knowledge of HTML was also strengthened for those with prior experience and introduced to those without.

Non-technical Knowledge Gained

Communication is paramount. That was one of the key pieces of non-technical knowledge gained by all team members. At one or two points in the semester, group members had questions and were unsure of how to continue. This resulted in a loss of time to work on the project.

Another key piece of knowledge gained was to set a solid plan and stick to it. Build in time for a few minor glitches, but don’t give yourself hours and hours of extra time to complete something.

What Would Be Done Differently

Thus far, nothing has gone so poorly that its implementation merits reconsideration. The only thing that should be changed for future groups is the inclusion of more group members with relevant experience, such as PHP/MySQL.

Risks and Risk Management

Below are seven major issues/risks that represent possible setbacks that could occur in the course of the project’s lifetime:

• Risk: Due to unforeseen circumstances, a group member leaves the project.

Mitigation: The team has eight members, so in the event that a team member is lost, the remaining members will shoulder the increased workload. If the person leaving were a critical member, the team would work with him/her to ensure that his/her knowledge and responsibilities were adequately disseminated among the remaining group members.

If more than one group member must leave the team, the team will decide whether a member from another project group could volunteer for double duty with or switch groups all together to maintain proper productivity levels.

• Risk: The PC with the project’s software is stolen, it crashes, or the software is maliciously tampered with or otherwise modified.

Mitigation: Since the project is entirely software, it is imperative that the source files are kept secure. In addition to limiting access to the machine to only Ongo7 and Ongo8 group members via user permissions on the Linux box, the source code and databases shall be backed up regularly.

• Risk: An update to the software makes it cease to function correctly.

Mitigation: Backups will be made of the incomplete but functional software so that a running version of the software is always available. The source code and databases will be assigned version numbers with notes on their capabilities in a file accessible to all group members.

• Risk: The clients at the ACS request certain elements of the software implemented differently or want additional functionality not originally specified.

Mitigation: The group will make an effort to keep members of the ACS informed with the progress and abilities of the project. ACS is currently satisfied with the direction and feature set of the proposed and partially implemented software. Additional requests will be considered and fulfilled if the project leader deems enough time exists to add the requested parts while still maintaining enough time for quality control, testing, and debugging.

• Risk: There is a loss of contacts at ACS. The current contacts might retire or change jobs and be replaced by new personnel.

Mitigation: The group will need to involve the new personnel or maybe even new instructors in the project. Other schools could be approached for help if necessary.

• Risk: The technical approach fails.

Mitigation: The group will need to determine cause of failure and redefine the technical approach to compensate. If the failure is due to server problems, other server platforms can be investigated. If a web solution is not adequate, other options can be explored such as integrating individually installed software packages on Windows-only machines capable of running VB.

• Risk: The testing methods fail.

Mitigation: The group will need to determine the cause of the failure and redesign the test scripts accordingly. Part of the solution might require the group to write inline scripts to monitor the health and status of the program for further in-depth testing. The group might also need to write additional scripts that can help monitor the performance of the software from the viewpoint of client machines.

Project Team Information

Client Information

|Ames Community Schools |

|Administrative Offices |

|1921 Ames High Drive |

|Ames, IA 50010 |

|Phone: 515-268-6600 |

Faculty Advisor Information

|Dr. John Lamont |Professor Ralph Patterson, III |

|324 Town Engineering |326 Town Engineering |

|Ames, IA 50011-3230 |Ames, IA 50011-3230 |

|Phone: 515-294-3600 |Phone: 515-294-2428 |

|Fax: 515-294-6760 |Fax: 515-294-6760 |

|jwlamont@iastate.edu |repiii@iastate.edu |

Team Member Information

|CprE/EE 492 Member | |

|Li-Wei Low |Laura Longoria |

|Computer Engineering |Electrical Engineering |

|312 Hillcrest Avenue #11 |232 South Walnut #17 |

|Ames, IA 50014 |Ames, IA 50010 |

|515-770-6682 |515-233-3379 |

|davidlow@iastate.edu |tigger99@iastate.edu |

|CprE/EE 491 Members | |

|David Schwenker |Robert Sailer |

|Computer Engineering |Electrical Engineering |

|3105 Woodland St |2902 Lincoln Way |

|Ames, IA 50014 |Ames, IA 50014 |

|515-268-4288 |712-251-3916 |

|dschwenk@iastate.edu |bsailer@iastate.edu |

Closing Summary

As previously stated, the teachers of the Ames Community Schools (ACS) have witnessed, in the last few years, a marked decline in the problem solving performance of their students on nationally-standardized exams. To mitigate this problem, the ACS teachers have requested the development and implementation of a suite of web applications to test and enhance their students’ problem-solving abilities. Uncle Sam’s America will merge nicely into this group as a piece of software that exercises students’ problem solving abilities while at the same time strengthening geographic knowledge about the United States.

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[1] To be determined as infrastructure becomes available, resultant on coordination with group charged with infrastructure development

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