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
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! 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
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! 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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