Annotation of loncom/html/adm/help/tex/Guts_Authoring.tex, revision 1.3
1.1 bowersj2 1: \label{Guts_Authoring}
2: \subsection{Content Re-usage and Granularity}
3:
1.2 bowersj2 4: % Replace this with stuff from LyX
5:
6: {}``Resources''\index{resources} are the atomic unit of content in
7: LON-CAPA. Learning resources could be simple paragraphs of text,
8: movies, applets, individualizing homework problems, etc. Any faculty
1.3 ! lira 9: member can use their {}``authoring space''\index{authoring
1.2 bowersj2 10: space} to create or upload their resources, either into the common
11: pool or with highly selective access controls.
12:
13: LON-CAPA was designed from the beginning to support collaboration and
14: using resources that may be distributed all across the planet. For
15: each resource in the LON-CAPA network, LON-CAPA track metadata about
16: that resource, provides versioning of the resource, and provides
17: automatic subscription and change notification mechanisms. Thus, you
18: can freely use resources from other institutions, and you can either
19: tell LON-CAPA to always give you a given version of a resource if
20: you're happy with it, or allow the system to automatically propagate
21: changes to you.
22:
23: For example, an instructor from Community College \textbf{A} could
24: combine a text paragraph from University \textbf{B} with a movie from
25: College \textbf{C} and an online homework problem from Publisher
26: \textbf{D}, to form one page. Another instructor from High School
27: \textbf{E} can take that page from Community College \textbf{A} and
28: combine it with other pages into a module, unit or chapter. Those in
29: turn can be combined into whole course packs. Faculty can design their
30: own curricula from existing and newly created resources instead of
31: having to buy into a complete off-the-shelf product.
1.1 bowersj2 32:
33: %
34: \begin{figure}
35: \begin{center}\includegraphics[%
1.2 bowersj2 36: width=0.55\paperwidth]{Resource_Assembly}\end{center}
1.1 bowersj2 37:
38:
39: \caption{Resource Assembly}
40: \end{figure}
41: Fig. {}``Resource Assembly'' shows a general overview of the resource
42: assembly mechanism and the different levels of content granularity
43: supported by the current implementation of this principle. The topmost
44: puzzle piece represents a resource at the fragment level - one GIF,
45: one movie, one paragraph of text, one problem, or one regular web
46: page. Attached to the resource is metadata gathered at the publication
47: time of the resource.
48:
49: Using the resource assembly tool described below, these fragments
50: and pages can be assembled into a page. A {}``page'' is a resource
51: or collection of resources that would be seen as one web page, or
52: printed as one unit.
53:
1.2 bowersj2 54: Using the same tool, fragments (which would then be rendered as stand alone
1.1 bowersj2 55: pages), pages and other sequences can be assembled into sequences.
56: Sequences are resources which are rendered a sequence of pages, not
57: necessarily linear. Examples are one lesson, one chapter, or one learning
58: cycle.
59:
1.2 bowersj2 60: On the third granularity level, fragments (rendered as stand alone
1.1 bowersj2 61: pages), pages, and sequences can be assembled into courses. Courses
62: are a sequence which represents the entirety of the resources belonging
63: to a learning unit into which learners can be enrolled. Examples are
64: a University one-semester course, a workshop, or a High School class.
65:
66:
67: \subsection{Maps}
68:
69: To increase the utility of the materials, the number of hard-coded
70: hyperlinks between the resources should be minimized. The actual combining
71: and sequencing is part of the system functionality and driven by external
72: \char`\"{}roadmaps\char`\"{}, which are constructed by the instructors.
73: With this mechanism, one and the same resource can be part of different
74: courses in different contexts. The soft-linking makes it possible
75: to import only the desired set of resources without effectively importing
76: additional parts another instructors resources through hard-linked
77: menus or \char`\"{}next page\char`\"{} buttons that might resided
78: on those resources.
79:
80:
1.2 bowersj2 81: \subsection{Curriculum Adaptivity}
1.1 bowersj2 82:
83: Maps allow for conditional choices and branching points. The actual
84: path through and presentation of the learning resources is determined
85: by instructor-specified combinations of learner choices and system-generated
86: adaptations (for example, if the learner does not pass a test, additional
87: resources may be included). Each learner can have an individualized
88: curriculum according to preferences, capabilities and skills.
89:
90: These maps can be generated at different levels of granularity with
91: a graphical tool, or in an automated way through custom scripts.
92:
93:
94: \subsection{Resource Assembly Tools}
95:
96: LON-CAPA provides several tools to facilitate assembling resources
97: together, with varying levels of sophistication, depending on the
98: skill level of the user. It is worth observing that while creating
99: a complicated sequence with a high degree of adaptivity may be challenging
100: for some users, because LON-CAPA resources can be so easily re-used,
101: it need only be done once by one person to be useful to many, many
102: instructors.
103:
104: The full assembly tool, which is capable of creating sequences with
105: all of the advanced functionality discussed above, is called the Advanced
106: Resource Assembly Tool. To read about it from the user's point of
107: view, see the Author's Manual (available in your LON-CAPA installation
108: at \texttt{http://your-server.com/adm/help/author.manual.pdf}, or
109: if you do not have a LON-CAPA install, at \texttt{http://msu.loncapa.org/adm/help/author.manual.pdf}),
110: in the {}``Creating a Simple .sequence with the Advanced Editor''
111: section.
112:
113: A simpler resource assembly tool can be used in the common case where
114: an assembler merely wishes to string other resources together into
115: one unit. This can be seen in the Author's Manual in the {}``Creating
116: a Simple .sequence with the Simple Editor'' section.
117:
118: Finally, the \textbf{DOCs} interface allows course instructors to
119: perform certain manipulations of the course's content while it is
120: running. Information about this from the user's point of view can
121: be found in the Course Management manual, in the {}``Course Documents
122: Screen'' chapter.
123:
124:
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