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Adding some .tex files in. (LPML addition later; still some to go.)

    1: \label{Guts_Authoring}
    2: \subsection{Content Re-usage and Granularity}
    3: 
    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
    9: member can use their {}``construction space''\index{construction
   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.
   32: 
   33: %
   34: \begin{figure}
   35: \begin{center}\includegraphics[%
   36:   width=0.55\paperwidth]{Resource_Assembly}\end{center}
   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: 
   54: Using the same tool, fragments (which would then be rendered as stand alone
   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: 
   60: On the third granularity level, fragments (rendered as stand alone
   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: 
   81: \subsection{Curriculum Adaptivity}
   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: