Project on Virtual Classroom

SRS Document

Galgotia’s College of Engineering & Technology

1, Knowledge Park-2
Greater Noida, UP-201306

Submitted To: Submitted by:

Mr. Kamlesh Raina Pawan Verma (0709710068)

Dept. CSE Nishikant Kanaujia (0709710066)

Milind Dev Anand (0709710054)
 Contents
1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 5
1.1 PURPOSE......................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 INTENDED AUDIENCE AND EVOLUTION OF DOCUMENT................................................6
1.3 SCOPE OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.........................................................................6
1.4 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS...........................................................6
1.5 References......................................................................................................................6
1.6. Overview........................................................................................................................ 7
Overall Description...................................................................................................................7
2.1. Product Perspective.......................................................................................................7
2.1.1. System Interfaces........................................................................................................8
2.1.2. User Interfaces............................................................................................................8
2.1.3. Hardware Interfaces...................................................................................................8
2.1.4. Software Interfaces.....................................................................................................8
2.1.5. Memory Constraints...................................................................................................8
2.1.8. Site Adaptation Requirements....................................................................................8
2.2. Product Functions..............................................................................................................9
2.3. User Characteristics.........................................................................................................10
2.4 Constraints........................................................................................................................ 10
2.5 Assumptions and Dependencies.......................................................................................11
2.6 Apportioning of Requirements.........................................................................................11
3.1 External Interface Requirements......................................................................................11
3.1.1 USER INTERFACE........................................................................................................11
3.1.2 Hardware Interfaces..................................................................................................11
3.1.3 Software Interfaces....................................................................................................11

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 3.1.4 Communication Interfaces.........................................................................................11
3.2 Functional Requirements..................................................................................................11
3.2.1 Administrative Features.............................................................................................12
3.2.1.1 Obtaining User Accounts - All..............................................................................12
3.2.1.2 Creating User Accounts - Admin.........................................................................12
3.2.1.3 Disabling Accounts - Admin.................................................................................12
3.2.1.4 Resetting Passwords and Editing Roles - Admin..................................................12
3.2.1.5 Deleting Users - Admin........................................................................................12
3.2.1.6 Logging In - All.....................................................................................................12
3.2.1.7 Editing Account Information - All........................................................................12
3.2.1.8 Concurrent Logins...............................................................................................13
3.2.2 Course Creation, Modi_cation and Deletion..............................................................13
3.2.2.1 Course Creation - Instructor................................................................................13
3.2.2.2 Displaying Enabled Courses - Instructor, Student...............................................13
3.2.2.3 Modifying Course Details - Instructor.................................................................13
3.2.3 Course Registration and Adjustment.........................................................................13
3.2.3.1 Registering for a Course - Student......................................................................13
3.2.3.2 Dropping a Course - Student...............................................................................13
3.2.4 Lectures...................................................................................................................... 14
3.2.4.1 Uploading Lectures - Instructor...........................................................................14
3.4.2 Viewing Lectures - Student....................................................................................14
3.2.5 Quizzing......................................................................................................................14
3.2.5.1 Setting a Quiz - Instructor....................................................................................14
3.2.5.2 Modifying and Deleting a Quiz - Instructor.........................................................14
3.2.5.3 Taking a Quiz - Student.......................................................................................14
3.2.5.4 Retaking a quiz - Student....................................................................................14
3.3 DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATIONS CONSTRAINTS.............................................................15

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3.4 Software System Attributes..............................................................................................15
Security...........................................................................................................................15
Maintainability................................................................................................................15
Portability........................................................................................................................ 15
3.5 ANALYSIS TOOLS...............................................................................................................15
3.5.1 DFD............................................................................................................................. 15
3.5.2 ER DIAGRAM..............................................................................................................19
3.5.3 DECISION TREE........................................................................................................20
3.5.4 DECISION TABLE.........................................................................................................21
3.5.5 STRUCTURED ENGLISH...............................................................................................21
4. OTHER NON FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS........................................................................22
4.1 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS...................................................................................22
4.2 SAFETY REQUIREMENTS................................................................................................22
4.3 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS............................................................................................22
4.4 SOFTWARE QUALITY REQUIREMENTS...........................................................................22
5. CONCLUSION & REFERENCES..............................................................................................22

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1 Introduction
Just as the term virtual means a simulation of the real thing, Virtual Classroom is a simulated
classroom via Internet, which provides a convenient communication environment for
distance learners just like traditional face-to-face classroom. A virtual classroom allows
learners to attend a class from anywhere in the world and aims to provides a learning
experience that is similar to a real classroom. When we go to college we have a schedule of
lectures, which we must attend. Student must arrive on time, and when he enters the
classroom, he finds a teacher, fellow learners, a blackboard or whiteboard, LCD projector,
optionally a television screen with videos. Likewise, a Virtual Classroom is a scheduled,
online, teacher-led training session where teachers and learners interact together using
computers linked to a network such as the Internet. A virtual classroom enables to bring
learners from around the world together online in highly interactive virtual classes while
greatly reducing the travel, time, and expense of on-site teaching/training programs. It can
be used as a solution for live delivery and interaction that addresses the entire process of
creating and managing our teaching-learning process. It facilitates instructor and student in
teaching-learning events, such as a seminar, online discussion or a live training for
employees in company. As in traditional classroom, there are professor and fellow learners
present with the student; we have many participants present in virtual classroom. They can
talk with each other as in the traditional classroom via chat. Similarly presenter uses
whiteboard, gives notes/resources, gives presentation as given in traditional one.
Thus, virtual classroom can be visualized as a classroom where a lecture or session is
conducted using Internet. Now, that we have some idea about virtual classroom, we will
discuss some advantages that virtual classroom offers over traditional classroom.

1.1 PURPOSE
Virtual Classroom aims to replace the role of a school and teachers by providing students a
virtual environment which makes it easy for them to study. This not only provides students
the convenience of studying at any time they wish, but also facilitates distance learning. It
enables a school to cater to students from all across the globe without requiring them to
come to the country where the school is located. Even if applied only within a particular
region for security reasons, it would still save time, costs and energy. Decreased road

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congestion and pollution would be positive consequences of its application since millions of
students every day would not be travelling to and from school.
Virtual Classroom does more than providing students an alternative to attending school. It
takes education to a whole new level where education is a continuous process. It enables
students to attend the school of their choice without worrying about travelling or even
boarding. A student from India can study from Houston University without having to travel
there. Students from China, Australia and Italy can all be members of the same class even
while sitting in their own homes.

1.2 INTENDED AUDIENCE AND EVOLUTION OF DOCUMENT

This document is meant for professors, students and developers who consider virtual
classroom as a useful means for distance education. This document aims at explaining in an
easy manner, the basic idea behind eShiksha++. It aims to introduce to professors and
students and also general users (For e.g. People working in a company) the main features of
eShiksha++ and how the developers aim to achieve their goals. Future development
objectives are also discussed.

1.3 SCOPE OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

iLearn is a virtual classroom based on java. It is being made in response to a growing
demand for eLearning softwares. This can be used as a stand-alone model for education in a
school or can be used to supplement the existing system of a school.
Either ways, it will be accessible to all students of an institution and they can use it to view
tutorials or submit assignments/tests.

1.4 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS

iLearn: Refers to the Virtual Classroom project being developed.
User: Any user (Student, Faculty or Administrator)
LAN: Local Area Network
RAM: Random Access Memory

1.5 References
(a) ‘A Practitioner's Guide to Software Test Design’ by Lee Copeland, Artech House, 2004.
(b) ‘Software Engineering’ by K.K. Aggarwal & Yogesh Singh, New Age Publishing House,

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 2nd Ed.
(c) IEEE Recommended Practice for Software Requirements Specifications – IEEE Std 830-
1998.
(d) IEEE Standard for Software Test Documentation – IEEE Std. 829-1998.

1.6. Overview
The rest of the SRS document describes various system requirements, interfaces, features
and functionalities in detail.

Overall Description
Our e-Learning environment has been divided into two phases
1. Phase I - Online Streaming Mode: Here we intend to support a mode of operation which
will allow students to view lectures on demand from a streaming server. There is no live
class room since the lecture has been recorded earlier. However the elements of taking a
course will be supported. The focus of the phase is integration of video streaming client
along with the other elements of a eLearning environment such as registration for a course,
quizzing etc.
2. Phase II - Live Streaming Mode: In this phase we expect to be streaming a lecture live as
it is being delivered by the instructor backed by a live interaction capability that allows
students to raise and answer questions and recognize and interact with other students in
the virtual classroom.

2.1. Product Perspective

The proposed system shall be developed using client/server architecture and be compatible
with Microsoft Windows Operating System. The front end of the system will be developed
using Java and backend will be developed using Oracle.

Front End Client Backend

Application (with data database
entry/update/delete/
view and reporting
facility)

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2.1.1. System Interfaces
None.

2.1.2. User Interfaces

The iLearn will have following user-friendly and menu driven interfaces
a) Login: to allow the entry of only authorized users through valid login Id and password.
b) Programme Details: to maintain programme details.
c) Student Details: to maintain student’s details that will include personal information and
classes he is willing to attend.
d) Faculty Details: to maintain the faculty details.
e) Classes Details: to maintain classes details of a course.
f) Attendance Details: to maintain attendance details of a student.

2.1.3. Hardware Interfaces

a) Screen resolution of at least 640 x 480 or above.
b) Support for printer (dot matrix, DeskJet, LaserJet)
c) Computer systems will be in the networked environment as it is a multi-user system

2.1.4. Software Interfaces

a) MS-Windows Operating System.
b) MyEclipse blue version 8.5 for designing front-end using J2ee.
c) Oracle for backend.

2.1.5. Memory Constraints

At least 512 MB RAM and 500 MB space of hard disk will be required to run the software.

2.1.8. Site Adaptation Requirements

The terminal at client site will have to support the hardware and software interfaces
specified in the section 2.1.3 and 2.1.4 respectively.

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2.2. Product Functions
There are different classes of users of virtual classroom based on the roles that they play.
When presenter enters in virtual classroom, he hasdifferent work to do than participant.
Depending on the user type, virtual classroom takes different form for each user. These
forms can be categorized depending on the user's role. These roles are as follows:
Presenter (or Administrator)
Participant

Facilities provided by presenter interface to Faculty:

Register new users
Presenter as an administrator has to register new users that will be attending the session.
Create a session
Presenter has to decide the session time, users that will be invited for the session. While
creating a session, he can specify the time and users of the particular session.
Cancel a user registration
If any registered user does not want to attend the session, presenter cancels his registration.
Conduct Online presentation
As a presenter, he conducts the session for participants. During presentation he performs
various activities in the classroom. He can load the presentation slide that will be displayed
to participants.
Share Resources
Presenter can add various resources to the session. It may be a file or just a simple web page
link that participant can download at their end.
Conduct Poll
He can create a poll for participants. Also he can chat with participants.
Explain concepts using Whiteboard
He can use whiteboard to explain some of the topic, which may not be able to explain via
presentations, or to solve any particular doubt asked by the participant.

Facilities provided by participant interface to students:

View online presentation

When a participant joins the session, they can view the presentation, which are conducted
by the presenter in the virtual classroom. The presentation may include the PowerPoint
presentation slides or it may also include the snap of the whiteboard on which the
presenter can explain the concepts to the participants.
Public/Private Chat

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The participants can have a conversation with the fellow participants publicly or privately via
the chat feature available in the interface, the chat allows the participant to send the instant
messages to the participants who are also attending the session. Participants can
also send private messages to any of the participant but he is not allowed to send private
messages to the presenter but can do so by using the hands up facility, which is explained
next.
Raise Hands
Whenever any participant will have any doubt, then he can tell that to presenter by using
the hands up facility available in the user interface of the participant, using this feature the
participant can interact with the presenter via the private chat.
Give Response to the polls
The participants can answer the polls that are submitted by the presenter by using the
“Submit Response” facility provided in the interface. The poll can be of type objective or it
may be of Yes/No type. It the particular poll is public then participants can see response for
that particular poll, else it will be kept hidden from the participant. The Only presenter is
able to see the response for private poll.

Download Resources
The resources that are been shared by the presenter can be downloaded by the participants
at their machine. The resources can be the files which may include course material, e-book’s
etc, or it may be also web links which presenter may want the participants should refer.

2.3. User Characteristics

• Qualification: Must be comfortable with English.
• Experience: Should be well versed/informed about the registration process of the website.
• Technical Experience: Elementary knowledge of computers

2.4 Constraints
• There will only be one administrator.
• The delete operation is available only to the administrator. To reduce the complexity of the
system, there is no check on delete operation. Hence, administrator should be very careful
before deletion of any record and he/she will be responsible for data consistency.

2.5 Assumptions and Dependencies

• The login Id and password must be created by system administrator and communicated to
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 the concerned user confidentially to avoid unauthorized access to the system.
• Registration process will be open for specific courses only for specific duration.
 The product relies on a high-speed internet connection on part of the student. A high

bandwidth is required for streaming videos.

2.6 Apportioning of Requirements

Not Required

3.1 External Interface Requirements

3.1.1 USER INTERFACE
The user interface is similar to a web page with links to various sections. A user can browse
through the software like a normal web page.

3.1.2 Hardware Interfaces

As stated in Section 2.1.3

3.1.3 Software Interfaces

As stated in Section 2.1.4

3.1.4 Communication Interfaces

iLearn uses HTTP for content transfer. The efficacy is significantly affected by available
bandwidth and data transfer rates as a higher bandwidth allows smaller time lags. Current
implementation ignores encryption issues as teachers/students are unlikely to require a
secure environment.

3.2 Functional Requirements

The set of features has been categorized based on the entity that the feature deals with -
courses, quizzes etc. Every requirement is a numbered subsection that has as part of the sub
section heading, the role needed to use this feature.

3.2.1 Administrative Features

The system will come with a default administrator account whose password can be set on
installation.

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3.2.1.1 Obtaining User Accounts - All
Potential users will be able to request for and obtain \user accounts" on the system. A valid
email account is a prerequisite to obtain an account. A request for the user account will be
registered and be available to the administrator for processing when he logs on. Any user
with an administrator role can handle user account requests.
3.2.1.2 Creating User Accounts - Admin
Administrators will be allowed to create users and assign one or more roles. A request to
create a user needs to be available only if there are requests pending. The creation of a user
should close the pending request for creation. The creation will result in the user login and
password to be emailed to the user at the mentioned users email account.
3.2.1.3 Disabling Accounts - Admin
Administrators can disable users. A account that is disabled will prevent the login from
working till it is re-enabled by the administrator. Disabling and enabling accounts shall send
the user a email to the preferred address informing them of the same. The email should
contain a reason for disabling that is supplied by the administrator when disabling the
account.
3.2.1.4 Resetting Passwords and Editing Roles - Admin
Administrators can edit user details and change the password of the user. They can also
remove or add roles to the account. Any change made should result in an email being sent
to the user.
3.2.1.5 Deleting Users - Admin
Administrators can remove users entirely from the system provided the user has NOT
registered for or taken completed any course previously.
3.2.1.6 Logging In - All
The system will allow users to login with a password if they already possess a valid account
on the system. An invalid password will signal an error. The system will protect password
and other user information and ensure that it will not be viewable by others except the
administrator.
3.2.1.7 Editing Account Information - All
Users can edit information themselves and change the password once logged in. Any change
saved in the system will be confirmed via an email sent to the users email account.
3.2.1.8 Concurrent Logins
The system will preclude concurrent logins with the same login name.

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3.2.2 Course Creation, Modification and Deletion
3.2.2.1 Course Creation - Instructor
Instructors can set up new courses in the system. A course consists of a name given by the
instructor, a code assigned by the system that is dependent on the department that the
instructor is associated with, a syllabus and a grading policy section that specifies the
number of quizzes and assignments that form part of the course evaluation and a set of
prerequisite courses (if any). There is also an explicitly identified cutof point (say a lecture
number) beyond which the student cannot drop the course. A course can also be explicitly
disabled for registration. Creating the course initially enables or open it for registration.
Courses are composed of a set of lectures, quizzes and assignments.
3.2.2.2 Displaying Enabled Courses - Instructor, Student
The system will display list of courses offered (both enabled for registration and disabled) /
registered for if the user has logged in as a instructor or student respectively. The system will
display the details of a course to the user, when he clicks on a specific course. Details
specified to the instructor include the list of current registrants for the course.
3.2.2.3 Modifying Course Details - Instructor
If authorized, the user can modify details of the course or delete the course from the
system. In case there have been any registrations for the course even if complete, a course
can merely be disabled for registration but NOT deleted from the system.

3.2.3 Course Registration and Adjustment

3.2.3.1 Registering for a Course - Student
A student is allowed to register for a course that is open for registration. This is done by
browsing the list of courses available for registration for which the student satisfies the
prerequisites. A course can be selected from this list and registered for. A successful
registration results in an email being sent to the student who can then begin viewing
lectures.
3.2.3.2 Dropping a Course - Student
As long as the student has not passed the adjustment point, he can drop the course from the
list of registered courses. The system does not need to maintain a history of add/drop
activities.

3.2.4 Lectures
3.2.4.1 Uploading Lectures - Instructor
The instructor for the course can upload lectures for a given course. At the time of upload,
an ordering must be specified by the instructor which says what lectures, assignments and

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quizzes comes before this lecture can be viewed. This ordering can be modified provided a
student having already viewed this lecture will not violate the changed ordering.
3.4.2 Viewing Lectures - Student
Students can view the set of lectures associated with the course including the status of each
one (viewed or not). They can then choose to view any lecture that is available for viewing
based on their progress in the course. The lecture would then be streamed to the student.
For optimization purposes, the lecture media files may be downloadable onto the client's
desktop with the appropriate protections that will prevent unauthorized viewing or
distribution of the lecture material.

3.2.5 Quizzing
3.2.5.1 Setting a Quiz - Instructor
The system will enable a instructor to set a quiz, along with specifying quiz parameters like
type of quiz, duration, total marks, prerequisites for taking the quiz and number of attempts
allowed. There is also an ordering imposed on quizzes relative to other quizzes, lectures and
assignments. A quiz is a set of multiple choice questions. Setting a quiz would imply the
instructor also needs to indicate the correct choice for automated evaluation.
3.2.5.2 Modifying and Deleting a Quiz - Instructor
The system will enable instructor to modify or delete any quiz for a course that he is
offering,
provided no student has attempted the quiz by then.
3.2.5.3 Taking a Quiz - Student
The system will enable a student to take a quiz, if he satisfies all the prerequisites for the
quiz. The list of quizzes that he is enabled to take for a particular course will appear on the
client display from which a quiz can be selected for answering. The system will evaluate
responses to the quiz questions online. The system will display results at the end of the quiz,
along with correct answers, for all the answers marked incorrect.
3.2.5.4 Retaking a quiz - Student
The system will allow a student to reappear for a quiz, in case the connection is lost when
the quiz is in progress.

3.3 DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATIONS CONSTRAINTS

Though schools would prefer it, the current development environment makes it difficult for
us to prevent unauthorized download and distribution of files by students.
To ensure that students do not cheat on tests, it could be possible to use webcam
technology to ensure that no one else is in the room with the student. A biometric scan
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should be done to verify the identity of the student. However, current levels of
sophistication of webcam technologies and biometric scans restrict us from implementing
these features in iLearn 1.0.

3.4 Software System Attributes

Security
The application will be password protected. Users will have to enter correct login Id, and
password to access the application.
Maintainability
The application will be designed in a maintainable manner. It will be easy to incorporate
new requirements in the individual modules.
Portability
The application will be easily portable on any windows-based system that has SQL Server
installed.

3.5 ANALYSIS TOOLS

3.5.1 DFD

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3.5.2 ER DIAGRAM

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3.5.3 DECISION TREE

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3.5.4 DECISION TABLE

3.5.5 STRUCTURED ENGLISH

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4. OTHER NON FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
4.1 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS
Performance of the product depends solely on the bandwidth. Hardware requirements of
the machine are minimal and the product can run even on most antiquated systems.

4.2 SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

Not Applicable.

4.3 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

Low level encryption can be used on the servers to prevent hacking. High level of security is
not required except on the server that contains the student database. However, the server
which stores reading materials should have enough security to prevent unauthorized
modifications.

4.4 SOFTWARE QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

Bugs in the product would prevent efficient learning by users. The software should undergo
rigorous testing to ensure it is free from bugs and does not crash, especially at the time
when a student is doing a test.

5. CONCLUSION & REFERENCES

This SRS gives an overview of the iLearn product and its advantages over the existing system.
Using this document and the analysis diagrams provided in it we can start development of
the software and create a prototype for testing.

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