Development of an android mobile time table management application for Library and Information Technology Department, Federal University of Technology, Minna

Abstract

The aim of this research work was to study the existing timetable approach of the department of Library and Information Technology, Federal University of Technology, Minna with a view to improving it. The findings of the study showed that the paper-based manual approach is adopted by the department in which the department publishes and disseminates its timetable on the departmental notice board which serves as the only means of correspondence between the students and the department; the students are then bound with the responsibility of accessing the content of the timetable. The Structured System Analysis and Design approach was adopted for the study. Fact finding techniques adopted include observation, record inspection and interview. The findings of the study showed that the current approach used for publishing and disseminating the timetable is a paper-based approach and it was concluded that the approach is not efficient in managing the proximity between the students and the content of the timetable. Due to these findings, an Android Mobile Timetable Application was recommended, developed and implemented. The new system provided a platform for managing academic activities such as lectures, tests and exams for the students of the department. Further recommendations were made for the application to be re-designed to include an admin who will be responsible for uploading each timetable in a database which will become accessible to a registered user; to re-design the application to run on other popular mobile operating systems like Apple iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phones, etc., and to incorporate Google Map so as to allow lecture venues to be easily located for students who are not familiar with the school environment.