DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A MOBILE NOTE RECORDER APPLICATION

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A MOBILE NOTE RECORDER APPLICATION
 
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1   Background of the Study
In today’s modern world coupled with the advancement in technology, we have seen a huge increase in the number of mobile users in the world, hence there is need  to  enable  these  users  record  notes  instantly  in  their  phone  without  the  need  for searching  any  extra  resources  like  a  notebook,  pen  etc.  This is a note recording application that provides a friendly interface for instantly recording information. This will make note taking to android users as easy as storing and accessing contacts. Most people carry their phones and use them frequently for various tasks. The trend shows that the growth of mobile phone subscriptions has been growing rapidly. The latest statistics from The International Telecommunication Union (October 2014) shows that there will be 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions by the end of 2015. That is over 70 percent of the world population. These phones are not only used for communication. Lately there is an increasing interest in using mobile phones for interaction with people, places and real world objects. People can use their mobile phones to take pictures of visual markers such as data matrix codes. After recognizing the code, the information related to the code is displayed on the phone. GPS positioning is used for various location based services, such as "find nearest restaurants". Other areas of mobile interaction are smart objects such as advertisement posters. One of the building blocks for this trend in ubiquitous computing and communication is the easy and natural interaction between humans and technology.  Acquiring information, initiating actions, transferring data, performing financial transactions, etc., can be done by touch-based interaction, which is a way of establishing connections and exchanging information between mobile devices just by bringing them close to each other. It is interesting to see how technology can be utilized in an academic environment.
Expert Note Recorder is the technology that satisfies the need of those who want to take fast and easy note. The Expert Note Recorder provides facilities for people to take note with their android device be it android phone or tablets. The recorded note will be stored in the phone memory which can be read later for reference purpose. This application is very useful in taking note in the class since according to the mobile world statistics, it is found that the number of android mobile users is up to 89%. The reason why an android platform was chosen for the application is due to the fact that it is cheaper when compared to other mobile devices on different operating systems.
Android is the most popular mobile platform in the world. Android development is becoming an increasingly popular field. For developers who want to target a huge, diverse audience, the use of computer system software has been implemented from PC, mobile and even other means of technology and Applications / Games are now invading it. In recent years, Games are also being implemented by the use of the World Wide Web. Programmers and developers continuously discover and develop new faces, styles of games or applications which most of the people were looking forward to. In line with this, several android applications are being developed running to the tablets. Most are for gaming, application system, knowledge base system and data processing.
An Android application (commonly known as an app) is a program for smartphones running the Android operating system. Writing applications for mobile devices requires some extra consideration compared to writing traditional desktop applications. A smartphone, compared to a desktop computer, has very limited resources. The processor is slow, the memory is limited and power usage should be kept as low as possible. Interruptions (phone calls, text messages, etc.) may occur at any time or the device may simply run low on resources and suspend/kill applications. Android devices usually have both internal and external memory. The internal memory is where applications are typically stored, but this memory is very limited in size, so storing large files is not advised. The external memory however, has its own problems. Normally external memory means an external SD card, which might be removed and replaced by the user.
Android applications have to take all of this into account and still act reliably and fast. This includes saving user data when applications are suspended/killed as well as resuming as if nothing happened when the application is re-launched and manually putting work intensive tasks on separate threads to offload the user interface thread and keep the application responsive. Applications for Android are written in Java using the Android Software Development Kit (Android SDK). An application is a complete package, containing graphics, text resources and layout as well as the actual program.
1.2     Statement of Problem
Note-taking is widely regarded as being crucially important to learning in secondary and post-secondary classrooms.  Research on note taking indicates that taking notes in class and reviewing that notes (either in class or afterward) have a positive impact on the student’s learning. In general, note-taking promotes a deeper level of understanding, because an assimilative process is engaged. This boils down to the question “How should notes be taken to enhance effective and quick learning”? Note taking with books and pen has inherent disadvantages such as possible loss of notebooks etc. Considering the fact that people especially the young generation are more inclined to their devices than notebooks, if these devices are made to help them in the note taking process, then it will go a long way in improving our learning standard. Hence, the need for this application.
1.3     Aim and Objectives
The aim of this research work is to design a software for note taking.
The objectives of this study are as listed below;
1. To design a software application that can be installed on android devices
2. To develop a database which will act as a repository for storing notes to be taken
3. To implement the application on an android platform.
1.4   Significance of Study
We chose  the  Android  platform  because  it  is  one  of  the  fastest  growing mobile  operating  systems  in  the  market  and  it is  an  open  source development. This project demonstrates how mobile applications can contribute to enhancing the standard of learning in Nigeria and the world at large.
1.5  Limitations of the Study
Due to time and financial constraint, this research work was limited to the following areas;
· The system cannot be implemented on a computer system.
· It is software created only for touch screen pads, or touchscreen phones.
· This is not compatible except for android phones and smart phones.
1.6     Scope of Study
Every project is carried out to achieve a set of goals with some conditions keeping in mind that it should be easy to use, feasible and user friendly. As the goal of this project is to develop an application that will be able to take notes efficiently in the form of recording so as to enhance the learning process, this system will be designed keeping in mind the conditions (easy to use, feasibility and user friendly) stated above. The proposed project would cover:
1. Developing the application for android devices
2. Implementing it on an android platform
1.7   Definition of Terms
Android- A Linux-based operating system designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computer.
Launcher - Collectively, the part of the Android UI on the home screen that allows you to launch apps, make phone calls, etc. It is built into Android, or can be purchased in the Android Market.
Window - In an Android application, an object derived from the abstract class Window that specifies the elements of a generic window, such as the look and feel (title bar text, location and content of menus, and so on). Dialog and Activity use an implementation of this class to render a window. You do not need to implement this class or use windows in your application.
Note-Taking - Note-taking is the practice of recording information captured from another source. By taking notes, the writer records the essence of the information, freeing their mind from having to recall everything.
Application - An application is a program, or group of programs, that is designed for the end user to perform a specific task
SDK - A software development kit (SDK or "devkit") is typically a set of software development tools that allows the creation of applicationsfor a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar development platform. To create applications you have to download this software development kit.
GPS - The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based satellite navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions, anywhere on or near the earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. The system provides critical capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. It is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.