The internet has been a platform for individuals, groups of people and companies to interact with one another through the social media. The social media has truly aided interaction and even other business services through social networks, forums, blogs, etc. Forums are now been used as tools/platforms to create discussions, connect to people (mostly of similar interests) and as sources of relevant information. This work intends to make use of forums as tools in helping prospective university students to make the right decisions about their choice of career, choice of environment, etc.
Based on an in-depth review of some relevant literatures, some key requirements have been considered in the development of a suitable web application. This online forum will be developed for students to cater for some of their needs and solve some of the issues they face with their choice of career, their course of study, the accessibility of relevant information about any institution, etc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………………………………….. i DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………………….ii CERTIFICATION............………………………………………………………………………...iii DEDICATION................…………………………………………………………………………iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………………………….………..v
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………….................vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………vii
CHAPTER ONE
1.0INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUND INFORMATION………………………………………………….……….1
1.2STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM….…………………………………………….………...2
1.3AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.……………………….…………….………….2
1.4RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.………………………………………….…………………3
1.5SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY…………………………………………….…………….4
1.6LIMITATION OF THE STUDY……………………………………………….…………….4
1.7PROJECT ORGANIZATION…………………………….……………………….…………4
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………….……………………………...5
2.1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA CONCEPT……………………….………………5
2.1.1 History of the Social Media……………………………………………………………….5 2.1.2 What is an Online Forum? ……………………………………………………………….7
2.1.3 Structure of an Online Forum…………………………………………...………………..8
2.1.4 Features of an Online Forum….………………………………….………………………10
2.1.5 Applications of Online Forums………………………….……………………….……….12
2.2 REVIEW OF EXISTING SYSTEMS…………………………………………………….…13
2.2.1 The Student Room………………………….……………………………………………..13
2.2.2 Google Groups……………….……………….…………………………………………..14 CHAPTER THREE………………………….…………………………………………………..16 REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN…………………..……………………………16
3.1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………..…..…..……16
3.1.1 Proposed System…..……………………………………………………………………..16
3.2 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND ANALYSIS………………………………………….17
3.2.1 Software Architecture of Student Hub……..…………………….………………..…….17
3.2.2 System Analysis………………………..….………………………………………...…..18
3.2.3 System Requirements….……………….…………………………………………..…...19
3.3 SYSTEM DESIGN…………………………………………………………………………21
3.3.1 Object Oriented Analysis and Design………………….………………………..……...21
3.3.2 Unified Modeling Language (UML)……………….…………………………………..22
3.3.3 Use Case Diagram………………………………………………………….…….…….22
3.3.4 Sequence Diagram….…………………………………….………………………..…...29
3.3.5 Activity Diagram……………………………….……………………………….……...30
3.4THE USER INTERFACE DESIGNS……………………………………………………...32
3.4.1 The Student Hub Home Page……………………………….………………………….32
3.4.2 The Guest User Registration Interface……………………….……………..…….…...32
3.4.3 The Login Page Interface……………………………………….……………….…….33
3.5 DATABASE DESIGN………….………………………………………………………..34
3.5.1 Description of Tables…..…………..….…………………………………….…………34 CHAPTER FOUR……………………………………………………………………………..35 SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION……………………………………………………………...36
4.1 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….……..36
4.1.1 Platforms and Tools Used for Implementation...……………………………….….…..36
4.2 THE DIFFERENT FORUM USER INTERFACES…………………………….………..37
4.2.1 The Guest Student’s Post Page…...……………………………………………………37
4.2.2 The Guest Student’s ‘My Posts’ Page…...…………………………………………….37
4.2.3 The Student’s ‘View Posts’ Page……………………………………………………...38
4.2.4 The Moderator’s Add News Page…...………………………………………………...39
4.2.5 The Administrator’s Delete Accounts Page…...……………….……………………...40
4.3SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS………………………………………………………..……40
4.4THE HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS………………………………………………….41
CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION………………………….…...42
5.1SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………….………42
5.2RECOMMENDATIONS AND FURTHER WORKS……………………………..……..42
5.3CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………….………..43
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………..44 APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………………………49