WEB-BASED VIRTUAL CLASSROOM SYSTEM MODEL FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN NIGERIA

There has been out-cry nationwide about the persistent decline in the quality of our education in Nigeria an indication that the current teaching and learning approaches in use in our institutions have failed. The need to improve the quality of computer science education currently imparted in our Education system has therefore become imperative. Based on our findings, a mathematical model Web-based Virtual Classroom was developed to provide a viable medium through which sound ICT education can be offered by our colleges of education that can carter for varieties of learners - those who are unable to attend school due to treatment for chronic illnesses; who are at risk for educational failure due to intermittent school attendance. Our system is designed based on active learning approach that adopts blended learning theory (Constructivist-Cognivist learning approach), incorporating c-pedagogy that supports varied learning styles and learning strategies through fostering of collaboration among participants in the web-based Virtual learning environment. Our system has an architecture composed of backend engine (based on MySQL server database engine) on Apache web server and a frontend engine. The logical design is modeled with the UML; the application is implemented using the PHP programming language.