I added and sent out invitations to all to join the project log page. By January 1st we intend to start planning and working on this project. So please look out for mail from KoboJunkie

u could also put the word at www.asohk.forummotion.com

interested in the project too. am a Java programmer and I can make the switch to C# within the timeline required for this project.

I'm a C++ programmer. If there's any possibility that i can join the team. Holler me through geebengs@yahoo.com. Stay cool.

kodewrita:

interested in the project too. am a Java programmer and I can make the switch to C# within the timeline required for this project.

Please provide me with your contact information so I can add you to the log. You can find mine on my profile.

Great idea! I am in 100% support and interested in this project. I am a Software developer with proviciency in developing windows-client, web-client, mobile-client, Business Logic, middle tiers etc. The tools i use include,
Language:
C#/VB.Net
ASP.NET
HTML/XHTML/Javascript
XML/XPath/XSTL
Development Studio
Visual Studio.Net 2003, 2005, 2008.
DBMS
Microsoft SQL Server
Oracle Database Server
MySql Database Server
Object Modelling
Microsoft Visio
Dia (Open source)
Object Relational Persistence
NHibernate

I expect your invitation mail on onlylakunce@yahoo.com (Macaulay Ahmed) as soon as possible.

I did some researching of programs that we could mirror our development project after and I came up with the following ,  The one is a classroom Management program that not only provides teachers with tools to monitor their students online but also tools to help create and give great presentations as well as know what the students are doing online at any time. http://www.netsupportschool.com/downloads.asp . You can get a trial version of the program for download at this site. Please download and test the program to understand what it does and if you find any area you know you can work on, as in re-create, please write it down and inform the rest of us of this so we can all have this information handy. If you have access to Microsoft word, there is a template( PROFESSIONAL REPORT) in the reports template selection that comes with the software that you can take advantage of in typing up your idea and plan on how you expect the portion you would like to work on to move and how long you estimate it could take to implement the solution. You can always download this template or any other suitable template you use instead from online if available. We would like to keep this as professional as possible please.

One of the main issues we need to understand is that in order for us all to stay in touch and know where the project is at at any point as well as ensure the success of this project, we all need to make sure that communication pipe line is always open. Please feel free to email in your ideas for the project before January 13th.  After the deadline, We will review what we have and decide which ideas are feasible and which are not. Only ideas that have been submitted will be put together and so we can move to the next level of the project. Any other ideas will be considered if approved.

@contributors.
Though its my first time of ever visiting this forum (programming). I must confess that the way our higher institutions of learning handles computer science/programmin is nothin to talk about. I am a graduate of computer science myself. My lecturers killed my dreams of ever becomin a good programmer as I wanted to be by makin codin look so difficult. Is there no way u big guys (real progammin gurus) could talk sense into those guys at the University commission and NBTE to be reviewin their course contents regularly?

Imagine Polytechnics still workin on Pascal, QBasic, COBOL and their likes instead of real Object Oriented Languages. I managed to learn VBA via Ms - Access on my own. I wrote my project by it through the help of a fellow student that had additional trainin in India (a proficient software writer). Frankly speakin, am currently workin now as a graphic artist instead of database writer and because of the shaky foundation, intends goin fully into hardwares; I mean, information technology.

So fellow compatriots, am very optimistic of making it through programming. But where do I start from?
I would appreciate your kind suggestions. I really want to go into OOP and web designs

Thanks

If you had met me in 2005, I was a Biochemistry graduate with little or no knowlegde of programming. Early 2006, I hit the books, bought book after book on coding, Java, C#, VB.NET, SQL, Windows Server and I took my time reading and practising on my own, less than 2 years later, I am almost coding at Mid level and so it is not about what you are thought by your teachers but more what you are willing to do for self and on own. There is a so much information online and off to aid the person who wants to become a programmer. From sample codes to free IDEs and lots of tools out there from various companies and organizations to help those who want to be helped in anyway. YOu just have to be willing to take advantage of it all and realize that no one will do it for you and at the end you will only have yourself to blame.

php programmer here @ your service no charge as long as it is for this programme
08088472625 is d numb and mikkytrionze@yahoo.com, flexmania@hotmail.com are always ready 2 recieve ur mails.

Hi @Kobojunkie,
I am interested in what you are planning to undertake but would like to clarify some issues that have been bugging me since I saw your initial post.
Who is going to own the IP for the program?
How will enhancements required by different schools be managed in the development of the application i.e one school want feature A whilst another school does want that feature but something completely different?
Security- This is a major concern of mine (being a security specialist). The data being held is very important to the people involved

This has the potential of becoming very big and interested parties might offer to take over the project and application, has anyone thought about the commercials - give it away, sell it or refuse totally?

I have been building distributed applications for over 10years ( past 7 focused on the web) and know what you plan is achievable but will have issues in controlling development, enhancements and maintenance.

I hope we can have a discussion around the items raised so we are clear on how to get to where we need to go!
I would definitely like to participate

Hi Group, am bash, am Interested too, and I buy the idea of making a group, am Web Developer with experienced in Php and Msql. I am new into Vb.net

I have developed web portals for some Colleges in my area, therefore I think I have something to contribute to my beloved naija community.

I will like to recommend all the interested members having Skype id for easiest communication, I hope is not bad idea.

Thank you all for showing interest and support.

Ayinkus:

Hi @Kobojunkie,
I am interested in what you are planning to undertake but would like to clarify some issues that have been bugging me since I saw your initial post.
Who is going to own the IP for the program?
How will enhancements required by different schools be managed in the development of the application i.e one school want feature A whilst another school does want that feature but something completely different?
Security- This is a major concern of mine (being a security specialist). The data being held is very important to the people involved

This has the potential of becoming very big and interested parties might offer to take over the project and application, has anyone thought about the commercials - give it away, sell it or refuse totally?

I have been building distributed applications for over 10years ( past 7 focused on the web) and know what you plan is achievable but will have issues in controlling development, enhancements and maintenance.

I hope we can have a discussion around the items raised so we are clear on how to get to where we need to go!
I would definitely like to participate

Hi,

I apologize for taking so long in getting back to you. I didn't realize that there were updates to the post so please bear with me all those who have been waiting to get feedback from me on this. So far, I am waiting to get correspondence from any and all those who signed up to work on the project.


Like I mentioned earlier, we are looking for people who are committed and are able to spare at least 20 hours a month to spend on this project. It may not be money focused now but the potentials for financial benefits in the future are enormous and only those who actually spend a substantial amount of time on this will be able to benefit from such.

To answer your question,  We do not necessarily need an IP for the program at this time, we simply need to focus on creating an application that will help schools around the country catch up with the technology wave going on now and ride it with ease at little or no cost to them.  At present, I already have an IP address in mind and it is currently non-profit but should it turn to a for profit venture, then those who, as mentioned are entitled to proceeds will definitely be considered.
 
What we want to do is create a flexible product with all the basics needed for schools, modelling it after currently available applications designed and used in various schools, and more. Should a school require modifications be made and is willing to pay for it, we can modify the application to fit what the client needs. With the way we design the product, this should not be too much work to deal with, depending on client specs.

I predict the client will have to handle the bulk of the securing of data, unless they are willing to pay for us to host and manage the information. We will definitely have to have serious security plan in place ourselves and I predict many schools will find it cheaper to have us host and manage their apps.
 
Right now, considering the commercials as well. I actually see us entering the Education market by offering this as the standard program to help public schools in Nigeria go digital and still save some money for other things. We can offer College students an opportunity to go out to set up for schools in remote areas and earn experience handling the application and much more. We can offer subscriptions on a yearly basis and even upgrades and service plans as well. I mean there is a whole lot we can do with this but we need to at least start off and be serious about it from the get go.

bashtech:

Hi Group, am bash, am Interested too, and I buy the idea of making a group, am Web Developer with experienced in Php and Msql. I am new into Vb.net

I have developed web portals for some Colleges in my area, therefore I think I have something to contribute to my beloved naija community.

I will like to recommend all the interested members having Skype id for easiest communication, I hope is not bad idea.

Thank you all for showing interest and support.

bashtech@gmail.com

I downloaded Skype today and I think it will be a great idea if we could all get together and chat about this soon. My Skype ID is Kobojunkie

Hello Kobo,

I think the guy that asked about IP was not talking about Internet Protocol address but rather about Intellectual Property.

If the product ever gets 'sellable' then you can bet your last =N=100 that people who contributed to the project will want their share, whether it be open ,closed or 'face-me-i-face-you' source.

They will want their share.

Although I do believe that MySQL AB has some sort of agreement with the initial co-developers that we could maybe investigate.

About features and all that, I really think that the software MUST be pluggable. That is let the organisations pick and choose what features they want and maybe even charge them for features purchased!

What do you think?

And as for the Skype thing, well I don't intend on hving it! I already have Yahoo Messenger, that should be enough.

What is your Yahoo ID?

And please put an (f) after your name.

You won't believe how shpcked I was when I recieved an email from someone who shared the same name with Tracy Chapman!

Nice spirit, good will and beautiful concept. I would love to work with you on the project for FREE even if it entails just sitting and watching you guys do it. Its just one of the little ways i think i can say thank you to you for all the help you have rendered to me since i joined NAIRALAND. I am proficient on VB 2005, Java, Html, Asp.net, visual J# and a little of oracle, win32, and XML. I also have a good judgement on GUI's. The project is similar to one i am currently working on only that mine is not school or education based but i guess it is still the type of data work am working on. Presently the my school (UNILAG) would benefit greatly, cause i am a witness to all the stress we go through any time you arer looking for your file, it just of recent that they went online with data. Talk of the MS office suite i think its high time Microsoft stops dominating the industry. We can also add to the project a complex text editor and a spreadsheet(both having an XML based extension, making data from the project easily transferrable into the text editor and spreadsheet, this might save them a whole lot of stress) that does all the Ms Office does and more, hereby creating awareness of Nigerian Developers. On later aspects of the projects we could put auto saving recovery processes that run every 35mins or so. I hope i could fit into the team.

kanirip:

Hello Kobo,

I think the guy that asked about IP was not talking about Internet Protocol address but rather about Intellectual Property.

If the product ever gets 'sellable' then you can bet your last =N=100 that people who contributed to the project will want their share, whether it be open ,closed or 'face-me-i-face-you' source.

They will want their share.

Although I do believe that MySQL AB has some sort of agreement with the initial co-developers that we could maybe investigate.

About features and all that, I really think that the software MUST be pluggable. That is let the organisations pick and choose what features they want and maybe even charge them for features purchased!

What do you think?

And as for the Skype thing, well I don't intend on hving it! I already have Yahoo Messenger, that should be enough.

What is your Yahoo ID?

And please put an (f) after your name.

You won't believe how shpcked I was when I recieved an email from someone who shared the same name with Tracy Chapman!

OH, My mistake, I thought he meant IP address and I must admit it thought it weird someone would ask me who would own the IP address to the project actually but felt I had to answer anyways. Like I explained earlier, only those who contributed substantially from the start will have much to do with any proceeds from the project. Other developers can aquire special** licences to use our work in the future.

Since this is STRICTLY VOLUNTEER at this point, I would not like to encourage people to start thinking of the monetary benefits that may come but more of the good that could come from this in the long run.The Educational system in Nigeria and Africa as a whole needs a huge boost. This is our way of offering a tool that will help and at the same time open opportunities in the near future for self and others who may want to get involved.

I definitely believe we need to make it pluggable and flexible enough for them to pick and choose and also design their own features on.


As for using Skype, this is so that that those who do not own a Yahoo account can also get access for online meetings and more. My Skype/Yahoo/Hotmail ID is KoboJunkie.

As for the f issue, you assume I am f and that is fine but I do not need f next to my name as the project does not require that information at all. I would rather there be no gender bias on this project please.) Yes, the first name if correct, but I never met Chapman.

lordbenax:

Nice spirit, good will and beautiful concept. I would love to work with you on the project for FREE even if it entails just sitting and watching you guys do it. Its just one of the little ways i think i can say thank you to you for all the help you have rendered to me since i joined NAIRALAND. I am proficient on VB 2005, Java, Html, Asp.net, visual J# and a little of oracle, win32, and XML. I also have a good judgement on GUI's. The project is similar to one i am currently working on only that mine is not school or education based but i guess it is still the type of data work am working on. Presently the my school (UNILAG) would benefit greatly, cause i am a witness to all the stress we go through any time you arer looking for your file, it just of recent that they went online with data. Talk of the MS office suite i think its high time Microsoft stops dominating the industry. We can also add to the project a complex text editor and a spreadsheet(both having an XML based extension, making data from the project easily transferrable into the text editor and spreadsheet, this might save them a whole lot of stress) that does all the Ms Office does and more, hereby creating awareness of Nigerian Developers. On later aspects of the projects we could put auto saving recovery processes that run every 35mins or so. I hope i could fit into the team.

Cool

Hi, Kobojunkie.
This is a cool idea. Have you heard of the Interactive Learnin Network (ILN)?
Its a similar idae presently powered by ETF and NEPAD. I worked on developing the portal for this.
Building an open source version would make loads of sense as ILN when launched would go with a subscription fee,
I develop C#, Java, Mysql, aspx and SQL200/2005 and would love to contribute to your course.

Reach me on gbengene@gmail.com

Anyone have experience writting a Project plan /SOW

Kobojunkie:

Anyone have experience writting a Project plan /SOW

Hi KoboJunkie,
I am not at this time interested in the money that can be made from this project but I am a realist. I find it better to understand all the areas of future concern now, get them out of the way and move forward.

I can take on the task of creating a project plan. Do we have an online area where we can put group documents?
I know you have mentioned source control but we are some way off from starting to code.

If I suggest compiling a list of team members (resources), identify what are trying to achieve and then start assigning people to these tasks with deadlines.

We can communicate using free voip services (Yahoo, MSN, Skype or plain VOIP (ip to ip)).

Let me know your thoughts ( yinka_a@hotmail.com)

I agree with that @Ayinkus. Source Control is one of the tools/resources I would like for us to use for this project is why I put that on the list as well. If you are willing to take on the project plan creation. Please be my guest. You are welcome to ask any question and we will definitely all try to chip in. I did create an online area for documents in ViewPath. I will email you a link to the log and you can take advantage of it.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I believe in starting.

Can I have by a show of hand those interested in and have the time to participate in this project.

My aim will be to produce a highlevel project plan showing only the items that might be relevant at this time, we will elaborate as we get a better understanding of what we are trying to do.

With your indulgence, I have some requests and some principles

We need a name for our team, please let me have your suggestions As soon as; Personally I like 'The collective
We need a name for our System (application)
Could I also have a short summary off your skill sets.
Please provide
[list]
[li]What you can do[/li]
[li]What you would like to do[/li]
[li]What you do not want to do[/li]
[/list]
Must be project related

Lets us be professional to one another at all times
Lets sometimes agree to disagree

Are we all in agreement that the programming language will be C#?
The database server be MS SQL?

We need to build on this, so I am expecting your contributions

Have a great weekend

Hi Group,


10 tips for managing virtual teams

Most everyone works in a team environment. It has always been understood that the most effective teams are those located together. In fact, many managers decide to co-locate their team after reorganization, even though the constant churn of people moving from place to place is seen by others as unproductive.

Against this backdrop is a global phenomenon that is driving team staffing in the other direction. The Internet, faster and more reliable communication, and collaborative tools are allowing people to come together on teams that are no longer co-located. In fact, the whole concept of "globalization" is pushing work all over the world, with independent people and teams working anywhere and everywhere.

These groups are sometimes referred to as "virtual teams." They are real teams and they fit a classic definition of teams in terms of working together to achieve a common set of objectives. However, they are referred to as "virtual" mostly because they do not communicate and interact in a traditional face-to-face manner.

Here are some special techniques that can be used to manage these virtual teams.


Establish team objectives

The team members need to know and understand what it is that they are doing together. If they understand only their own role and their own work, they will always just be individual contributors.

Remind everyone they are a team

If the team members think they are all working independently, they will act independent. If they know they are part of a team working on common objectives and deliverables, they will tend to feel better about their work and be more active in their collaboration with other team members.

Establish ground rules

Even though the team members may be remote, they still need to exhibit a common and acceptable set of behaviors. In fact, this is probably more important for virtual teams. Ground rules include things like setting the hours during which the team members are expected to be working, establishing lunch times, determining which meetings are mandatory (in-person, Web-based, or via telephone), and defining expectations for communication turnaround times

Obtain the right technology


I suppose there have always been virtual teams. However, this trend has accelerated in the past few years. The technology is there to support virtual teams -- there is really no reason to be without it. This includes fast access to the Internet, audio conferencing, videocams, collaborative software, and shared directories.

Look for opportunities to socialize

Team members located together have opportunities to socialize throughout the day. Virtual teams don’t usually have this same opportunity to interact with each other, so it is more important for the project manager to look for ways they can bond. This might include getting everyone together one time in a face-to-face setting -- perhaps for a project kickoff meeting.


Be sensitive to cultural differences

It's possible that your virtual team all thinks and acts the same way. However, more and more virtual teams consist of people from multiple countries and cultures. If you are the project manager on this type of team, make sure you have some appreciation for the differences in how people work and how they behave.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

You need to be extra proactive in your communications to make sure everyone understands what is expected. People can start to feel isolated if they do not receive regular communications. It is hard enough to keep everyone informed on a "regular" project. The communication lines on a virtual team must be opened up especially wide. As project manager, you can provide this steady stream of communication.

Adjust and compromise on time differences

Remember that what's convenient for you may not always be convenient to the team members. I was on a project team at a large global company where the manager insisted that team meetings start at 9:00 am. That was convenient for him but resulted in hard feeling from people in other locations who needed to stay very late for these meetings.

Be extra diligent in workload management

Be precise and explicit in assigning work to the virtual team members. You also need to ensure that work is completed on time.

Give people shorter assignments

This is not the time to give people long assignments and hope that they are completed by the deadline. Instead of assigning a six-week activity, for instance, assign the work in three two-week activities. In the former case, you won't know for sure if the work was done for six weeks. In the latter case, you can tell every two weeks if the work is on track.

Reference:

By Tom Mochal

Copyright ©2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more downloads and a free TechRepublic membership, please visit http://techrepublic.com.com/2001-6240-0.html

bashtech:

Hi Group,


10 tips for managing virtual teams

Most everyone works in a team environment. It has always been understood that the most effective teams are those located together. In fact, many managers decide to co-locate their team after reorganization, even though the constant churn of people moving from place to place is seen by others as unproductive.

Against this backdrop is a global phenomenon that is driving team staffing in the other direction. The Internet, faster and more reliable communication, and collaborative tools are allowing people to come together on teams that are no longer co-located. In fact, the whole concept of "globalization" is pushing work all over the world, with independent people and teams working anywhere and everywhere.

These groups are sometimes referred to as "virtual teams." They are real teams and they fit a classic definition of teams in terms of working together to achieve a common set of objectives. However, they are referred to as "virtual" mostly because they do not communicate and interact in a traditional face-to-face manner.

Here are some special techniques that can be used to manage these virtual teams.


Establish team objectives

The team members need to know and understand what it is that they are doing together. If they understand only their own role and their own work, they will always just be individual contributors.

Remind everyone they are a team

If the team members think they are all working independently, they will act independent. If they know they are part of a team working on common objectives and deliverables, they will tend to feel better about their work and be more active in their collaboration with other team members.

Establish ground rules

Even though the team members may be remote, they still need to exhibit a common and acceptable set of behaviors. In fact, this is probably more important for virtual teams. Ground rules include things like setting the hours during which the team members are expected to be working, establishing lunch times, determining which meetings are mandatory (in-person, Web-based, or via telephone), and defining expectations for communication turnaround times

Obtain the right technology


I suppose there have always been virtual teams. However, this trend has accelerated in the past few years. The technology is there to support virtual teams -- there is really no reason to be without it. This includes fast access to the Internet, audio conferencing, videocams, collaborative software, and shared directories.

Look for opportunities to socialize

Team members located together have opportunities to socialize throughout the day. Virtual teams don’t usually have this same opportunity to interact with each other, so it is more important for the project manager to look for ways they can bond. This might include getting everyone together one time in a face-to-face setting -- perhaps for a project kickoff meeting.


Be sensitive to cultural differences

It's possible that your virtual team all thinks and acts the same way. However, more and more virtual teams consist of people from multiple countries and cultures. If you are the project manager on this type of team, make sure you have some appreciation for the differences in how people work and how they behave.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

You need to be extra proactive in your communications to make sure everyone understands what is expected. People can start to feel isolated if they do not receive regular communications. It is hard enough to keep everyone informed on a "regular" project. The communication lines on a virtual team must be opened up especially wide. As project manager, you can provide this steady stream of communication.

Adjust and compromise on time differences

Remember that what's convenient for you may not always be convenient to the team members. I was on a project team at a large global company where the manager insisted that team meetings start at 9:00 am. That was convenient for him but resulted in hard feeling from people in other locations who needed to stay very late for these meetings.

Be extra diligent in workload management

Be precise and explicit in assigning work to the virtual team members. You also need to ensure that work is completed on time.

Give people shorter assignments

This is not the time to give people long assignments and hope that they are completed by the deadline. Instead of assigning a six-week activity, for instance, assign the work in three two-week activities. In the former case, you won't know for sure if the work was done for six weeks. In the latter case, you can tell every two weeks if the work is on track.

Reference:

By Tom Mochal

Copyright ©2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more downloads and a free TechRepublic membership, please visit http://techrepublic.com.com/2001-6240-0.html

On that note, please Reply the many emails that have been sent you so far @Bastech. If Each member of the team keeps the line of communication open and remembers to stay in touch, then we have a successful project.

My Log

What you can do : I am quite experienced in Fluent in the use of the following technologies ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET , Stored Procedures, OOP , Web Services, AJax, XML, SQL and I do have some knowledge of SilverLight, LinQ and to some extent Javascript.

What you would like to do : At this time, depending on the draft of the project plan we intend to start off with, I will like to leave my options open. Basically, I would like to wait for others to choose and then I will take on whatever is left to handle .

What you do not want to do : I do not have any restrictions or areas that I would not like to touch in this. I am quite open to working on practically any area of the project. I am a programmer and would prefer coding work though.

Why don't folks try out this free Microsoft Training Seminar and find out all you need to know about Microsoft's new and retired exams and its free o. Call this number 07035530027 or register @ http://www.oakeinstitute.com/seminar/trainning.php or www.oakeinstitute.com and come to 21 Tunde Gabby Street Behind County hospital, Ogba on the 2nd February 2008.

This is a reminder to those who have yet to forward their replies to Yinka and to those who have yet to sign on. Please send or post your ideas and your available hours here so we can put the final group together and start working on this as soon as the project plan and SOW are ready for us to start working. We need to know who gets to work on what from the beginning. Please consider this a team and not take a disconnected approach to this at all.

Hello All,
Sorry for my lack of recent communication.

I have been in Nigeria and I am writing this from the airport on my way back to the UK.

Whilst in Nigeria, I had the opportunity to meet a department which goes by NESTG, meeting with the assistant commissioner.
This department is responsible for e-enabling government and had made some in roads to meeting the objective

During one the meetings I had, they demoed a web and PC based application called eSchools. It's main function is for single point to get information on primary and secondary schools in Nigeria.
The application which is almost finished is to start UAT (User testing) in the next month or so in OYO state.

It covers the application space we had identified in this thread and goes on a little bit further as a resource for parents to get information on schools, teachers, class sizes etc

I will add more information once I get back into the UK

Ayinkus are you trying to kill the thread or discourage the group.
no software is perfect and no software that can not be improved on. keep up the work kobo and b not discouraged
the power of free software is in its ability to be updated at all time. all the university portals are just there update is slow and the interface is always terrible.

am in for the spirit this represents abit late but like some one said even if it is just to sit and look. am in.at least we are coming up.it reminds me of the unijos geek thing.but i think we will succeed.

this is just to say dont be discourage it is too early my friends.

email me the registration link nwolisag@yahoo.com expecting kobo and yinka to keep this job on.