Organizing Practicum Scheme of Mabalacat City College
through On-the-Job Training Monitoring and Assessment
System
Renato Dan A. Pablo II
Mabalacat City College
Dolores, Mabalacat City
+63 925 358 6685
redan.pablo@mccojt.com
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the study was to organize the practicum of the on -
the - job training students by designing and developing an online
monitoring and assessment system for the Institute of Computing
Studies of Mabalacat City College that addressed the problems
met by the stakeholders and complied with the CHED
requirements in the OJT programs. Interviews, surveys, and
observations were conducted to find the basic requirements of the
system. Prototyping model was used in the development of the
system that allowed the user to have a real feel of the system
before the real development. The system was implemented at the
locale through a web-hosting service. Eighty respondents were
identified to evaluate the system through purposive sampling
technique. The respondents were selected using the standard
quota sampling. The evaluation of the system was based on the
ISO-9126 Quality Model and was interpreted using the likert
scale. The system's validity was tested using the W3C Validation
Services and passed the international standards on HTML markup
and CSS markup. The system also contained no broken links
based on the test conducted using the W3C Link Validation
testing. The system received an overall rating of "Very Good" by
the respondents.
Categories and Subject Descriptors
H.1.1 [Systems and Information Theory]
General Terms
Documentation, Management
Keywords
OJT, Practicum, Training Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment,
Prototyping
1. INTRODUCTION
On – the – job training or simply OJT program is integral in any
academic programs. OJT program aims to develop the skills of the
students in their respective fields before they graduate from
college and one method by which students were given chance to
apply the theories and computations that they have learned from
the school and it also helps the students to acquire relevant
knowledge and skills by performing in a real work setting. An
article from the JobsOpenings.ph (2009) states that on-the-job
trainings are part of a college curriculum that aims to train and
orient students about their future careers. OJT is very important
not only to teach the students their chosen career but to show
students the reality about working through internships.
Internships also known as on-the-job trainings (OJTs) are
alternative to classroom training. Classroom trainings are not
flexible enough to discuss the gap between the skills being taught
at school and the skills that are needed by the industry. While in
an Internship/OJT program, the students are given a ―hands-on‖
approach and experience on their fields. The students learn the
job while doing the job. Internship/OJT is one of the best training
methods that are planned, organized, and conducted at the
company‘s work site. Internship/ OJT programs will expose the
students to new technologies, methodologies and procedures that
will help them develop skills on their chosen field. Monitoring the
OJT activity is one of the components of a successful
Internship/OJT program (Levine, 1997). The guidelines for OJT /
Practicum were established by the Commission on Higher
Education or simply CHED.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) released the
Memorandum Order 53, Series of 2006 entitled ―Policies and
Standards for Information Technology Education Programs‖
(CMO 53, series 2006). In section 11 of this CMO, the guidelines
for the Internship/On-the-job Training of the ITE programs are
stated. In connection with this, OJT programs of all Higher
Education Institutions or HEIs that offers OJT to students was set
by the Commission of Higher Education or CHED. Published in
the CHED Memorandum Order 23, Series of 2009 entitled
―Guidelines for Student Internship Program in the Philippines
(SIPP) for all Programs with Practicum Subject‖. Section 6 of the
CMO states the responsibilities of the HEIs. The first bullet
stated that the HEIs should formulate local school practicum
policies and guidelines on selection, placement, monitoring and
assessment of student trainees. The CMO clearly states that the
HEIs should formulate an effective monitoring and assessment for
their student trainees. These guidelines aim to improve the
graduate outcomes from the HEIs.
Higher Education Institution like the Mabalacat City College
offers the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
or BSIT program which requires OJT or practicum. The Institute
of Computing Studies or ICS is one of the five institutes in
the Mabalacat City College that administers the BSIT program. In
line with the institute‘s objective of providing adequate IT
industry – based experience to develop the students‘ scientific
and creative skills, all Information Technology students that are
4th year standing or have completed 80% of their major subjects
are required to give 300 hours of on – the –job training with the
institute‘s industry partners and 200 hours of in-house
seminars/trainings for a total of 500 hours in compliance
with the CHED CMO. From the inception of the OJT program of
the ICS, 148 students have already completed the practicum. This
academic year 2014-2015, more than eighty (80) students will be
undertaking the OJT in the BSIT program.
An interview with the OJT adviser of the ICS stated that during
the first years of the OJT program implementation in the ICS
department, problems in handling the OJT students like
monitoring OJT status during the early stages of deployment
whether they are deployed, no MOA and even not yet deployed;
monitoring the documents submitted (documents are submitted on
brown envelopes one for each OJT) which are to be manually
checked to make sure that all the necessary documents were
submitted and the date submitted are often not recorded so late
submission are not properly monitored; comments of the OJT‘s
supervisor from the industry-partner were received only when the
OJT students submitted their weekly reports; no direct
notifications from the industry-partners to the OJT Coordinator
for proper monitoring of OJT students while they were on-duty;
incident reports from the OJT‘s supervisor were transmitted via
mail that causes delays to be acknowledged and the issue with the
student concerned were addressed late; posting of OJT needs of
the industry partner and other pertinent announcements was
through the bulletin board that hinders in posting of
announcements and sometimes the information were only seen by
the OJT students when it is too late for them to attend to such
notices; monitoring (checking and computation) of attendance or
total OJT hours rendered were done manually only upon
submission of the Daily Time Record (DTR); the OJT students
may only give document submittals to the adviser personally, and
the OJT students cannot view their total rendered hours and the
documents they have already submitted. The OJT adviser is
having a hard time to split time in performing the duties as the
practicum adviser and as a college instructor. An experienced
shared by Ms.M. Hipolito as an OJT adviser, she needs to visit the
deployed OJT students on their workplace, contact each OJT
students to remind them of their required submittals and its due
dates, address incident reports submitted both by the industry –
partners and the OJT students, verify DTRs submitted by the OJT
students, check the document submittals of the OJT students,
calculate the remaining required OJT hours of each OJT students,
redeployment of OJT students when necessary, and posting of the
zlast OJT grades for the students. All of these duties were
performed by the OJT adviser manually. If to consider the number
of OJT students against number of OJT adviser monitoring and
assessing them, the OJT adviser will take a lot of effort and time
to finish all the assigned duties to them. If an OJT student finished
the required rendering hours, the OJT adviser will need to check
the student‘s individual folder, check each document submitted by
the student, and verify the DTR submitted against the DTR with
the industry – partners of the Institute of Computing Studies.
Furthermore, according to an interview with the Software
Development Services (SDS) Unit Head, Mr. Jocelon Sanguyu,
the school does not have a system currently installed in the
campus or in development that will process the OJT files and
document submittals of the OJT students during their practicum.
The school also cannot support a locally installed client - server
architecture according to the Technical Support Services (TSS)
Unit Head, Mr. Dennis Tacadena that may be used by the Institute
of Computing Studies. The Institute of Computing Studies aims to
facilitate a faster monitoring and assessment of OJT students to be
deployed with the industry – partners. The ICS envisions that
backlogs in monitoring and assessment of OJT students will be
minimized by using an online monitoring and assessment system.
Surveys were also facilitated with the former and current OJT
students to determine their experiences and needs during the
practicum.
The OJT monitoring and assessment system for the Institute of
Computing Studies of the Mabalacat City College aims to offer an
online system to the OJT adviser, industry – partners, and OJT
students that served as a fast and reliable access to the information
and files that are needed for the OJT of the students. The system
provided quick submission forms for the required report
submittals of the students and the industry – partners, incident
report submission, assessment report submission, downloadable
forms, student‘s OJT status checking, announcement postings, job
postings, basic resume profile data bank and OJT certificate
generation.
1.1 Statement of the Problems
The general problem of the study is: How to organize
the practicum of the on - the - job training students by designing
and developing an online monitoring and assessment system for
the Institute of Computing Studies of Mabalacat City College that
will address the problems met by the stakeholders and will
comply with the CHED requirements in the OJT programs?
Specifically, the study sought answers to the following questions:
1. What is the current situation of the OJT / Practicum program
of the Institute of Computing Studies?
2. What is the level of compliance of the Institute of Computing
Studies with the CHED
Memorandum Order 23, series of 2009 requirements in OJT /
Practicum with an online monitoring and assessment system?
3. What is the design and development steps of the online OJT
monitoring and assessment system for the Mabalacat City
College‘s Institute of Computing Studies?
4. How may the integration of the modules can be innovative to
the proposed system with the following:
4.1. Administrator module;
4.2. Dean module;
4.3. OJT adviser module;
4.4. Industry – partner module;
4.5. OJT student module; and
4.6. Guest module?
5. What are the tools and software development methodology
that is suitable to the proposed system?
6. What is the validity of the proposed system with the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Validation Services?
7. What is the level of acceptability of the system in terms of
the following criteria?
7.1. Functionality;
7.2. Reliability;
7.3. Efficiency;
7.4. Usability; and
7.5. Portability?
1.2 Significance of the Study
Because of the increasing population of the students of the
Mabalacat City College particularly in the Institute of Computing
Studies, this study helped the MCC community. This study aimed
to be of significant to the following:
OJT adviser. The study benefited the OJT adviser in monitoring
and assessing OJT students that are enrolled in the practicum
course. The OJT adviser was able to see the updates, submittals,
and concerns of the OJT students and the industry partners
immediately that allowed the OJT adviser to act on the situation
promptly.
OJT students. The study benefited the OJT students because the
study provided a portal that enabled them to be updated on the
notifications from the OJT adviser and the industry partners. The
study provided the OJT student quick submission option for the
required submittals of their practicum, total OJT rendered and
credited hours during their practicum. The OJT student also
benefited from the study by knowing in advance the available jobs
that the industry partners needed.
Industry partners. The industry partners benefited from the study
by saving time in giving comments, evaluation, and assessment on
the student trainees‘ performance. The study also facilitated a
quick interaction between the OJT adviser and the industry
partners. The industry partners also had the ability to post the
available job slots in their company on the system which gave
instant information to MCC on job availability on each of the
industry-partners. This gave another venue of job posting aside
from the traditional posting in newspaper, internet, bulletin
boards, and others.
Future researchers. The study should benefit the future
researchers because the study could be a forerunner on future OJT
monitoring and assessment researches. This study could help
them develop a more complex but helpful monitoring and
assessment systems in the future.
1.3 Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The study focused on the design and development of the OJT
Monitoring and Assessment System for the Institute of Computing
Studies of Mabalacat City College. This system helped the
monitoring and assessment of the OJT students that are enrolled
in the practicum course during an academic term. The main
advantage of this system is that the OJT Monitoring and
Assessment System was designed to be a web – based application
using the client - server architecture, therefore, accessing the
system by the OJT adviser, OJT students, and the industry
partners was easy as long as they have a computer with a web
browser and an internet connection.
This study was designed specifically for the Institute of
Computing Studies of the Mabalacat City College. The OJT
Monitoring and Assessment System were used to check the
progress and manage the OJT students that are enrolled in the
practicum course. OJT Monitoring and Assessment System
consist of modules for the (1) Administrator, (2) Dean, (3) OJT
adviser, (4) industry partners, (5) OJT students, and (6) guests.
The administrator module was capable of dean account and
institute information file management, system configuration and
slideshow maintenance. The dean module was capable of setting
OJT configuration, OJT adviser‘s account management, viewing
of OJT student‘s status, and printing of reports such as deployed
OJT students, non - deployed OJT students, OJT students list,
student profile, industry – partners‘ list, and finished or completed
OJT students. The OJT adviser have a module that was capable of
content management functionality for the student information,
monitoring of students in terms of attendance, document
submittals, evaluation by the industry - partners, incident reports
from the OJT students and the industry - partners, file
maintenance on industry partners' information, posting of the final
grade of the OJT students. The OJT adviser module was also
capable of printing reports such as OJT student lists, and deployed
/ non-deployed OJT students. The OJT students‘ module was
capable of content management functionality in terms of student
profile, uploading required submittals, downloading OJT forms,
inserting DTR information, posting of accomplishment reports,
viewing of the OJT progress status, and viewing of the required
document submittals. The industry - partners‘ module was capable
of posting of job slots available, sending incident reports to the
OJT adviser, and posting of after training assessment and
evaluation of the OJT student deployed with their company. The
guest module allowed the non-registered users of the system to
view the home page of the system, industry-partner profile, job
availabilities and the student user login. The system also used the
Google Maps Application Program Interface (API) to easily find
the location of the industry-partners from the school. Finally, the
OJT Monitoring and Assessment system is capable of producing
OJT Certificate of Completion to the OJT students that had
finished their practicum required hours.
However, the study did not cover the hiring or the hiring process
of the OJT students by the industry-partners. The system was not
capable of computing the final grades of the students on their
OJT; The OJT adviser encodes the final grade. The system was
not capable of verifying the documents submitted by the students,
the system served only as the submission medium from the
student to the OJT adviser such as the official DTRs given to the
students by the industry-partners. Checking for the validities of
the documents was still done by the OJT adviser. The system was
implemented for the Mabalacat City College‘s Institute of
Computing Studies. The system was offered to the other Institutes
/ Departments of the school to use the system. The location of the
industry - partners were not shown because some companies were
not registered in the Google Maps API. The system did not
function when there were power interruptions, blackouts, or any
instance that was beyond human control where the system was
hosted or installed.
The software development process of the system was be guided
using the prototyping model. The respondents of the study were
selected through standard quota sampling. Purposive sampling
technique was used to determine the number of respondents. The
evaluation was based on the ISO-9126 Quality Model. The level
of acceptability of the proposed system was measured using the
following criteria: (1) Functionality; (2) Reliability; (3)
Efficiency; (4) Usability; and (5) Portability. The results of the
evaluation were interpreted using likert scale.
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Related Theory
System Theory. According to Dwivedi, Wade, and Schneberger
(2012), system theory is the foundation of a truly general
understanding of the world; the concept ‗system‘ is a universal
analogy for any ‗thing‘ at all regardless of its particular properties,
origin or substance, thus it provides a unifying or synthesizing
force to counter the fragmenting or analytical aspects of science
and empirical knowledge. With the use of this analogy one can
consider aspects of things and phenomena that are applicable to
any and all things and phenomena. It may be used to translate and
unify concepts across the many fragmented and often estranged
fields of knowledge. System theory posits that everything is a
system in the sense that the concept system can be applied to
everything in a meaningful and practical sense. Everything is a
system that is composed of sub systems that interact to create that
system and so too for each of these sub systems down to some
ground of being. Thus ultimately there is only a field of primitive
systems and the information that mediates their interactions.
Through their permutations and combinations they build up the
successive levels of systems. Furthermore, every system is a sub
system within larger systems and interacts with other systems
passing information, coordinating, organizing, cooperating,
competing, etc. thus forming the higher level super systems and so
on up to the universe as a whole which is a single unified and
coherent system.
Information System Theory. Dwivedi et.al. (2012) described
that Information System Theory has previously been used to
described theoretical computer science, whereby a computer is a
system that processes information, but information is far more
general that just the contents of computer files or data structures.
Every system is composed of information and it also processes
information, regardless of what form that information takes,
whether the medium are computer files, light rays, particles of
matter and so on. Information is simply discernible difference and
may thereby manifest in any medium whatsoever. IST
conceptualizes a system as a symbol within an idiom as well as an
idiom in itself. An idiom is an abstract concept derived from
language but generalized to all systems of symbols and relations.
An idiom is based upon the idea of a group from group theory,
which provides a conceptual bridge between set theory and
algebra within the context of mathematics and in the context of
SMN it describes how an information medium (set of bits)
becomes and information space (information 'algebra'). There are
however other complexities associated with the concept idiom that
makes it more useful than group in this context, such as the
dynamic expression of creative forms that arises in
communication and interaction. Just as in language, an idiom is a
representational medium; it provides a basis set of entities and
relations within a common space. These entities may combine
thus producing more complex permutations. An idiom is a general
concept that underlies all information spaces and systems. For
example, the English language is an idiom that allows for the
creation of words, sentences, etc. Mathematics is an idiom that
allows for the creation of mathematical statements. Space time
and matter is an idiom that allows for the creation of atoms,
molecules and planets. Building materials combined with building
practices is an idiom that allows for the creation of buildings.
What systems are made of, whether atoms, computers, words,
binary bits, and so on, and the medium in which they manifest is
irrelevant to the study of their general system theoretic properties.
Systems arise from underlying information processes and are thus
essentially composed of information or computation; they are
dynamical patterns of information forming within an information
space. They are symbols within an idiom that defines their
relations; they are essentially representing information and
conveying information. Through their communication and
interaction they are manifesting higher level systems; so
ultimately, all systems are patterns of information. Therefore only
the patterns and relations need be studied, these may then be
contextualized into particular scenarios and developed into
particular models. In this way apparently different systems with
similar underlying physical or causal structures can be studied in
parallel or analogically. For example; viruses, memes, cells,
organisms, organizations and societies all share similarities; an
organism is a civilization of trillions of cells that has direct
parallels with human organizations and civilizations, also the
market is analogous to an ecosystem in which commercial
organizations evolve. Patterns can be abstracted out, these are the
patterns of interaction that arise between the various systems
involved, it doesn't matter whether the systems are made of matter,
information in a computer, information in a mind, documents
within a bureaucracy, symbols within a game or anything at all.
System theory studies the generalized patterns and properties that
are common to all systems (Dwivedi, et al., 2012).
Training Monitoring Theory. In today's education climate,
school success is defined as ensuring achievement for every
student. To reach this goal, educators need tools to help
them find students who are at risk academically and adjust
instructional strategies to better meet these students' needs.
Student progress monitoring is a practice that helps teachers use
student performance results to continually test the effectiveness of
their teaching and make more informed instructional decisions.
According to Gambetta (2007), to implement student progress
monitoring, the teacher determines a student's current
performance level on skills that the student will be learning that
school year, identifies achievement goals that the student needs to
reach by the end of the year, and establishes the rate of progress
the student must make to meet those goals. The teacher then
measures the student's academic progress regularly
(weekly, biweekly, or monthly) using probes—brief, easily
administered measures. Each of the probes samples the entire
range of skills that the student must learn by the end of the
year, and not just the particular skills a teacher may be teaching
that week or month.
This is the key difference between student progress monitoring
and mastery measurement approaches, such as teacher-made unit
tests. Mastery measurement tells teachers whether the student has
learned the particular skills covered in a unit, but not whether the
student is learning at a pace that will allow him or her to meet
annual learning goals. By regularly measuring all skills to be
learned, teachers can graph changes in the number of correct
words per minute (reading) or correct digits (math) and compare a
student's progress to the rate of improvement needed to meet end-
of-year goals. If the rate at which a particular student is learning
seems insufficient, the teacher can adjust instruction.
To track student progress, the teacher graphs a line between the
student's first level of performance on a specific skill and the end-
of-year goal. Then, the teacher plots the level of performance as
each probe is administered. After noting the pattern of progress,
the teacher can adjust instruction to improve student learning. If
the student's performance falls below the line, the teacher may use
more intense instruction (in small groups or one-on-one), re -
teach the material, or provide more opportunities for the student
to practice certain skills.
Although schools can develop the probes themselves, developing
enough equivalent, alternate probes for frequent measurement at
each grade level is daunting for many schools. Therefore, they
often turn to commercially available products, most of which are
computer-based and can automatically graph the progress
of students (Safer and Fleischman, 2005).
Furthermore, according to Gambetta: ―Monitoring this process is
essential to making the training meaningful and keeping it on
track. The most effective training programs that have been
implemented are those that have a built-in monitoring system. It
does not have to be anything elaborate or scientific. Whatever it
is, it just needs to be used consistently. Monitoring increases
training effectiveness. The more consistent the monitoring, the work environment which makes them in high demand with
more meaningful the information will be. Monitoring training employers (Nizwa College of Technology). Figure 2 shows the
allows you to reconcile what was planned for training and OJT Page of Nizwa College of Technology.
what was achieved. Once a study of monitoring has been
implemented, the information gathered must be straightforward
and simple so that it can be easily interpreted and changes can
be made easily as needed.‖(Gambetta, 2007).
The theories that were mentioned served as a guide in
designing and developing a user-friendly system.
2.2 Related Studies
In developing the OJT Monitoring and Assessment System for the
Institute of Computing Studies of the Mabalacat City College,
there are related studies which were taken into consideration to
compare the similarities and differences.
Alumni Tracking and OJT Monitoring System (ATOMS).
Evangelista and Al Wahshi developed the Alumni Tracking and
OJT Monitoring System (ATOMS). It is an in-house online
application developed by the Systems Development Team of
Educational Technology Center of Ibri College of Technology,
Sultanate of Oman. The major aim of the system is to check and
keep track graduate's personal and professional information. This Figure 2. OJT Page of Nizwa College of Technology
system also aims to help small organizations foster better alumni The college also advocates having a strong partnership with
relations. The website services include online directories, member industry, business and community, not only in the immediate
search, message boards, resume storage and more. It also region but throughout the Sultanate. As such, various means of
empowers alumni of the college by involving them to give collaborating with these sectors, particularly the industry, have
feedback from their workplaces. The purpose of initiating this been initiated by the College and on-going communications with
process is related to program improvement through alumni various industries are maintained to build strong ties that would
participation. A contact with alumni provides networking for benefit the two groups.
current students to get internships and professional positions,
meeting requirements for accrediting agencies and determining Online OJT Website for the Bohol Island State University.
how well the program prepared the graduates for their Students from the Bohol Island State University launched a
professional careers. Registering in the ATOMS allows the users website with an accompanying Online OJT Monitoring System
to be included in the alumni database and the college; receive (Themes.aua.net).The main features of the website are its Home,
regular updates on programs, events and employment About Us, Contact Us, Guestbook links. It was not properly
opportunities in the college; expand opportunities for career documented however, if the website had also included features of
placement; and upload CV/resume. Figure 1 shows the home page the systems that are beyond the functionalities of the system
of the ATOMS. developed in this study. Figure 3 shows the Online On-the-Job
Monitoring System of Bohol Island State University.

Figure 3. Online On-the-Job Monitoring System of Bohol

Figure 1. ATOMS of Ibri College of Technology Web Page
The Nizwa College of Technology OJT Program involves
industry-based learning term for students. This enables students to
gain real hands-on skills from the industry before they leave the
College. This ensures competency of their graduates in the real
Island State University
The Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) also provides
a web portal that allows the school‘s stakeholders to communicate
with one another. It also has a part that presented the rules and
regulations of its OJTs being deployed to tips industry-partners.
However, the portal had been limited to providing information
only to the students and its school personnel. It was noted that the the base model for the user functions and processes that the
website manifests the proper use of website design principles. system provided.
The page is not confusing and is filled with unimportant This represented the steps in the progress and development of
announcements and links. Figure 4 shows the Students‘ OJT the OJT Monitoring and Assessment System. The study
program page of the Technological Institute of the Philippines. characterized the developed system and cited the possible
difficulties which were encountered in the development of the
system and its implementation.
INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT
Analysis of the
current
procedures and
practices of the
Gathered data ICS Practicum.
through
Surveys,
Observations, Identify the level
and of compliance of
Interviews. the Institute of
Figure 4 Students’ OJT Program Page Technological Institute
Computing OJT
of the Philippines
Studies with the Monitoring
The information gathered from the related studies was used to Current OJT
procedures CMO. and
show the necessary web pages and function of the OJT monitoring and practices Assessment
and assessment. The related studies gave an insight of the possible in the Institute System for
application of the OJT monitoring and assessment system with the of Computing Plan the design the Institute
locale. Studies of and development of Computing
Mabalacat of the proposed Studies of
2.3 Conceptual Framework City College
system. Mabalacat
The conceptual framework is a group of concepts that are broadly
City College
defined and systematically organized to give a focus, a rationale,
Related
and a tool for the integration and interpretation of information. Integrate the
Theories and
Usually expressed abstractly through word models, a conceptual Studies multiple modules
framework is the conceptual basis for many theories, such as of the proposed
communication theory and general systems theory. Conceptual system.
frameworks also give a foundation and organization for the
educational plan in schools or university which have
given more information. Identify the
Conceptual frameworks, according to educational researchers needed software
Smyth (2004), are structured from a set of broad ideas and tools and
theories that help a researchers to properly find the problem they hardware
are looking at, frame their questions and find suitable literature. technology for
Most academic research uses a conceptual framework at the outset the proposed
because it helps the researchers to clarify his research question system.
and aims.
The study used the conceptual model presented in Figure 5 in
Test the level of
designing and evaluating the acceptability of the OJT Monitoring
validity of the
and Assessment System. The study adopted the IPO Model, which
proposed system
stands for Input, Process and Output. The inputs necessary for the
with the W3C
development of the study were categorized as the following: a.
Gathering of data through interview and observation, b. Studying Validation
and reviewing resources such as internet, programming languages, Services.
database management, software development model and quality
assurance standards (International Standardization Organization
Evaluate the
9126-1) and c. Studying related literatures, studies and similar
acceptability of
systems.
the proposed
The procedure, by which the system was developed consists of system.
defined procedures such as (1) Initial Requirements, (2) Design,
(3) Prototype, (4)User Evaluation, (5) Review and Update, (6) Figure 5. Conceptual Model of the OJT Monitoring and
Develop the system, (7) Deployment, (8) Testing, (9) System Assessment System
Evaluation and, (10) Maintenance. The output was referred to this The conceptual model served as the guide of the researchers in
research, OJT Monitoring and Assessment System or OJTMAS. conducting the study and designing and development of the OJT
Also, the current rules of the ICS was also studied and served as monitoring and assessment system.
2.4 Definition of Variables
The variables used in the study were the following:
Administrator Module. This is a part of the OJT monitoring and
assessment system where the administrator logs in to do the
functionalities intended for the administrator account. The
administrator module was primarily used for system configuration
and system maintenance.
Dean Module. This is a part of the OJT monitoring and
assessment system where the dean logs in to do the functionalities
intended for the dean account. The dean module was primarily
used to create OJT adviser account and configure the OJT
program of the department.
Guest Module. This is a part of the OJT monitoring and
assessment system where the basic account can do limited
operations within the system and with users that does not have
any kind of account.
Efficiency. This is an ISO-9126 attribute that bear on the
relationship between the level of performance of the software and
the amount of resources used, under stated conditions. Efficiency
attribute was used in the system evaluation tool of the OJT
Monitoring and Assessment System to determine if the system
consumes too much resource of the server and the client during
transaction requests.
Functionality. This is an ISO-9126 attribute that deals with the
system functions and their implied needs. Functionality attribute
was used in the system evaluation tool of the OJT Monitoring and
Assessment System to determine if the functions of the system
conform to the requirements.
Industry – Partner Module. This is a part of the OJT monitoring
and assessment system where the industry – partners of the HEIs
logs in to do the functionalities intended for the industry-partner
account.
OJT Adviser Module. This is a part of the OJT monitoring and
assessment system where the OJT adviser logs in to do the
functionalities intended for the OJT adviser account. The OJT
adviser module was primarily used to approve OJT students‘
account and monitor the OJT of the students.
OJT Student Module. This is a part of the OJT monitoring and
assessment system where the OJT students of the HEIs logs in to
do the functionalities intended for the OJT student account.
Portability. This is an ISO-9126 attribute that bear on the ability
of software to be transferred from one environment to another.
Portability attribute was used in the system evaluation tool of the
OJT Monitoring and Assessment System to determine if the
system can be accessed with different web browsers that are
available in the market today and to determine if the system when
running on a browser does not interfere with other programs
running in the client‘s terminal.
Reliability. This is an ISO-9126 attribute that bear on the
capability of software to maintain its level of performance under
stated conditions for a stated period of time. Reliability attribute
will be used in the system evaluation tool of the OJT Monitoring
and Assessment System to determine if the system still runs
optimally under heavy transactions. This attribute was used to
determine if the system can be recovered in the event of a system
crash.
Usability. This is an ISO-9126 attribute that bear on the
relationship between the level of performance of the software and
the amount of resources used, under stated conditions. Usability
attribute was used in the system evaluation tool of the OJT
Monitoring and Assessment System to determine if the system is
easy to learn and operate.
3. METHODS
3.1 Methods of the Study
Developmental research was used in this study because according
to Richey (1994), a developmental research is a study of
designing, developing, and evaluating the instructional programs,
processes, and products that must meet the criteria of internal
consistency and effectiveness. A developmental research involves
the analysis and description of the product – development process
where the product is also evaluated. The OJT Monitoring and
Assessment System is a Transaction Processing System, thus, the
study involves designing and evaluating the proposed OJT
Monitoring and Assessment System. Consistencies and
effectiveness of the system was also done so.
Descriptive design was utilized in this study which involves
observing the behavior of the subject without influencing it in any
way. It involves collections of quantitative information that can
be tabulated along a continuum in numerical form, such as result
of an evaluation survey. Descriptive research involves gathering
of data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts,
and describes the data collection (Glass & Hopkins, 1984). It
often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader
in understanding the data distribution.
The Survey Research was another method which was applied
because a sample population has been established. Basha and
Harter (1980) stated that ―a population is any set of persons or
objects that possesses at least one common characteristic‖. This
study was based on purposive sampling technique in as much as
the population is too small for a random sampling. The
researchers made a direct contact with the knowledgeable
respondents with survey questionnaires.
The study used the software prototyping method. Software
prototyping method allows for a rapid development of the system
while the developer can get valuable feedback from the users early
in the project. Prototyping also gives an insight to the software
engineer whether the accuracy of the first project estimates and
whether deadlines and milestones proposed can be successfully
met.
Prototyping involves ten (10) phases, these are: (1) Initial
Requirements (2) Design (3) Prototype (4) User Evaluation (5)
Review and Update (6) Develop the system (7) Deployment (8)
Testing (9) System Evaluation and (10) Maintenance.
3.2 Population and Sample of the Study
To obtain valid and more precise information on the acceptability
measures of this study, the researchers selected as respondents the
unit heads of the MIS department of Mabalacat City College, the
current OJT Adviser, professors of the ICS, and the OJT students
of the Institute of Computing Studies. Purposive sampling
technique was used to find the number of respondents. There were
80 respondents identified to take part in this study. Fifty (50) OJT
students enrolled in the practicum, twenty (20) industry - partners,
and ten (10) IT experts which include the ICS Dean, OJT Adviser,
three (3) MIS Unit Heads, five (5) IT Instructors.
3.3 Research Instrument
A survey questionnaire using a 5 - point Likert scale was
developed and prepared by the researchers and was validated by
two professors from Mabalacat City College which was used as an
instrument for the evaluation of the acceptability of the proposed
OJT Monitoring and Assessment System. The instrument was
divided into five dimensions, namely: (1) Functionality, (2)
Reliability, (3) Usability, (4) Efficiency, and (5) Portability. The
following were the scales that were used as guide in evaluating the
level of acceptability of the system: 4.5 - 5.0 Very Good, 3.5 -
4.49 Good, 2.5 - 3.49 Fair, 1.5 - 2.49 Poor, and 1.00 - 1.49 Very
Poor.
3.4 Data Gathering Procedures
Data gathering is crucial in research, as the data is meant to
contribute to a better understanding of a theoretical framework
(Bernard, 2002). The survey instruments were personally
distributed among intended respondents to find the level of
acceptability of the proposed system. Prior to such survey, the
researchers sought permission from the Institute of Computing
Studies dean to conduct data gathering to the OJT Adviser and the
OJT students. The interview with the OJT Adviser was done in-
person. A survey form was given to the former and current OJT
students during their classroom instructions. Retrieved survey
forms were organized, tallied, tabulated and summarized in
preparation for statistical analysis and interpretation. Summarized
minutes of interview with the MIS unit heads and the OJT adviser
and the survey conducted with the OJT students served as the
basis for the first requirements of the system.
3.5 Project Development
In developing the OJT Monitoring and Assessment System, the
researchers followed the steps mentioned in the software
prototyping model. The steps were: (1) Initial Requirements, (2)
Design, (3) Prototype, (4) Prototype Evaluation, (6) Review and
Update, (6) Develop the System, (7) Deploy, (8) Testing, (9)
System Evaluation, and (10) Maintenance, as shown in figure 6.
Figure 6. Prototyping Model
Initial Requirements. The first phase is the first requirements. In
this phase, the problem was recognized and diagnosed. The
primary purpose of this phase is to gain thorough understanding
of the project as well as its users. The researchers analyzed the
gap between the current system and of the proposed system which
also includes the investigation of inputs and outputs to find a
better, economical, and efficient means of processing OJT
documents and processes. One of the researchers is also an
employee of the locale which was an advantage in gathering the
required data thru observations, survey, and interviews.
Observations, surveys, and interviews were the main mode of
acquiring knowledge in the current system. These techniques
were useful in obtaining the necessary inputs in the system.
The first phase was used to define clearly the specifications of the
project. The prototyping model indicates that the first
requirements are important in order for the researchers to build
the pilot prototype that will be shown to the stakeholders of the
study early in the project. Prototyping helped the researchers to
adjust quickly to any changes that the stakeholders may ask
during the duration of the development.
Design. In this phase of the development of the OJT Monitoring
and Assessment System, the requirements gathered during the first
phase were analyzed and interpreted to diagrams that the
researchers followed to develop the first prototype of the system.
The system was developed by modules. The modules are (1)
Administrator module (2) Dean‘s module (3) OJT adviser‘s
module (4) industry-partners‘ module (5) student‘s module and
the (6) guest‘s module. Based on the number of modules that the
system has, the users of the system were composed of six, namely
the administrator, deans, OJT advisers, industry – partners, OJT
students, and the guests.
Use - case diagrams were used to show the different level
privileges of the stakeholders in the system. Use-case diagrams
show what functionalities or actions that the users (actors) of the
system actor may perform in the system
Visual Table of Contents or VTOCs were used to show the
different web pages of every users or actors in the system.
Prototype. In building the prototype of the OJT Monitoring and
Assessment System, the researchers used the following: 1.)
Software which includes PHP for the server – side scripting
language, HTML 5 for the Markup Language, MySQL for the
database, PHPMyAdmin for the database management system,
Apache for the Web Server, Codelobster for editing codes,
CodeIgniter as the primary PHP framework, Google Chrome as
the development browser. 2.) Hardware that includes Intel i3 Core
Processor, 8GB RAM, 15.6‖ LCD Monitor, 500GB HDD.
The OJT Monitoring and Assessment System‘s GUI (Graphical
User Interface) was designed using the minimalist approach and
the columnar grid layout. This is to increase the chance of slow
internet connection to connect to the system. The minimalist
approach is being used by popular websites such as Google in
their search pages. Figure 7 shows the Google web page.
Figure 7. A Google Web Page
Google‘s minimalist approach eliminates the unnecessary images
which most of the times clog the bandwidth. Google focuses on
the functions and services their web site offers rather with the
design intensive approach on some of the websites in use today.
The column grid layout on the other hand, can be commonly seen
in most websites today such as Wikipedia and Facebook. It
separates navigation and the main section into logical
arrangements. Multiple columns may be employed depending
upon the requirements of the web site. Figure 8 shows the
column grid layout of a Facebook page.
Figure 8. A Facebook Web Page
The researchers developed the prototype of the OJT Monitoring
and Assessment System module by module. The arrangement of
the module development includes the Administrator Module,
Dean Module, OJT Adviser Module, Industry – Partner Module,
Student Module and Guest Module.
The overall layout of the web pages for the OJT Monitoring and
Assessment System followed the minimalist and grid layout
approach.
Prototype Evaluation. The fourth phase of the prototyping model
is the prototype evaluation. In this phase, the respondents were
given a prototype evaluation form. The respondents rated the
system appropriately based on the questions provided in the
evaluation form using the Likert scale. The respondents of the
prototype evaluation were the ICS OJT adviser, two (2) MIS Unit
Heads, seven (7) IT experts, and twenty (20) ICS OJT students.
User rating of ―FAIR‖ or above pushed the system development
cycle into the next phase. If the prototype evaluation achieved a
―POOR‖ or below rating, the prototype evaluation will be redone
after the iterations and recommendations had been included in the
first prototype.
Review and Update. The fifth phase of the prototyping model is
review and update. In this phase, all the recommendations given
by the respondents if any, in phase four was taken into
consideration and system iterations was conducted. When
iteration is needed, all the changes in the use case, VTOCS, and
the web page layouts must be presented.
Develop the System. In this phase, all the suggestions and
recommendations of the potential users of the system was
considered. The researchers who is also the developer developed
the system based on the requirements that was gathered during the
early phases of the development cycle with due consideration on
the prototype evaluation in phase four (4).
Deployment. In this phase, the system was uploaded in a web
hosting service. The system was also registered in a DNS
(Domain Name Server) that made the searching and accessing of
the website in the WWW much easier. The researchers made the
adjustments in the website‘s configuration file in order for the
system to work correctly, particularly the database configuration
since the environment in a local host is very much different in a
live hosting environment.
Testing. After the uploading of the system in a web hosting
service, the system was tested using the W3C Validation services,
particularly with CSS Validation Service, Link Validation Service
and the Markup Validation Service for XHTML 1.0 Transitional.
W3C Validation Services requires that the Markup Validation and
Link Validation services be done once the web site is already in a
public domain, hence the need for the website to be uploaded in a
web host before the testing can be performed. CSS Validation
test can be done even if the system is not yet hosted or still
running in a development environment (local host). To meet
consistencies in the testing procedure, the CSS Validation Service
was also done when the system is uploaded in a web host and the
website is open to the public. The OJT Monitoring and
Assessment System also underwent the browser compatibility test.
This test determined if there are differences in layout output
between different browsers when using the system.
System Evaluation. The evaluation of the system was conducted
after the product had been tested with the W3C Validation
Services in phase eight (8). The system went through evaluation
using the Quality Model of ISO - 9126. The researchers
presented the system to the stake holders and they were given an
evaluation form to answer. They were allowed to use the system
before evaluation. The evaluation form contained questions that
are relevant to the last engineered product. There were 80
respondents identified to take part in this study. Fifty (50) OJT
students enrolled in the practicum, twenty (20) industry - partners,
and ten (10) IT experts which include the ICS Dean, OJT Adviser,
three (3) MIS Unit Heads, and five (5) IT Instructors.
Maintenance. This is the last phase of the prototyping model. In
this phase, the administrator was capable of maintaining the
system using the administrator module. Regular maintenance
schedules such as database backup, optimizing database, and
repair database should be formulated by the administrator to avoid
system problems.
If there is another request for a system module update to the
developer, the cycle will be repeated starting from the first phase
of the prototyping model.
3.6 Testing Procedure
The W3C Validation service is a free testing online tool for web
sites. The researchers conducted the live system testing by
accessing the W3C Markup validation service for XHTML 1.0
Transitional (http://validator.w3.org/) that determined if the web
site conforms to the international standard for web site markup.
The researchers linked every page that the system will load in the
W3C markup validation service to check that every web page
generated by the system is following the W3C standards. The
results for each page were recorded.
The CSS Validation service was conducted online by accessing
the W3C CSS Validation service (http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-
validator/). This test is much faster because the researchers will
only need to link the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of the
system which has the CSS external files. The result for the CSS
files was also recorded.
The last testing of the system was the W3C Link Validation
service. The test was conducted online by accessing the testing
service in the W3C validation service web page
(http://validator.w3.org/checklink). This was the fastest test that
is conducted in the W3C validation service because the developer
just needed the landing page or the home page URI of the web site
and the validation service tested all hyperlinks within the system
to see if there were broken links or non-existing links still
running. The test gave the developer an idea if there were links in
the system that was not connected to a particular web page.
After each validation testing, the W3C validation service provided
icons for the HTML markup and CSS tests if the web site or
system conforms to the standards set by W3C. These icons were
inserted on the website to signify to the users that the web site is
compliant with the international standards. The icons are also
hyperlinks to the W3C validation service; the users may click
these icons to verify that the website conforms to the W3C
standards, as shown in figure 9.
Figure 9. The W3C Icons for Standards Compliance
3.7 Evaluation Procedure
The evaluation of the system was done after the system had gone
through the W3C validation testing. A demonstration of the
system was conducted by the researchers that also allowed the
stakeholders to use the system. The respondents were given a
system evaluation form after they had tried the system. The
respondents rated the system using likert scale.
3.8 Evaluation Criteria
There are many Quality model available like The McCall Model,
The Boehm Model, The FURPS Model, The ISO 9126 Model and
The Dromey Model. The Mac Call Model doesn‘t say much about
functionality. The Boehm Model emphasized on the
maintainability of a software product that includes considerations
involved in the evaluation of a software product with respect to
the utility of the program. The FURPS Model does not take in to
account the portability of a software product. The Dromey Model
does not consider the efficiency of software to find its quality.
The ISO 9126 Model was chosen because it has a set the quality
of product characteristics, these are:
Functionality is the set of attributes that bear on the existence of a
set of functions and their specified properties. The functions are
those that satisfy stated or implied needs, specifically, the
evaluation of: Suitability - This is the essential Functionality
characteristic and refers to the appropriateness (to specification)
of the functions of the software. Accurateness - This
refers to the correctness of the functions.
Reliability is a set of attributes that bear on the ability of
software to support its level of performance under stated
conditions for a stated period. Under this criterion is the
evaluation of: Maturity - This sub-characteristic concerns
frequency of failure of the software. Fault tolerance - The ability
of software to withstand (and recover) from part, or
environmental, failure. Recoverability - Ability to bring back a
failed system to full operation.
Efficiency is the set of attributes that bear on the relationship
between the level of performance of the software and the amount
of resources used, under stated conditions, specifically the
evaluation of: Time behavior - Characterizes response times for a
given thru put, i.e. transaction rate. Resource behavior –
Characterizes resources used, such as memory, CPU, and
disk usage.
Usability is a set of attributes that bear on the effort needed for
use and on the individual assessment of such use by a stated or
implied set of users. Under these criteria is the evaluation of:
Understandability - Determines the ease of which the systems
functions can be understood, relates to user mental models in
Human Computer Interaction methods. Learnability - Learning
effort for different users, i.e. novice, expert, casual, and others.
Operability - Ability of the software to be easily operated by a
given user in a given environment.
Portability is a set of attributes that bear on the ability of software
to be transferred from on environment to another. Under these
criteria is the evaluation of: Adaptability - Characterizes the
ability of the system to change to new specifications or operating
environments. Installability - Characterizes the effort required to
install the software.
The System Evaluation criteria was the primary evaluation tool
that is given to the users to rate the system. The users rated the
system by choosing the right score for each question in every
criterion. The scores are 5 (Very Good), 4 (Good), 3(Fair), 2
(Poor), and 1 (Very Poor). The questionnaire served as basic
guide of the evaluators in assessing the functionality, reliability,
efficiency, usability, and portability of the system.
The system‘s acceptability was measured using the ranking system
4.5 - 5.0 Very Good, 3.5 - 4.49 Good, 2.5 - 3.49 Fair, 1.5 - 2.49
Poor, and 1.00 - 1.49 Very Poor.
3.9 Data Processing and Statistical Treatment
The data obtained from this research were analyzed using
mathematical equations to make sure objectivity in the data
presentation, interpretation and analysis. The data analysis was
generally descriptive and quantitative. For the results
presentation, analysis and presentation of data, the statistical tool
used was the weighted mean in providing description of all the
gathered data from the acceptability test about the different
criteria. It is represented by a single value which represents the
entire data. The Weighted Mean or WM is obtained by adding all
the products of frequency times the degree divided by the sum of
the frequencies. The weighted mean was used to figure the
evaluation of the respondents. Certain degree of evaluation was
given and each corresponded to the amount of quality that the
answer provided. Table 1 shows the interpretation of the weighted
mean using the likert Scale.
Table 1. Likert Scale
Weighted Mean Interpretation
5.00 – 4.50 Very Good
4.49 – 3.50 Good
3.49 – 2.50 Fair
2.49 – 1.50 Poor
1.49 – 1.00 Very Poor
4. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
4.1 Identify the situation of the OJT /
Practicum program of the Institute of
Computing Studies
Analysis of the existing system. This is a very important part in the
development of an online monitoring and assessment system. This
is where the researchers identified the problems being experienced
by the OJT adviser and the students. To find out about the
problems of the OJT / Practicum of the Institute of Computing
Studies, the researchers interviewed the OJT Adviser, Software
Development Services Unit Head, and the Technical Support
Services Unit Head. Also, the researchers conducted a survey
with the old OJT students to show the problems they met during
the practicum. The result of the survey stated that (1) 99% of the
participants said that the documents / forms for their practicum are
not readily available, (2) 100% of the participants send their
documents to the OJT Adviser personally, (3) 99% of the
participants are not informed immediately of important
announcements and news from the OJT Adviser, and (4) 74% of
the participants stated that the OJT adviser does the rendered
hours tracking for them. These factors affect the efficient
management and monitoring of the practicum students. In
addition, 93% of the participants agreed that the current rules in
DTR tracking, document distribution and announcement
dissemination is inefficient, and 100% of the participants agreed
that MCC should develop an OJT monitoring and assessment
system. Another survey was conducted with the
current OJT students to name the various factors that may affect
their practicum (see Appendix E). The survey result stated that (1)
98% of the participants use the internet at least once a day, (2)
63% of the participants have their own internet connection at
home, (3) 84% of the participants own a laptop or a personal
computer, (4) although only 39% of them wanted to receive
instructions thru the internet, 44% of the students prefer any
means in receiving instructions from the OJT Adviser. If we are to
add the two factors, 83% of the students prefer receiving
instructions using the internet. (5) 100% of the participants want
to track their DTRs, accomplishment report, and other
documents of their practicum, (6) 100% of the participants
want to be updated with the latest announcements and news from
the OJT Adviser, and (7) 96% of the participants want to have
the OJT documents or forms available to them at any time.
The interviews, surveys, and observations, constitute a
requirements analysis. The data gathering process can name the
first requirements of the stakeholders of the system. The existing
procedure and its operation can be described in many ways. Such
description brings out the primary problems that need solution. In
addition, information can also be obtained on its advantages and
weaknesses and on the grounds on which the introduction of a
new system would be desirable. The description of the existing
problems served as inputs to the requirement analysis method in
addition to the interviews and surveys. The process involved
examination of the entire current procedure to find the essential
features of the system. The aim of the analysis was to get an
overall picture of the problems and the results obtained underlined
the need for a new system. From the researchers‘ observation of
the existing system, it was also supplemented by the interviews,
surveys, and by examining the various functions within the
organization.
4.2 Compliance with the CHED Memorandum
Order on OJT / Practicum program of the
Institute of Computing Studies
Section 6 of the CMO no. 23, s. 2009 stated the responsibilities of
the parties involved in the OJT / Practicum program which
includes the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Host Training
Establishments (HTEs), and the OJT students or interns. The
CMO gives emphasis on the monitoring and assessment of the
OJT students or interns deployed in the HTE. Analyzing the
CMO, the researchers were able to name the major aspects of the
system that can help the HEIs in complying with the CMO
specifically the monitoring and assessment of the interns. Data
gathered in reviewing the CMO also served as an initial
requirements basis for the online monitoring and assessment
system.
The OJT Monitoring and Assessment System was deployed and
implemented to discuss the monitoring and assessment problems
that were encountered by the OJT Adviser based on the
interviews, surveys, and observations conducted. Monitoring and
the status of OJT students can now be done using the system
through the functions being offered by the system such as DTR
Management, status reporting, and document submission report.
The evaluation and assessment from the Industry - Partners can
also be done using the system, thus expediting the process. By
implementing the OJT Monitoring and Assessment System, the
Institute of Computing Studies successfully complied with the
CMO based on the high acceptance rate of the respondents with
the system.
4.3 Design and develop the online OJT
monitoring and assessment system for the
Institute of Computing Studies of Mabalacat
City College
Identify the general requirements for the system. The data
gathered during the analysis phase are meant to be the basis for
the first requirements of the online monitoring and assessment
system. One of the general requirements of the system is the user
account. The researchers identified the user levels of the system
by using the data gathered from the interviews, surveys, and
observation. Based also from these data gathering techniques, the
online monitoring and assessment system must be hosted online,
to make it easier for the stakeholders. The researchers always
wanted to offer a system that was simple and easy to use. The
system also showed different information requested by the user.
The following also were considered during the design process: (1)
Inputs – how the system will handle invalid inputs from the user,
(2) Output – how the different pages would look like, (3)
Modularity – the division of related data, (4) Software – what
software will be used and what will be the software requirements
of the developed system, (5) Hardware – what will be the
hardware requirements of the developed system.
Examine any restrictions which may arise. There are several
factors considered that may restrict in designing the online
monitoring and assessment system and these are the following: (1)
availability of the hardware equipment at the HEI, (2) investments
in software programs and applications, and (3) as of now, MCC
has no locally installed web server yet that is capable of hosting
the system. During the system‘s development stage, the OJT
monitoring and assessment system was not yet accessible through
the internet, it can be accessible only by the researchers through a
local host by typing the loop back IP address of the acting server
(ex. http://localhost/).
Acceptability of the Prototype. Upon gathering of the basic
requirements of the system, the researchers developed the system
prototype and showed the system to the thirty (30) prototype
respondents. The prototype evaluation needed a "FAIR" or above
rating to make the development of the system progress. The
prototype evaluation received a rating of (3.07), interpreted as
"FAIR". The target rating was achieved and the development of
the system pushed through.
4.4 Integrate innovation to the existing system
To integrate the innovations of the following modules: (1)
Administrator module (2) Dean‘s module (3) OJT adviser‘s
module (4) industry-partners‘ module (5) student‘s module and
the (6) guest‘s module, the researchers decided to develop the
system by modules. Modularity is designing a system that is
divided into a set of functional units (named modules) that can be
composed into a larger application. A module represents a set of
related concerns. It can include a collection of related
components, such as features, views, or business logic, and pieces
of infrastructure, such as services for logging or authenticating
users. Modules are independent of one another but can
communicate with each other in a loosely coupled fashion. The
said modules were converted into web pages that were integrated
in the system. Each page has different functions according to the
intended purpose. Screen shots of the system are shown in figures
10 and 11.
Figure 9. Administrator Module Login Page
Figure 10 Google Map Directions
4.5 The tools and software development
methodology used
The researchers used PHP 5.4.1 as the primary
programming language because PHP is used in more than eighty
(80) million websites all across the globe.
MySQL database was used as the database or backend of the
system because it primary supports the web structure and it is easy
to use, not mentioning that it is free to use under the General
Public License (GPL). PHPMyAdmin was used as the Database
Management System for the MySQL. PHPMyAdmin is bundled
with the Xampp 1.4.3 package which was also used as the
development local web server of the system. Javascript was used
as the secondary programming language that was used by the
researchers for the front-end or the user interface of the system.
Javascript was used because it is also free and installed as a
default plug-in with the modern browsers available today.
CodeIgniter 2.4.1 was used as the primary PHP Framework for
the system. CodeIgniter sped up the development of the system
because of it Model – View – Controller (MVC) approach. Edraw
Max 3.0 was used to create the Visual Table of Contents
(VTOCS) and USE – case diagrams for the system. It was used
because of its easy-to-use interface with a drag-and-drop function.
Finally, Google Chrome web browser was used as the primary
web browser for the development and testing of the web pages on
the system. Google Chrome was used because of its compatibility
with the HTML 5 markup which is the future of the web sites
today.
Likewise from the different software development methodologies
that were studied and reviewed, the prototyping model was
utilized. The system prototype is developed based on the known
requirements. By using this prototype, the client can get a
―real feel‖ of the system, since the interactions with the prototype
can enable the client to better understand the requirements of the
desired system. Prototyping is an attractive idea for complicated
and large systems for which there is no manual process or existing
system to help determining the requirements. The prototypes are
usually not complete systems and many of the details are not built
in the prototype. The goal is to offer a system with overall
functionality and the ability to show the features of the system
even before the real system is finished or finalized in the
development cycle.
4.6 Results of W3C Validation Testing
The study was submitted to the online validation testing provide
for by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community
where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public
work together to develop Web standards. Led by Web
inventor Tim Berners-Lee and CEO Jeffrey Jaffe, W3C's mission
is to lead the Web to its full potential (www.w3c.org/consortium,
2015). Three tests were administered to the system, (1) Markup
validation testing, (2) CSS validation testing, and (3) Link
validation testing. The tests were conducted when the system was
successfully uploaded to a web hosting service
(http://www.mccojtmas.com) because a web system must be
uploaded online before it can be tested as per the requirement of
the W3C Validator service.
The Markup Validator Testing was done to decide if the system is
cross-browser compatible or if the system can be accessed with
any modern browsers without parsing errors in the web page user
interface. The test was successfully done and the web system
passed the markup validation. W3C provided an icon indicating
that the markup of the web system conforms to the standards of
W3C. Shown in Figure 12 is the result of the Markup Validation
Test for the OJT Monitoring and Assessment System.

Figure 12.W3C Markup Validation Test Result
The OJT Monitoring and Assessment system was also tested using
the W3C Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) Validator. The W3C CSS
Validator checked the validity of the CSS used in the layout of the
system as shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13. CSS Validation Test Result
The last test conducted with the OJT monitoring and assessment
system is the Link Validator checker. The Link Validator of the
W3C checks if there are broken links within the web system. The
result of the test indicated that no broken links were seen within
the web system as shown in Figure 14.
Figure 14. Link Validation Test Result
4.7 Level of acceptance of the OJT
Monitoring and Assessment System.
The developed system was evaluated in terms of functionality,
reliability, usability, efficiency, and portability. The results of the
evaluation were analyzed and interpreted. Overall, the system
achieved a "Very Good" rating on all criteria as shown in Table 2.
Table 2 Summary of User Acceptability of the System
Criteria Mean Interpretation
Functionality 4.93 Very Good
Reliability 4.96 Very Good
Usability 4.95 Very Good
Efficiency 4.96 Very Good
Portability 4.99 Very Good
The functionality criteria achieved the lowest rating of 4.93. This
may suggest that the users might not have used the system on
other internet browsers because not all browsers are installed in
their computers.
5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1. Summary
The primary purpose of this study was how to organize the
practicum of the on - the - job training students by designing and
developing an online monitoring and assessment system for the
Institute of Computing Studies of Mabalacat City College that
will address the problems met by the stakeholders and will
comply with the CHED requirements in the OJT programs?
In identifying the problems with the conduct of the OJT /
Practicum in the Institute of Computing Studies (ICS), the
researchers did the following: (1) interviewed the current OJT
Adviser, (2) facilitated a survey to the earlier and current OJT
students, (3) interviewed the MIS Unit Heads, and (4) observed
the day - to - day process of the OJT / Practicum in the ICS.
The study identified the major points indicated in the CHED
Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 23, Series of 2009 that requires
proper administration. According to Section six, first bullet of this
CMO, the HEIs should formulate proper monitoring and
assessment of student trainees. In designing and developing the
OJT monitoring and assessment system, the Institute of
Computing Studies of Mabalacat City College managed to comply
with the CHED CMO with an online system that can check and
assess the student trainees in their practicum.
In designing and developing the OJT monitoring and assessment
system, six (6) modules were incorporated in the system. These
modules are: (1) administrator module, (2) dean module, (3) OJT
adviser module, (4), industry - partner module, (5) OJT student
module, and (6) the guest module.
The development cycle of the system was guided by the
prototyping model because it allowed the developer to create a
prototype of the system based on the first requirements analyzed
during the data gathering phase. The prototyping model also
allowed the users to have an actual feel of the system even before
the product is finished.
The following were utilized during the development of the
system: (1) Windows 7 Ultimate (OS), (2)Apache 2.4.4, (3)
Xampp Web server package with PHP 5.4.1 and MySQL
database, (4) PHPMyAdmin as the Database Management System
user interface, (5) Codeigniter 2.4.1 as the PHP Framework, (6)
Codelobster 3.0 as the PHP Editor, (7) Google Chrome as the
development browser, (8) Javascript as the secondary language,
and (9) Jquery as the Javascript library for user interface.
5.2 Summary of Findings
The summaries of findings based on the results of the study were
the following:
1. The situation with the OJT / practicum program of the
Institute of Computing Studies of Mabalacat City
College was successfully identified thru the use of
interviews, surveys, and observation. The problems
identified was also analyzed and served as the basis for
the basic requirements of the system.
2. The locale successfully complied to the CMO no. 23,
series of 2009 section 6 bullets 1, with the OJT
Monitoring and Assessment System based on the high
acceptability rating of the users at Mabalacat City
College.
3. The system was successfully designed and developed,
the researchers considered the following in developing
the OJT Monitoring and Assessment System: (1)
identified problems with the OJT / practicum program
of the locale, (2) Examine any restrictions which may
arise, and (3) user evaluation of the prototype.
4. The researchers integrated the following modules turned
into the web pages of the system: (1) Administrator
module, (2) dean module, (3) OJT adviser module, (4)
industry - partner module, (5) OJT student module, (6)
guest module.
5. The following were utilized during the development of
the system: (1) Windows 7 Ultimate (OS), (2)Apache
2.4.4, (3) Xampp Web server package with PHP 5.4.1
and MySQL database, (4) PHPMyAdmin as the
Database Management System user interface, (5)
CodeIgniter 2.4.1 as the PHP Framework, (6)
Codelobster 3.0 as the PHP Editor, (7) Google Chrome
as the development browser, (8) Javascript as the
secondary language, and (9) Jquery as the Javascript
library for user interface. The development cycle of the
system was guided by the prototyping model because it
allowed the developer to create a prototype of the
system based on the first requirements analyzed during
the data gathering phase. The prototyping model also
allowed the users to have an actual feel of the system
even before the product is finished.
6. The system was submitted to the W3C validation
testing. The tests conducted were the HTML markup
test, CSS markup test, and the link validation test. All
tests were successfully done and the expected results
were achieved. W3C issued icons for the HTML
markup and CSS markup tests that served as a proof of
the system's compliance with the international
standards.
7. The end-users' evaluation of the system indicated a very
high acceptability level in terms of overall performance.
5.2 Conclusions
Based on the aforementioned findings of the study, the following
conclusions were drawn:
The proponent purchased a web-hosting service offered by
www.godaddy.com, the system's Domain Name Server (DNS).
The proponent named the DNS of the system as www.mccojt.com
for simplicity. After uploading the system to the web-hosting
service, the researchers submitted the system to the W3C
validation testing service. Based on the tests conducted to the
system, OJT monitoring and Assessment System passed the
HTML markup and Cascading Style Sheet Markup validation
standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). In
addition, the system also have no broken links as shown with the
results of the link checker validation testing also conducted using
the W3C tool.
The users can get access to the system if they have the following:
(1) personal computer / net book / laptop or any computing device
capable of running any modern web browser, (2) any modern
browser (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari), and (3) internet
connection with at least 512 Kbps.
The respondents evaluated the system as very good in terms of
functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, and portability.
Overall, the respondents evaluated the system as very good.
5.3 Recommendations
Based on the findings and conclusions of the study the following
are hereby recommended for the improvement of the project:
1. The future researchers should design and develop a
native android application that can facilitate a faster and
secure transaction processing within the system. The
android application could do the following: (1)
synchronization feature that will allow the users to use
the application even without an internet connection.
When the mobile device is able to connect to the
internet, the data saved in the mobile device should sync
with the system database automatically. And (2) the
locale should offer its own web hosting infrastructure
that will allow the system to be run on the school
premises for safer database maintenance.
2. To implement the OJT monitoring and assessment
system to other schools aside from Mabalacat City
College.
3. Future researchers should explore a more agile model in
developing future projects related to this study that
facilitate a more user-centric approach in system
development.
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