OVERVIEWS

CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEWS
1.1 SCENARIO
Information technology is becoming increasingly clear that the growth of computing and
communications technology is exceeding our understanding of its economic and social
impacts. Information technology is being used by organizations in a wide variety of settings
and ways and that information technology is critical for the smooth operation of many
organizations. Further, its usage is positively correlated with organizational productivity
and efficiency.
Change driven by information technology is having a significant impact on every aspect of
life and is an increasingly critical issue for education. Information technology is able to
improve the delivery of education and enhance student achievement. They are not only
make teaching, learning, study more convenient and easy but also ensure desired efficiency
and scientific methods. Because of the following rationales that government attempts
encouraging the use of information technology in education. The education system can
prepare for students to participate fully in an advanced information society in which they
live (a social rationale). Environments equipped with computers and network accessing are
extremely useful for providing a foundation for learning, promoting independent learning,
and creating better environment. In order to help universities that disclose information using
the Internet (websites) is an extremely useful tool for sharing information on what goes on
in universities and classrooms and for establishing a new level of exchange with caregivers
and the community. It also provides the potential to deepen and expand the understanding
on students across the entire student curriculum (a learning effectiveness rationale). And it
helps them to overcome problems of distance and isolation (an efficiency rationale). Each
of these there rationales supports each other.
The Internet has penetrated rapidly and extensively into U.S. public universities. A U.S.
Department of Education survey found that as of fall 1996, 65 percent of universities had
access to the Internet; penetration had increased by 15 percentage points in each of the prior
2 years. The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) estimated that in 2000, U.S.
universities had 7.4 million computers for use in instruction. But in Viet Nam, instead of
being fully aware of that, we failed to apply it successfully. So what are the reasons?
Inadequate facilities, lack of qualified manpower, limitation on development of technology

and the deficiency of infrastructure when referring to this problem. In fact, the impact on
the bulk of teaching and learning has been minimal. Developments in paper/printing
technologies have had far more influence, with the consequence that face-to-face discussion
and paper resources still dominate public education. As the matter of fact, there is a
communication gap between lectures and students only in classrooms because of the
passive way of learning. In an attempt to handle the knowledge, students have no choice
except for the traditional means such as coming to libraries to read printed materials.
Needless to say, the application of information technology is an access road to mine of
knowledge. Therefore, applying the information technology in the field of education
becomes more and more important and pressing. And it gives us the reason to hope that the
quality of education and training in Viet Nam will be so much improved.
1.2 BACKGROUND
What is a Web-based Knowledge Base System?
A web-based Knowledge Base System is an online Knowledge resource on the net.
Knowledge Base System creates a huge archive of information on a website that help
people gain knowledge. Knowledge Base System also is a communication tool that helps
people share knowledge quickly and easily.
Objectives of Web-based Knowledge Base System
Web-based Knowledge Base System changes significantly the roles of traditional lecturer
and student. Students assume increasing responsibility for their learning while lecturers
become resources, facilitators and evaluators, guiding students in their problem-solving
efforts. For you as a learner, the ability to concentrate and to use your time well is the key
to succeed.
Since the dawn of the Internet age, the online Knowledge Base System was supposed to let
great lecturers reach any student, any subject, any time, and anywhere. Online
teaching/learning are not fixed in time or space. Many students find the flexibility of online
learning a practical alternative to sitting in a campus classroom for hours on end. Students
can interact with the lecturer and their classmates at any time from anywhere to seek
clarification for issues they encounter in their homework assignment, to discuss topics in
the course contents, or to initiate new discussions on related topics. A successful online

discussion has the same synergistic effect as group or in-class discussion, in which students
build on one another's perspectives to gain a deeper understanding of the materials form
different perspectives.
Online Knowledge Base System engages and empowers students, increase their enjoyment
and encourage them to share and participate in their learning process. In an effective
collaborative learning environment a group of students comes together to share and learn
from one another. You are held together by a common interest in a body of knowledge and
are driven by desire and need to share problems, experiences, insights, templates, tools, and
best practices. Active participation in collaborative learning deepens your knowledge by
interacting on a daily basis. It is a channel for knowledge to flow and is a means to
strengthen the social fabric in online learning environment.
Facilitating creative dialogues between lecturers and students is the Internet's greatest
contribution to enhancing education, much more important than just putting lecture notes
online. Most face-to-face courses involve a low-level of collaboration among students and
lecturers. A Web-based environment is where the students can think and experience a
sequential flow of learning allowing "teach-yourself" by way of thinking for yourself.
Subsequently, it must allow the students interacting freely with the lecturer whenever they
need to.
Unlike face-to-face setting, where the responsibilities are ranked with emphasis on teaching
then learning, for the online learning the emphasis is on learning then teaching. From the
experience in both settings, we have realized that for online Knowledge Base System
students and lecturers are partners in the learning process. Partnership makes the success
faster, less expensive, and easier to achieve. There is great opportunity in putting this
concept into the hands of lecturers and supporting their change in thinking with exposure to
excellent mentoring. Therefore web-based system is for both students and lecturers as a
team without any separation.
Students today no longer spend all their time in a noisy lecture room or the deadly silence in
the huge reading room of a university library. These components of learning environment
still exist but their functionality has changed. Web-based system delivery is the beginning
of a new wave of technology development in higher education. Freeing student work from

paper and making it organized and transportable opens enormous possibilities for re-
thinking whole curricula: the evaluation of faculty, assessment of programs. Besides the
required textbook a collection of online resources replacing the traditional printed materials
in the libraries must be provided.
The impact of class size is of concern to all parties involved on Web-based
learning/teaching. It takes 2 or 3 times as much time to teach an on-line course as a face-to-
face course for both students and the Lecturers. A subject that works for 15 or 20 students
now may be possible with 100 students.
Online Knowledge Base System allows knowledge to spread near-instantly, and makes it
accessible to everyone, i.e., breaking down the walls of education. Given the ease and speed
at which information travels. Strategy using online Knowledge Base System could prove
successful not only economically, but could exploit also human resources that would foster
innovation and strengthen the democratic foundation of a knowledge-based society.
1.3 INFRASTRUCTURE
The faculty has an Information Center with more than 300 networked PCs that connect
directly to the Internet. A broadband will be implemented in a near future. The faculty also
has a server running MS Windows 2000 Server, IIS Web server and MS SQL Server 2000.
1.4 ORGANISATION CHART
The faculty of Informatics and Economic - National Economic University
National Economic University (NEU) is known to be the top Universities in Vietnam. NEU
has approximately 700 personnel including 2 People’s teachers, 29 meritorious teachers, 13
Processors, 32 Prof. Doctors, 149 Doctors, 120 Masters, 145 official lecturers, 260
lecturers. NEU is not only famous of its qualified staffs but also the quality of training.
NEU is rewarded many medals and certificate of merit from the government. NEU’s
training scale is about 27,000 students.
Figure 1.4.1 - Organization chart of National Economic University
The Faculty of Informatics and Economic equips the students with knowledge of business
management and administration. On top of it, students have chance to know more about
computing and software technology which help them be able to apply the latest
achievements in information technology.

The Faculty of Informatics and Economic includes two subjects and one information
technology center:
Figure 1.4.2 –The organization chart of The Faculty of Informatics and
Economic
The faculty trains 16 subjects:
• Informatics Foundation
• Applied Informatics
• Computer Architecture
• Operating Systems
• Programming Technique 1
• Programming Technique 2
• Object Oriented Programming