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Using CVS as FTP... ;-P
Intending to work on this file on my home system; will be removed after
it serves its purpose. I'm using it to write stuff into the development
manual w/ a nice interface and will convert it to .tex later.
1: #LyX 1.3 created this file. For more info see http://www.lyx.org/
2: \lyxformat 221
3: \textclass article
4: \language english
5: \inputencoding auto
6: \fontscheme default
7: \graphics default
8: \paperfontsize default
9: \papersize Default
10: \paperpackage a4
11: \use_geometry 0
12: \use_amsmath 0
13: \use_natbib 0
14: \use_numerical_citations 0
15: \paperorientation portrait
16: \secnumdepth 3
17: \tocdepth 3
18: \paragraph_separation indent
19: \defskip medskip
20: \quotes_language english
21: \quotes_times 2
22: \papercolumns 1
23: \papersides 1
24: \paperpagestyle default
25:
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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