Development and Role of Electronic Library in Information Technology Teaching in Bulgarian Schools*

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1 (IJACSA) Internatinal Jurnal f Advanced Cmputer Science and Applicatins, Vl. 6, N. 3, 2015 Develpment and Rle f Electrnic Library in Infrmatin Technlgy Teaching in Bulgarian Schls* Tsvetanka Gergieva-Trifnva Department f Mathematics and Infrmatics University f Velik Tarnv Velik Tarnv, Bulgaria Gabriela Chtva Prfessinal Schl f Electrical and Electrnics Grna Oryahvitsa Bulgaria Abstract The electrnic library can be cnsidered as an interactive infrmatin space. Its creatin substantially supprts the cmmunicatin between the teachers and the student, as well as between the teachers and the parents. The enlargement f infrmatin space allws imprving the efficiency and the quality f teaching, assigning mre prjects fr realizatin. The main purpse f this paper is t examine the rle f the electrnic library in teaching f infrmatin technlgies in Bulgarian schls fr prviding mre time fr applying the learned material in rder t increase the effectiveness f the educatinal prcess. We summarize and represent the advantages and disadvantages f the use f digital libraries in teaching infrmatin technlgies tgether with the main features f a develped electrnic library fr teaching and educatinal subsidiary materials. Keywrds electrnic library; infrmatin technlgy teaching; multimedia infrmatin system I. INTRODUCTION In recent years, there is in particular a lt f talk abut hw interactive teaching methds f the educatin help t students' mtivatin. Tday students, and nt nly them, are in direct access t digital technlgies in every aspect f their lives. It is clear that this has a huge impact n the persnality f the student, his r her behavir and way f thinking. As t the educatinal system, develping f the new technlgies passes with a speed higher than "escaping f the students frm the lessns" and prvide many mre pprtunities at the same time many mre challenges t the abilities f the teachers. The mdern innvative pedaggical technlgies implement new training mdel based n cmplex infrmatin interactins between teachers, students and the means f infrmatin and cmmunicatin technlgies. Electrnic technlgies are implicated thrughut the learning prcess during the preparatin and presentatin f sme infrmatin. The teacher remains t be a leading figure in structuring and preparing f the educatinal cntent. The main purpse f this paper is t examine the rle f the electrnic library in teaching infrmatin technlgies in rder t prvide mre time fr the implementatin f the material being learnt, and t increase the effectiveness f the educatinal prcess. In the fllwing sectins, the advantages and disadvantages f the use f digital libraries in teaching infrmatin technlgies are summarized and there are presented the main features f develped electrnic library fr teaching and educatinal subsidiary materials. II. THE ROLE OF ELECTRONIC LIBRARY IN TEACHING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES This study is mtivated by bservatins and experience f ne f the authrs as a teacher f infrmatics, infrmatin technlgies and vcatinal subjects in secndary schl. These items are under specialty "System Prgramming", prfessin "Prgrammer". The authrs f this paper ntice sme certain characteristics, related t schl wrk and summarize them as fllws: T many hurs are set aside t receive theretical knwledge than fr their cnslidatin with the help f their practical applicatin; Lessns fr acquiring practical skills are much less cmpared t thse fr btaining f theretical knwledge; As a result, the teacher is nt always able t ensure cnsideratin f all prblems f a tpic r a task. These cnclusins are the main mtivatin fr the develpment f a web-based multimedia infrmatin system, which shuld serve as an electrnic library fr teaching and educatinal subsidiary materials. The main purpse f the prpsed system is t allw input, strage, search and retrieval f the materials related t the themes f the specific subjects. In this way the students mre easily can find the relevant infrmatin f a tpic fr a particular class. They have access t the materials in class, allwing mre time fr discussin n the tpic. In parallel with the bservatin f the tpic, there can be discussed cncrete examples and t slve varius tasks. As a result, mre time fr acquisitin f the practical skills and skills fr teamwrk is prvided. The main purpse f the use f virtual envirnment fr representing the teaching materials is t supprt the traditinal frms f training. Its achievement sets the fllwing requirements, which the develpment f an electrnic library f teaching and educatinal subsidiary materials has t meet: *The research is financed by prject / , Integrated electrnic services fr the citizens and the business f St.Ciryl and St.Methdius University f Velik Turnv P a g e

2 (IJACSA) Internatinal Jurnal f Advanced Cmputer Science and Applicatins, Vl. 6, N. 3, 2015 Develping a multimedia infrmatin system that serves as an electrnic library f educatinal and educatinal subsidiary materials; The electrnic library can be seen as a kind f multimedia system fr retrieving infrmatin (multimedia infrmatin retrieval system) [1]. III. The users (students) shuld have free access t the materials, withut registratin; Prviding an access t teaching and educatinal subsidiary materials such as: Hmewrk assignments and their slutins; Example f variants f tests; Prjects develpments f students; Thesis f students; Lessns cntaining infrmatin that cmplements the mandatry educatinal cntent; Other materials. Prviding an pprtunity fr input and strage t: Title, authrs, type, descriptin (abstract), keywrds; Dcuments (.dc,.pdf), presentatins (.ppt,.pdf), images, audi, vide, databases, prgrams f the studied prgramming languages, etc. Being able t perfrm searching fr materials by: Title, authrs, type, descriptin (abstract), keywrds. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE USE OF ELECTRONIC LIBRARY IN TEACHING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES The main advantages f using an electrnic library in teaching infrmatin technlgies, which can be mentined, are: The users (students) have access t pre-prepared training material at a time, cnvenient fr them; The system allws students t use it at a time, cnvenient fr them. Mrever, the students can view and absrb the infrmatin in a manner and at a speed f their wn pace and t cmmunicate with the teacher. There is a free eligibility f training mdules; There is given a fast and easy access t materials cntaining theretical presentatin f a tpic, as well as the materials, presented practical implementatin f the issues, being bserved; The teacher has mre time fr practical training; Materials stred int the multimedia infrmatin system, help r replace part f theretical training; Multimedia infrmatin system helps t rganize and cnduct training sessins mre dynamic; There is additinal mtivatin f students fr better and mre cmpleted presentatin f their wrkings ut; It helps t increase the interest and invlvement f the students; It invlves the skills f students t wrk in a team; There is an emphasis n the activities f the students; The teacher is a mentr; Training materials, available thrugh the system, cver all subjects being taught. We have als nticed the fllwing disadvantages: It requires an access t a cmputer and Internet; A secure cnnectin is necessary; The cnnectin is n always fast enugh; It requires time and effrt t develp and maintain the electrnic library. IV. REVIEW OF EXISTING ELECTRONIC LIBRARIES FOR TEACHING AND EDUCATIONAL SUBSIDIARY MATERIALS We cnduct a research f the existing web-based systems that prvide access t teaching and educatinal subsidiary materials and are supprted by teachers in Bulgarian schls. Their ptins are briefly presented belw: Electrnic teaching materials f the Technlgical Schl "Electrnic Systems" at the Technical University, Sfia city [2]; This website is managed by teachers and ffers access t lectures and ther materials f sftware specialties in Technlgical Schl "Electrnic Systems". The prpsed materials are designed t help t train students in subjects: Mdular Java (Java and OSGI); Object-riented prgramming (C ++); Pythn/Intrductin t Prgramming; Sftware; Rbtics; Database management system; Prgramming technlgy; Operating systems; Internet prgramming, etc. There are given assignments fr thesis and requirements t them. There is nt access available t develpments f the students assignments r thesis. This site is managed by Wrdpress. Electrnic library f the High Schl "Raych Karlev", Gabrv twn [3]; The electrnic library cntains electrnic tutrials, presentatins and training prjects cncerning subjects f natural sciences and humanities cycle, as well as thse f the initial stage f the primary educatin. The website implementatin is based n PHP, there are created separated pages fr each class, which lists tpics fr different subjects and materials fr them. Besides lessns, there are ffered tasks fr exercises, assignments fr prjects, but there is a lack f their slutins and develpments. It is impssible t carry ut any searching P a g e

3 (IJACSA) Internatinal Jurnal f Advanced Cmputer Science and Applicatins, Vl. 6, N. 3, 2015 Electrnic teaching materials f Musa Musa, a teacher f infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies at the High Schl "Priest Paisii", Kardzhali twn [4]; The website is implemented by using PHP and represents the distributin f lessns (presentatins (.ppt) and additinal materials (.rar)) n the subjects: Infrmatin Technlgies; Infrmatics; Cmputer netwrks; Phtshp; Crel Draw; Web design; C #; C ++ and thers. The access t them is free and als cntains a test system. The website des nt prvide the ability t search and des nt ffer prjects develped by the students. The authr f the website has used the fllwing sftware tls: HTML, CSS and PHP fr the test system, as well as animated gif files. Electrnic teaching materials f the High Schl "Nayden Gerv", Lm city [5]; The website cntains lessns and tasks fr C ++ and Pascal. It is created fr publishing tasks and their slutins. In rder t publish the slutins f the tasks, the students must register themselves. Slutins are visible fr everybdy after an apprval. The website prvides the ability t search, but the result is nly cncerning the tasks fr exercise. Lessns are nt included int the search. This website is managed by Wrdpress. Electrnic teaching materials f the High Schl "Dimitar Blagev", Prvadia twn [6]; The website is created t help t the students in their training in infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies. It cntains a variety f materials, divided int classes. Much f the materials except in HTML frmat are published in pdf frmat. Only after registratin the user has access t the sectins "Infrmatics - Other", "IT - Others", "Other subjects" and "Prjects f the students", as well as the ability t write cmments t sme articles. This website allws users t search by keywrds in HTML dcuments. Electrnic teaching materials n infrmatics and cmputer architectures by Dian Pechenyashki teacher f infrmatics in the High Schl f Ecnmics, Velik Tarnv twn [7]; The website is designed t assist the preparatin and selftraining f all students, studying infrmatics and cmputer architectures, in upper secndary educatin. Fr sme lessns in the "Tests" chapter, there have been develped tests n subjects. The website des nt prvide the ability t search and des nt ffer students prjects. It is implemented by means f HTML, CSS. Electrnic teaching materials, related t infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies by Diana Martynva a teacher at the Language Schl "Prf. Dr. Assen Zlatarv", Velik Tarnv twn [8]; This website cntains materials n infrmatics, infrmatin technlgies, cmputer graphics and cmputer animatin. Fr each subject, except the particular lessn, there are als exercises and tests. The website des nt prvide the ability t search and des nt ffer prjects develped by the students. It is implemented by using the platfrm alle.bg. Electrnic teaching materials n infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies by Mariana Bankva a teacher at the Prfessinal High Schl f Electrical Engineering, Varna twn [9]; The website cntains materials n infrmatics, prgramming, prgramming part I, prgramming part II, and infrmatin technlgies. T each sectin f the subject there is hmewrk. The website des nt prvide the ability t search, des nt ffer develpment f students. This website is made using a Website Builder, available frm Electrnic teaching materials n infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies by Zhivka Zhekva a teacher at the High Schl with teaching freign languages "A. S. Pushkin", Varna twn [10]. The website cntains materials n infrmatics, infrmatin technlgies and web design. The website des nt prvide the ability t search and des nt ffer students prjects. It is implemented as a static HTML page that prvides access t presentatins f lessns. After researching f the current state f the implementatin f web-based multimedia infrmatin systems fr e-learning materials and their use by students, it can be cncluded that there is an increasing f their applying in the learning prcess. The analysis shws the pssibilities fr develpment and imprvement f the existing systems, which wuld help t maximize the benefits f their applying. V. DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELECTRONIC LIBRARY FOR TEACHING AND EDUCATIONAL SUBSIDIARY MATERIALS An electrnic library fr teaching and educatinal subsidiary materials in infrmatin technlgies fr secndary schl is develped. It cntains all the cntent, taught by ne f the authr disciplines. It is available at: In Figure 1, we present UML diagram fr the specific library. The main participants are the teacher and the students. The interface prpses the fllwing functins: Free brwsing and viewing the materials by subjects; Unlimited accessing t the materials; Searching fr materials; Dwnlading the materials; Lg int the system nly allwed fr the teacher; Adding data material is carried ut nly by the teacher; Adding a file nly by the teacher; Feedback P a g e

4 (IJACSA) Internatinal Jurnal f Advanced Cmputer Science and Applicatins, Vl. 6, N. 3, 2015 Fig. 1. Interface with UML diagram We have designed and implemented a relatinal database [11, 12] in rder t stre the necessary data (materials, authrs, subjects, keywrds, categries f material, files fr viewing and dwnlading). A. Data mdeling In this sectin, the methdlgy f the designing the database ELibraryDB, string the infrmatin abut the materials, is represented. The main stages f the prcess f designing the database are [11, 13]: cnceptual designing the database creatin f the cnceptual data mdel which is cmpletely independent frm the details related t the implementatin; lgical designing the database transfrmatin f the cnceptual mdel int the lgical mdel; physical designing the database implementatin f the database with the means f a chsen database management system. 1) Cnceptual designing Fr the cnceptual design f the database ELibraryDB we utilize the entity-relatinship mdel, intrduced in [14]. The fllwing entity sets are established: Materials; This entity set pssesses tw attributes: the identifier MaterialID, the material s title Title. KeyWrds; With the entity set KeyWrds the fllwing attributes are assigned: the identifier KeyWrdID, the keywrd KeyWrd. Authrs; The attributes f this entity set are: the identifier AuthrID, the authr s name AuthrName, the authr s pst Title. Subjects; With the entity set Subjects the fllwing attributes are assigned: the identifier SubjectID, the subject s name SubjectName. MaterialCategries the categry f the material; The attributes f this entity set are: the identifier MaterialCategryID, the categry s name MaterialCategry. MaterialFiles the files fr materials; This entity set pssesses tw attributes: the identifier FileID, the file lcatin FilePath. FileCategries the categries f files fr materials; With this entity set the fllwing attributes are assigned: the identifier FileCategryID, the file categry s name (e.g. dcument, presentatin, image, audi, vide) FileCategry. Users. The attributes f this entity set are: the identifier UserID, the user s name Username, the user s passwrd Passwrd. The fllwing relatinships are defined: A_M jins entities frm the set Authrs with entities frm Materials and represents the authrs f the materials; M_K jins entities frm the set KeyWrds with entities frm Materials and describes the keywrds f the materials; M_S jins entities frm the sets Materials and Subjects and represents the subjects f the materials; M_MS jins entities frm the sets Materials and MaterialCategries and represents the categry f the materials; M_M jins entities frm the sets Materials and MaterialFiles and represents the lcatin f the materials; F_MF jins entities frm the sets FileCategries and MaterialFiles and shws the categries f the materials files; A_U jins entities frm the sets Authrs and Users and describes the user names f the materials authrs. The entity-relatinship diagram f the database ELibraryDB is shwn in Figure 2. The entity sets are depicted as the rectangles, their attributes as ellipses, the relatinships as rhmbs P a g e

5 (IJACSA) Internatinal Jurnal f Advanced Cmputer Science and Applicatins, Vl. 6, N. 3, 2015 defined t prvide the best efficiency f the mst frequently used peratins insertin, updating, data searching. B. Descriptin f the electrnic library The interface fr the end user f the multimedia infrmatin system is implemented by means f HTML, CSS, PHP and ffers the fllwing features: Searching int all text attributes title, authr s name, type, descriptin (summary) keywrds; When specifying a particular wrd (a symbl string) by the user, the fund data are visualized and displayed, by using hyperlink t all materials that meet the specified wrd. Passed string is searched as a substring in the specified text attributes, describing the material. A feedback frm is implemented; Data entry by the system administratr. Fr this purpse, a lgin frm is created. When a user enters the username and the passwrd crrectly, a new page fr input the data fr a material pens. The multimedia infrmatin system is under develpment and has a certain level f cmpletin. The future wrk includes: Fig. 2. ER diagram f the database ElibraryDB 2) Lgical designing The relatin tables btained after the transfrmatin f the entity-relatinships diagram int the relatinal mdel are presented in Figure 3. Fig. 3. Relatinal mdel f the database ElibraryDB The prpsed relatinal mdel allws a future develpment f the database creatin f new tables and/r attributes fr string additinal infrmatin. 3) Physical designing The database is implemented by means f the database management system MySQL. The structure f the database is Advanced searching t set different criteria fr different attributes, characterizing materials; Opprtunity fr nline viewing (r listening) vide (r audi) files tutrials, presentatins f wrks by students, etc. The prpsed system and all materials accessible thrugh it, are intended primarily fr students in Bulgarian secndary schls. Therefre, the interface and the materials themselves are in Bulgarian. VI. CONCLUSION The prpsed electrnic library aims t visualize the teamwrk between the students and the teacher leadership skills t be able t rganize and mtivate students. Nwadays, the teacher shuld t stimulate and mtivate [15], he r she shuld be a mentr, he r she shuld be able t rganize different games t exercises students, t get the best results ut f them. The teacher has t teach them t present their wrk and t develp their scial skills. At schl strength is that the students are all tgether, they can wrk in a team, the teacher is there t give them aguidance. The data strage fr the materials in the database prvides pprtunities fr future wrk related t the cllecting f infrmatin cncerning the cunt and ratings f dwnladed materials and their analysis by subjects, authrs, keywrds, type, etc. with means f tls fr data prcessing, analysis and mining [16]. Similar analysis culd assist t imprve the quality f the materials in a way that they have t be useful, as well as t aruse an interest. REFERENCES [1] J. C. Nrdbtten, Multimedia infrmatin retrieval systems, 2008, available at: (accessed 17 February 2015) P a g e

6 (IJACSA) Internatinal Jurnal f Advanced Cmputer Science and Applicatins, Vl. 6, N. 3, 2015 [2] Technical schl f Electrnic Systems t Technical University, Sfia, Sftware training in Technical schl f Electrnic Systems t Technical University: Lectures and ther materials n sftware specialties, , available at: (accessed 17 February 2015). [3] High Schl "Raych Karlev", Gabrv, Electrnic library, 2013, available at: (accessed 17 February 2015). [4] M. Musa, Electrnic teaching materials: Lessns and exercises n infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies, High Schl "Father Paisii", Kardzhali, 2007, available at: (accessed 17 February 2015). [5] High Schl "Nayden Gerv", Lm, Electrnic teaching materials: Tasks in Nayden Gerv, , available at: (accessed 17 February 2015). [6] High Schl "Dimitar Blagev", Prvadia, Electrnic teaching materials: Resurces n infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies, 2007, available at: (accessed 17 February 2015). [7] D. Pechenyashki, Electrnic teaching materials n infrmatics and cmputer architectures, High Schl f Ecnmics, Velik Tarnv, 2006, available at: (accessed 17 February 2015). [8] D. Martynva, Electrnic teaching materials related t infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies, Language Schl "Prf. Dr. Assen Zlatarv", Velik Tarnv, 2014, available at: (accessed 17 February 2015). [9] M. Bankva, Electrnic teaching materials n infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies, Prfessinal High Schl f Electrical Engineering, Varna, 2015, available at: (accessed 17 February 2015). [10] Z. Zhekva, Electrnic teaching materials n infrmatics and infrmatin technlgies, High Schl with teaching freign languages "A. S. Pushkin", Varna, 2005, available at: (accessed 17 February 2015). [11] H. Garcia-Mlina, J. D. Ullman, and J. Widm, Database Systems: The Cmplete Bk, Williams, [12] A. M. Langer, Analysis and Design f Infrmatin Systems, Springer, [13] T. M. Cnnlly and C. E. Begg, Database systems: a practical apprach t design, implementatin, and management, Addisn-Wesley, [14] P. Chen, The Entity-Relatinship Mdel: Tward a Unified View f Data, ACM Transactins n Database Systems, Vl.1, N.1, 1976, pp [15] N. Nenkv and I. Ibryam, Incentives and mtives fr studying Hadp, HBase, MngDB, Cassandra, NSQL in subject Databases and Applicatins f cllege specialty Infrmatics and Infrmatin Technlgies, In Prceedings f Mathematics, Cmputer Science and Cmputer infrmatin technlgies, vl. 1, University Publishing Huse K. Preslavski, 2012, pp (in Bulgarian). [16] N. Nenkv and I. Ibryam, A survey f the pen surce platfrms Rapidminer and Knstanz Infrmatin Miner (KNIME) fr data prcessing, analysis and mining, In Prceedings f Pedaggical Cllege, Dbrich, vl. 6, University Publishing Huse K. Preslavski, 2013, pp (in Bulgarian) P a g e