Annotation of doc/help/LON-CAPA.developers.manual.lyx, revision 1.1

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        !            26: \layout Title
        !            27: 
        !            28: LON-CAPA Developer's Manual
        !            29: \layout Author
        !            30: 
        !            31: (source material)
        !            32: \layout Section
        !            33: 
        !            34: About This Document
        !            35: \layout Standard
        !            36: 
        !            37: The purpose of this document is to introduce developers people to LON-CAPA,
        !            38:  and enable them to start doing real work with the system as quickly as
        !            39:  possible.
        !            40:  This should prove useful both to people who already intend to develop with
        !            41:  LON-CAPA, and to technical people who are evaluating LON-CAPA to see if
        !            42:  it suits their needs.
        !            43:  
        !            44: \layout Standard
        !            45: 
        !            46: The most daunting task facing new developers is understanding how the whole
        !            47:  system fits together; individual pieces are usually sensible but like any
        !            48:  large program it is difficult to understand the forest by looking at just
        !            49:  the trees.
        !            50:  Therefore, this document will start out with the highest-level overview
        !            51:  of the system, which can be safely skipped if you already know what LON-CAPA
        !            52:  is.
        !            53:  
        !            54: \layout Standard
        !            55: 
        !            56: Next, we'll look at the major subsystems of LON-CAPA and how they fit together
        !            57:  at a high level, with enough detail to understand the context a given piece
        !            58:  of the system functions in.
        !            59:  Appropriate pointers will be given to the detailed documentation on the
        !            60:  various subsystems, so this section can 
        !            61: \layout Standard
        !            62: 
        !            63: Then a brief tutorial in adding a 
        !            64: \begin_inset Quotes eld
        !            65: \end_inset 
        !            66: 
        !            67: handler
        !            68: \begin_inset Quotes erd
        !            69: \end_inset 
        !            70: 
        !            71:  to LON-CAPA will be given, enabling you both to understand how to add brand-new
        !            72:  functionality to LON-CAPA, and better understand the majority of the code
        !            73:  in the system which is in the form of handlers.
        !            74: \layout Standard
        !            75: 
        !            76: Finally, the last and largest portion of this document will be extremely
        !            77:  detailed examinations of the subsystems from a technical point of view,
        !            78:  including API descriptions suitable for use in programming.
        !            79:  Obviously you will not need to read this over entirely, unless you really
        !            80:  want to know what the system can do.
        !            81: \layout Section
        !            82: 
        !            83: What is LON-CAPA?
        !            84: \layout Standard
        !            85: 
        !            86: The 
        !            87: \series bold 
        !            88: L
        !            89: \series default 
        !            90: earning
        !            91: \series bold 
        !            92: O
        !            93: \series default 
        !            94: nline 
        !            95: \series bold 
        !            96: N
        !            97: \series default 
        !            98: etwork with a 
        !            99: \series bold 
        !           100: C
        !           101: \series default 
        !           102: omputer 
        !           103: \series bold 
        !           104: A
        !           105: \series default 
        !           106: ssisted 
        !           107: \series bold 
        !           108: P
        !           109: \series default 
        !           110: ersonalized 
        !           111: \series bold 
        !           112: A
        !           113: \series default 
        !           114: pproach (LON-CAPA) is an integrated system for online learning and assessment.
        !           115:  It consists of a learning content authoring and management system allowing
        !           116:  new and existing content to be used flexibly, a course management system,
        !           117:  an individualized homework and automatic grading system, data collection
        !           118:  and data mining system, and a content delivery system that will provide
        !           119:  gateways to and from NSF's National STEM Digital Library.
        !           120: \layout Standard
        !           121: 
        !           122: In particular:
        !           123: \layout Itemize
        !           124: 
        !           125: The LON-CAPA software provides instructors with a common, scalable platform
        !           126:  to assist in all aspects of teaching a course, from lecture preparation
        !           127:  to administration of homework assignments and exams.
        !           128:  It allows instructors to create educational materials and to share such
        !           129:  learning resources with colleagues across institutions in a simple and
        !           130:  efficient manner.
        !           131:  
        !           132: \layout Itemize
        !           133: 
        !           134: It provides an extremely sophisticated assignment engine that can create
        !           135:  unique homework assignments and examinations for each student in a class.
        !           136:  Its formative and summative assessment tools grade a broad variety of objective
        !           137:  problems and assist in evaluation of essays.
        !           138:  
        !           139: \layout Itemize
        !           140: 
        !           141: It provides prompt feedback for students and instructors, as well as statistical
        !           142:  information on performance and on effectiveness of materials.
        !           143:  Discussion pages attached to every homework assignment encourage communication
        !           144:  among students and faculty.
        !           145: \layout Standard
        !           146: 
        !           147: The LON-CAPA software is freely available and free (GNU General Public License),
        !           148:  and may be modified and adapted.
        !           149: \layout Standard
        !           150: 
        !           151: LON-CAPA is being developed and implemented by an enthusiastic group of
        !           152:  faculty and professionals who recognize that Information Technology can
        !           153:  play an important role in improving students' learning and understanding.
        !           154:  Current members of the project include faculty from universities, colleges,
        !           155:  and K-12 schools in the US, Canada, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
        !           156:  The core development group is located at Michigan State University.
        !           157: \layout Subsection
        !           158: 
        !           159: Why LON-CAPA?
        !           160: \layout Standard
        !           161: 
        !           162: There are tens of learning management systems to choose from.
        !           163:  Why should you choose LON-CAPA over the competition?
        !           164: \layout Itemize
        !           165: 
        !           166: 
        !           167: \series bold 
        !           168: Unparalleled assessment engine
        !           169: \series default 
        !           170: : The assessment engine in LON-CAPA is the beneficiary of over a decade
        !           171:  of development and refinement.
        !           172:  Few projects are even in the same league of the LON-CAPA project in experience
        !           173:  with sophisticated homework problems.
        !           174:  Sophisticated randomization features go well beyond merely randomizing
        !           175:  the order of multiple choice problems; everything can be randomized, from
        !           176:  the exact parameters in a given numerical problem to 
        !           177: \emph on 
        !           178: which
        !           179: \emph default 
        !           180:  parameters are missing for a given student.
        !           181:  See our Author's Manual for an idea of how powerful the assessment engine
        !           182:  is (http://msu.loncapa.org/adm/help/author.manual.pdf), or try our Demo Course
        !           183:  (http://demo.lon-capa.org/cgi-bin/signon.pl).
        !           184: \layout Itemize
        !           185: 
        !           186: 
        !           187: \series bold 
        !           188: Full course support
        !           189: \series default 
        !           190: : LON-CAPA is capable of running your entire course from top to bottom.
        !           191:  LON-CAPA can host all of the content of the course, from syllabuses to
        !           192:  actual course materials.
        !           193:  It can track your students grades, with as much power as you need.
        !           194:  Want to give students bonuses for getting a problem right on the first
        !           195:  try? Or insert external grades into the system from an external data source?
        !           196:  Powerful communication features enable discussion between the instructors
        !           197:  and students, or among the students themselves.
        !           198:  From the initial course creation to the final grades readout, LON-CAPA
        !           199:  has all the power you need to run courses.
        !           200: \layout Itemize
        !           201: 
        !           202: 
        !           203: \series bold 
        !           204: It's free
        !           205: \series default 
        !           206: : The thousands or millions you save over expensive course management solutions
        !           207:  can be better spent on computers, or directly spent on your students.
        !           208:  LON-CAPA can frequently do more with less then some of the largest commercial
        !           209:  competitors, too.
        !           210: \layout Itemize
        !           211: 
        !           212: 
        !           213: \series bold 
        !           214: It's free
        !           215: \series default 
        !           216: : As in liberty.
        !           217:  No need to buy an extra-special license just to have the privilege of developin
        !           218: g extensions to the system.
        !           219:  You have full access to the entire system.
        !           220:  You aren't restricted to carefully delimited parts of the system the vendor
        !           221:  deems 
        !           222: \begin_inset Quotes eld
        !           223: \end_inset 
        !           224: 
        !           225: safe
        !           226: \begin_inset Quotes erd
        !           227: \end_inset 
        !           228: 
        !           229:  for you to access.
        !           230:  You also have full access to all the data on the system; LON-CAPA never
        !           231:  locks up your data.
        !           232:  There aren't any hidden secrets in the system, either, when you're free
        !           233:  to scrutinize all of the source code.
        !           234:  And it won't become closed later either, thanks to the licensing.
        !           235: \layout Itemize
        !           236: 
        !           237: 
        !           238: \series bold 
        !           239: Large Digital Library
        !           240: \series default 
        !           241: : LON-CAPA's digital library means you have access to thousands of high-quality
        !           242:  learning resources right off the bat, without writing them yourself.
        !           243: \layout Itemize
        !           244: 
        !           245: 
        !           246: \series bold 
        !           247: Power for the Users
        !           248: \series default 
        !           249: : LON-CAPA's grants a lot of power to the instructors to control their course;
        !           250:  the system imposes minimal arbitrary restrictions on the instructors because
        !           251:  the design is mature.
        !           252:  To get an idea of what the instructors can do, see our Course Management
        !           253:  Manual (http://msu.loncapa.org/adm/help/course.manual.pdf).
        !           254: \layout Itemize
        !           255: 
        !           256: 
        !           257: \series bold 
        !           258: Improve Student's Performance
        !           259: \series default 
        !           260: : Several studies have repeatedly shown that using LON-CAPA can significantly
        !           261:  improve student performance.
        !           262:  One especially interesting result has been its ability to nearly eliminate
        !           263:  the gender gap in technical subjects such as physics, where men have traditiona
        !           264: lly outperformed women.
        !           265:  
        !           266: \layout Comment
        !           267: 
        !           268: I'd 
        !           269: \series bold 
        !           270: like
        !           271: \series default 
        !           272:  to say here that multiple choice systems have been demonstrated to do the
        !           273:  opposite; can we back that up? Links to actual papers would be great, on
        !           274:  both sides.
        !           275: \layout Subsection
        !           276: 
        !           277: Features
        !           278: \layout Standard
        !           279: 
        !           280: TBD
        !           281: \layout Subsection
        !           282: 
        !           283: Philosophy and Pedagogy
        !           284: \layout Standard
        !           285: 
        !           286: TBD
        !           287: \layout Comment
        !           288: 
        !           289: I'd 
        !           290: \series bold 
        !           291: really
        !           292: \series default 
        !           293:  like to have a lot of what I've heard written down.
        !           294:  So much cool stuff has been said but I don't know where I can find it.
        !           295: \layout Subsection
        !           296: 
        !           297: Conclusion
        !           298: \layout Standard
        !           299: 
        !           300: We hope by now you're as excited as we are about the system.
        !           301:  LON-CAPA is really powerful and good for both students and instructors,
        !           302:  and you can't beat the bang-for-the-buck.
        !           303: \layout Standard
        !           304: 
        !           305: Now you know what LON-CAPA is all about, let's start looking at the internals
        !           306:  to see how we do all this great stuff.
        !           307: \layout Section
        !           308: 
        !           309: LON-CAPA Technical Overview
        !           310: \layout Standard
        !           311: 
        !           312: In a nutshell, LON-CAPA is all about bringing learning 
        !           313: \series bold 
        !           314: resources
        !           315: \series default 
        !           316:  and 
        !           317: \series bold 
        !           318: people
        !           319: \series default 
        !           320:  together with 
        !           321: \series bold 
        !           322: technology
        !           323: \series default 
        !           324: .
        !           325:  Thus, the best way to understand the system is to understand how it models
        !           326:  learning resources, how it understand people, and last (and really, least
        !           327:  importantly) what technology supports it.
        !           328: \layout Subsection
        !           329: 
        !           330: Learning Resources And Assembly
        !           331: \layout Standard
        !           332: 
        !           333: see Guts_Authoring.tex
        !           334: \layout Subsection
        !           335: 
        !           336: Network
        !           337: \layout Standard
        !           338: 
        !           339: sharing
        !           340: \layout Standard
        !           341: 
        !           342: dynamic replication
        !           343: \layout Standard
        !           344: 
        !           345: notification
        !           346: \layout Standard
        !           347: 
        !           348: show replication sequence
        !           349: \layout Subsection
        !           350: 
        !           351: Courses
        !           352: \layout Standard
        !           353: 
        !           354: The end result of all of this assembly is an actual course that students
        !           355:  can participate in.
        !           356: \layout Standard
        !           357: 
        !           358: Courses are themselves sequences that tell the system what the course consists
        !           359:  of.
        !           360:  Course instructors or administrators can manipulate this sequence through
        !           361:  the use of the Course Documents screen; see the Course Documents Screen
        !           362:  chapter in the Course Management Manual (http://msu.loncapa.org/adm/help/course.ma
        !           363: nual.pdf) for more detailed information about that.
        !           364:  
        !           365: \layout Standard
        !           366: 
        !           367: 
        !           368: \series bold 
        !           369: INSERT OVERVIEW/Initialization Of Course from lonuserstate.pm here; make
        !           370:  sure to mention lonnavmaps and the 
        !           371: \begin_inset Quotes eld
        !           372: \end_inset 
        !           373: 
        !           374: compiled course hash
        !           375: \begin_inset Quotes erd
        !           376: \end_inset 
        !           377: 
        !           378:  here.
        !           379: \layout Subsection
        !           380: 
        !           381: Cascading Parameters
        !           382: \layout Standard
        !           383: 
        !           384: Parameters cascade and can affect anything in the course.
        !           385:  Extensions should take advantage of parameters if it at all makes sense.
        !           386:  Makes common operations easy.
        !           387:  Very powerful; 
        !           388: \begin_inset Quotes eld
        !           389: \end_inset 
        !           390: 
        !           391: simple problem
        !           392: \begin_inset Quotes erd
        !           393: \end_inset 
        !           394: 
        !           395:  is actually implemented in terms of parameters.
        !           396:  
        !           397: \layout Standard
        !           398: 
        !           399: Most common parameters can usually be accessed through lonnavmaps, which
        !           400:  provides a relatively nice interface to resources and their parameters.
        !           401:  See navmaps.
        !           402: \layout Subsection
        !           403: 
        !           404: Finding Resources
        !           405: \layout Standard
        !           406: 
        !           407: search 
        !           408: \layout Standard
        !           409: 
        !           410: browse
        !           411: \layout Subsection
        !           412: 
        !           413: Permissions
        !           414: \layout Standard
        !           415: 
        !           416: sharing, restrictions, licenses (should put where this is done)
        !           417: \layout Subsection
        !           418: 
        !           419: Affect On System (rename)
        !           420: \layout Standard
        !           421: 
        !           422: Supporting highly dynamic, geographically distributed, configurable resources
        !           423:  drives much of the system.
        !           424:  Understanding this 
        !           425: \layout Standard
        !           426: 
        !           427: Practical effects on how you need to think about the system:
        !           428: \layout Itemize
        !           429: 
        !           430: Don't assume resources are on the hard drive.
        !           431:  You need to ask the system to first replicate the resources as necessary.
        !           432:  
        !           433: \layout Itemize
        !           434: 
        !           435: Make sure you use the rich environment, don't try to fight it, or reinvent
        !           436:  the wheel.
        !           437:  See the discussion on the Environment in the Technology section.
        !           438: \the_end

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