CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Digital Design is one of the major components of education,

particularly, in the computer science programs. The study of Digital

Design is intended to provide an understanding of the basic concepts

and design of combinational and sequential circuits.

After completing the course, the students are expected to

develop the ability to read and analyze simple logic diagrams, design

simple combinational circuits, use techniques for designing digital

systems, and introduce basic building blocks of more complex

systems. Also, the students are expected to be able to comprehend the

concepts of computer architecture and organization considered as a

very important course in computer science program.

The traditional approach in teaching and learning Digital Design

is through board works, homework, practice problems, and lectures.

The study of Digital Design requires the students to have a practical

understanding through laboratory experiments. But to provide an

actual logic laboratory involves a very high investment. Without

laboratory experiments, students experienced difficulties in

understanding the basic concepts, which results to the difficulty of the

students to develop the skill in analyzing and designing even the

simplest combinational circuit. Other problems that affect the learning

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process of the students include the following: learners had different

knowledge levels; there are delays in classes due to school activities;

teachers attending meetings or seminars; and teachers do not have

the luxury of time to review the lessons where students find difficult to

comprehend due to time constraints.

In line with this, the researcher was challenged and had

conducted a study on the development of a web-based learning tool

for education system entitled “Computer-Aided Instruction in Digital

Design (CAI-DD)” that is easy to learn and use for the College of

Information and Communications Technology (CICT) at West Negros

University (WNU), Bacolod City.

CAI in Digital Design would facilitate the teaching and learning of

the course. The software was developed to assist the students in their

learning process and provide them an instructional material that can

be accessed and retrieved anytime at any location over the Internet.

The CAI-DD software was designed as a web-based learning tool

equipped with multimedia illustrations for easy and faster delivery of

information. The software includes important features such as log-

in/log-out services, online tutorials, multimedia illustrations, lesson

drills, information services, test evaluations, electronic glossary of

terms, online help and Q & A services.

The CAI-DD software offers several benefits, such as: differing

knowledge of learners are addressed by self-pacing, which gives the

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learners to bypassed mastered lessons; monitoring of learner progress

through pre-test and post-test integrated in every lesson; maintains

record of student performance; immediate feedback on test results;

increases retention, which is significant in the improvement of the

students learning rate; and provides a remedial instruction that is easy

to learn and use.

Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to develop a web-based learning tool, CAI in

Digital Design, that is easy to learn and use for CICT students.

Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the level of difficulty encountered by the

students in learning Digital Design using the traditional method when

taken all together and grouped according to degree program?

2. What is the extent of need as perceived by the

respondents in the development of CAI in Digital Design?

3. What are the features that should be included in the

development of a web-based CAI in Digital Design?

Operational Framework

The researcher had established an operational framework that

would serve as a guide for the formulation of the research problems,

gathering of data, interpretation of data, and probable decisions and

recommendations that would lead to the development of a web-based

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CAI in Digital Design. The schematic diagram in Figure 1 illustrates the

operational framework of the present study.

Figure 1

The Schematic Diagram of Operational Framework

CICT Third Year Students In Degree Programs

BSCS BSIT

Level of Difficulty in Extent of Need

Learning Digital In the Important
Design using the Development of Features
Traditional Method CAI-DD

COMPUTER-AIDED INSTRUCTION IN DIGITAL DESIGN

(CAI-DD)

IMPORTANT FEATURES DELIVERY OF INFORMATION

• Log-in/Log-out Services • Drill Exercises

• Online Tutorial • Test Questionnaire

o Multimedia Illustrations
o Lesson Drill
• Pre-Test and Post-Test
o Electronic Glossary of
Test Results
Terms

• Test Evaluation • Student’s Progress Report

o Pre-Test
o Post-Test

• Information Services
o Q & A Services
o Information Board
o Online Help

• Database Maintenance
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Easy to Learn and Use Web-Based Learning Tool

in Digital Design

The schematic diagram has shown that the researcher had

selected the third year CICT students who were officially enrolled in

Digital Design. The respondents were grouped according to degree

program such as: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) and

Bachelor Science in Information Technology (BSIT).

The researcher had conducted survey from the respondents to

determine their perceptions on the level of difficulty they had

encountered in learning the Digital Design using the traditional method

of instruction, extent of need in the development of CAI, and important

features that should be included in the development of CAI.

The data had been gathered and presented in tabular form by

grouping according to degree programs, and grouping the results

together. Then the data were subjected to statistical analysis and

interpretation. Each findings of the study had been carefully analyzed

and interpreted in order to draw relevant implications and conclusions

that would lead to the development of the CAI-DD software that is easy

to learn and use.

After the software development phase of the CAI system, the

developed software had been evaluated based on the criteria set-forth

by the evaluation committee. System testing had been conducted to a

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limited number of CICT students to further assess the usability of the

CAI system.

Significance of the Study

This study is beneficial to the following:

School Administrators. The study will provide important

information that would lead and guide the administrators in finding

ways and means to improve and enhance the instructional material in

the curriculum.

College Deans. The results of this study will satisfy the

requirement of the Deans in the integration of Computer-Aided

Instruction as a supplementary learning tool in Digital Design.

Teachers. Through this study, the teachers will be equipped

with a teaching and learning tool that will be used in delivering the

lessons using multimedia illustrations. The CAI system will minimize

the workload of the teachers in giving illustrations, and allows more

flexibility in the classroom by adapting exercises and drills.

Students. The students will be provided with an excellent easy

to learn and use web-based tool that will help improve their

knowledge, analytical and design skills in learning Digital Design.

Researcher. This study will give the researcher the opportunity

to further develop her skills in web design and system development.

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This study will also improve the research and thesis writing skills of the

researcher.

Future Researchers. The result of this study will encourage

other researchers to conduct further studies in Digital Design

and may

motivate other researchers to develop CAI software for other subjects.

Scope of the Study

The study focused on the development of Computer-Aided

Instruction in Digital Design for CICT students of WNU, Bacolod City. It

covers selected topics of the course, which were taken from the course

outline of the school, specifically: Number System; Boolean Algebra;

Basic Logic Gates; Simplification of Logic Circuits; Combinational

Circuits; and Sequential Circuits.

The survey of the study was limited to the CICT – WNU third year

students who have taken the course Digital Design during the school

year 2008-2009.

The CAI system shall be installed in the CICT server at WNU and

shall be limited to the WNU students and teachers to access the

system. The database maintenance focused on adding, editing, and

deleting teachers and students account; maintaining and managing

table entries of student progress report and user’s log; and monitoring

of user’s activities in the system. Modifications of the lessons and its

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related media in the system shall be done by the teachers upon

approval of the course coordinator.

The Online Tutorial and other features can be retrieved by

students over the Internet. The pre-test and post-test shall only be

accessed by the students through the WNU Intranet and shall be

administered in the presence of the teacher in the CICT Laboratory

which will be set by the teacher as default before the actual

administration of pre-test and post-test so that students could access

the test questions. Teachers can add, edit, and delete test questions

online.

The features of the system were focused on log-in/log-out

services, online tutorials, multimedia illustrations, lesson drills, test

evaluations, information services, Q & A services and help assistant.

Definition of Terms

In order to give clear understanding of this study, the following

terms are defined as:

Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI). This refers to the web-

based learning tool in Digital Design for CICT teachers and students

that will facilitate the teaching and learning of the course. The system

is interactive and can illustrate a concept through text, images, videos,

and simulations intended for easy and faster delivery of information.

Database Maintenance. This term refers to one of the

features of the system wherein the system administrator can update

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users’ records, manage data and transaction log files, and backup the

system.

Degree Program. The term refers to the academic program of

CICT such as Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) and

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS).

Digital Design. This refers to one of the courses offered in CICT

that covers the design of digital electronic circuits. Digital circuits are

employed in the design and construction of systems such as digital

computers, data communication, digital recording, and many other

applications that require digital hardware. The term is also known as

Logic Design, Digital Logic Design and Digital Electronic Circuits.

(Mano, 2002)

Drill Exercises. This term refers to the interactive self-test

found on each lesson where the user will be able to practice and learn

the concepts with repetition. An immediate feedback on the results

will be displayed and will advise the user whether to proceed to the

next lesson or repeat the lesson.

Extent of Need. This term refers to the span of need the

respondents perceived as necessity in pursuing the development of

the web-based CAI-DD for CICT students.

Information Services. This feature includes the following: Q &

A Services will allow the user to submit their questions, queries, and

other matters related to the course that will guide the user or the
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learner in their learning process; Information Board will allow the user

to post announcements, reminders, and class activities; and Online

Help will serve as the help assistant that guides the learner on how to

use the CAI-DD.

Level of Difficulty. The term refers to the degree of

complexity as perceived by the respondents in learning Digital Design

using the traditional method of instruction.

Log-in/Log-out Services. This term refers to one of the

important features of CAI-DD that will allow the user to enter a

username and password in order to access their user account in the

system. This feature will secure test results and student progress

reports from alteration or loss.

Online Tutorial. This feature of the system will present new

lessons using the following: multimedia illustrations, this refers to the

content of the tutorial that combines text, still images, video,

simulations, and interactive models that are intended for easy and

faster delivery of information; lesson drill, this refers to a series of

practice drill in every concept presented where demonstrations and

interactive illustrations are accessible for students, and this will allow

the students to take as much time as they need or repeat the lessons

until they are ready to take the post-test at the end of each lesson; and

electronic glossary of terms, this refers to the library of terms used in

digital circuits.
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Pre-Test and Post-Test Results. These results refer to the

students’ pre-test and post-test results, which are presented in tabular

and chart format to make it easy for the users to see comparisons in

their scores.

Student Progress Report. This refers to the summary of pre-

test and post-test results of the students used by the teachers in

monitoring the learning progress of the students.

Test Evaluation. This refers to one of the important features of

the system that will monitor the learning progress of the user

through pre-test

and post-test integrated in every lesson.

Test Questionnaire. This refers to the Pre-Test and Post-Test

test items in multiple choice created by the Teachers for the student to

answer before starting with a lesson and after the lesson.