The
LearningOnline Network with CAPA
(LON-CAPA)
Gerd Kortemeyer,
Wolfgang Bauer, Deborah Kashy, Edwin
Kashy, Cheryl Speier
Michigan State University
The Team
(Fall 2000)
What is LON-CAPA?
•LON-CAPA stands for LearningOnline Network
with a Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach.
•developed and implemented by a group of faculty
and professionals
•provides instructors with a common, scalable
platform to assist in all aspects of teaching a
course, from lecture preparation to administration
of homework assignments and exams
•“Distributed Learning Content Management
and Assessment System”
“Distributed”
•LON-CAPA is
built as a
geographically
distributed
network of
constantly
connected
servers
“Distributed”:
Domains
•The network is logically divided into
domains such as “MSU”, “FSU” or
“Publisher X”
•Domains limit the flow of user
information
•Domains can limit access to content
resources
•Domains limit the extent of user
privileges
“Distributed”: Users
•Users can log into any machines in the network
•Users can access courses/resources from anywhere
on the network under one username
•Users can have roles and associated privileges for
any resources, data, and functionality on the network
“Learning Content
Management”
•Allows instructors to create educational materials
and to share such learning resources with
colleagues across departments and institutions
•All instructional content goes into crossinstitutional shared repository and is cataloged
•LON-CAPA provides online tool, “Resource
Assembly Tool” (RAT), to combine content into
Custom Online Course Pack
“Learning Content
Management”
•Pages can be constructed
from fragments and other
pages
•Sequences can be
constructed from fragments,
pages, and other
sequences
•Courses point to (top-level)
sequences
•Maps at every level are
simply other content
resources
“Learning Content
Management”
•Graphical resource assembly tool (RAT) to construct
maps
•Working on
branching
based on
conditions using
performance data,
course data,
and preferences
•Individualized
curriculum
“Content Management”:
Handlers
•Every resource in the system, both content and
system programs, is called by URL – all resources
can be bookmarked.
•Any resource can be processed on-the-fly while
being delivered to the user.
•User calls for a resource, LON-CAPA finds
appropriate chain of handlers, processes resource for
desired target, and sends it out.
•Chain of handlers can also cover several
transactions. Example: user calls for URL, but needs
to login first and then pick course.
•All handlers can interact with session environment
“Content Management”:
Document-driven
processing
•Example: user calls for sample.xml
sample.xml
Uses my.style
triggers
XML Handler
User
my.style
Defines tags for targets
loads
Target
Session
Preferences Environment
“Content Management”:
XML/MathML/HTML
•XML handler provides rendering of XML and HTML to targets
XML, HTML, MathML, and LaTeX
• Math rendering capability: LaTeX can be inserted into HTML and
XML documents between <m> and </m> tags.
<h1>Identity</h1><img src=“circle.gif”
align=“right”>
The <i>identity</i> <m>$\sin^2(\omega t)+
\cos^2(\omega t)=1$</m> allows us to…
•Math fragments are rendered into symbol fonts for target HTML,
and MathML for MathML-capable browsers using a derivative of
tth/ttm.
“Content Management”:
LaTeX
•LaTeX files can be directly put onto the file system, and
will be automatically handled as if they had
one large
<m>…</m>
around them
“Individualized
Assessment”
•Individualized problems: different numbers,
different graphs, different options, …
•“Classical” online homework types: multiple
choice, option response, mix-and-match, string, etc
•“STEM” types: numerical, multicomponent
numerical, physical units, symbolic math,
individualized simulations
•Combination of the above types
•Adaptive immediate feedback
•Multiple attempts
“Individualized
Assessment”
•Example: Individualized graph, numerical answer
“Individualized
Assessment”
•Example:
Individualized
labels, options
“Individualized
Assessment”
•Example: Multicomponent numerical with
individualized animation
Data Structure:
Resource parameters
•Deadlines, open dates, publish-answer dates, maximum number of attempts, weight of
problem parts, etc, can be independently set for courses, sections and individual students
•Can cover all
resources, one
map, or only
one resource
•Resources
publish their
parameters in
metadata, no
predefined set
of parameters
Data Structure:
Assessment data
•Only raw data is stored
•All attempts are stored
•Data is stored in non-randomized form to allow for item analysis
•LON-CAPA provides
spreadsheet functionality
with sheets at
assessment, user, and
course level (exporting
into each other) to
calculate grades and
statistics
Resource Pool
5966 homework/exam
problems
4971 gif or jpg files
150 movies
180 java applets
2986 html content pages
1853 bio resources from
HHMI grant project
Communication
•Email course/sections
•Chatroom
•Bulletin Boards
•Autothreaded discussion of
every resource
•Syllabus
•Cummulative Calendar
Tool
•“About Me” tool
•Document Upload
(PowerPoint, Word, etc)
Other Features
Standard Features of Learning Content
Management System
•Chatroom
•Syllabus
•Cummulative Calendar Tool
•“About Me” tool
•Document Upload (PowerPoint, Word, etc)
•“On-the-fly” course maps and documents
•Online Contextual Help
•Color-Scheme/Logo Domain Customization
Some of the History
1992 CAPA
•Started by Ed Kashy et al. in Cyclotron
•Individualized assessment system for
science and math
•Immediate feedback, multiple tries mastery based
•Used paper copies of assignments and
terminal input
•X-Windows problem editing
•Got Web student interface in 95
1997 LectureOnline
•Started by Wolfgang Bauer, Walt Benenson,
Gary Westfall, and Gerd Kortemeyer in
Cyclotron
•Learning content management and
individualized assessment system for science
and math
•Sharing of content between courses
•Completely web-based interface
1999 LON-CAPA
•The LearningOnline Network with CAPA
•Collaboration of CAPA and LectureOnline
groups
•“The best of both worlds”
•Sharing of content between courses and
institutions
•Reusability of content on different levels of
granularity
•Distributed and Scalable
Who are the users (at MSU)?
Who uses it? Students
(“It”: CAPA, LectureOnline, LON-CAPA family)
Who uses it? Students
Who uses it? Courses
Who uses it? Faculty
How is it used?
•Material written by faculty teaching course or
“re-used” from other faculty
•Homework in addition to “traditional” lecture
and textbook
•“Traditional” lecture, homework and textbook
online
•VU courses
•AP courses
•Prelab quizzes
•In-class exercises
The Project
•“Investigation of a Model for Online Resource
Creation and Sharing in Education Settings”
•Uses LON-CAPA as model system
•Five year project, funded by the National
Science Foundation Information Technology
Research Program
The Project: Research
Goals
•Open source code development concept for
Instructional Management System
•Pooling online educational resources between
departments, colleges, universities and schools
•Business models for “trading” such resources
on small level of granularity
•Business models for services and support
•Metrics for resource quality and effectiveness
•Curriculum adaptivity to learner
types and remediation needs
The Project: Pilot
Users, Boards
•Pilot users: 6 high schools, 2 community
colleges, 1 four year college, 12 universities
•Business advisory board: McGraw-Hill,
Saunders, Wiley, Freeman/Worth, Dell, RedHat,
Apex Learning, university representatives
•Three member Evaluation Board
•Seven high school teachers in 2 Research
Experience for Teachers (RET) supplements
Dissemination
•IEEE/ASEE “Best Paper Awards” an der Frontiers in
Education Conference (1997, 1998, 2000), Ben Dasher
Award (1998), Wickenden Award (1999)
•Nominated: ComputerWorld Honors Award
The Project: National
STEM Digital Library
•Supplement to cross-integrate LON-CAPA
with NSF National STEM Digital Library
•NSDL available to LON-CAPA as content
domain
•LON-CAPA resource pool available in NSDL
as associated library
•LON-CAPA can be used as course delivery
tool for NSDL content
LON-CAPA and OKI?
Conferences and
Workshops
•First user meetings with 50 faculty from other
universities at MSU
•Second user meeting at Florida State University
with 56 faculty from 22 institutions
•Next user meeting at Truckee Meadows
Community College, Reno
•Two programmer Workshops (approx 20
participants) at MSU in Summer
Status: Installations in
“Production Cluster”
High Schools
•Mio AuSable High School - Mio, Michigan
•Charlotte High School - Charlotte, Michigan
•Fowlerville High School - Fowlerville. Michigan
•Theodore Roosevelt High School - Wyandotte,
Michigan
•Lansing School District
•East Lansing Public Schools
Community Colleges
•Westshore Community College - Scottsville, Michigan
•Truckee Meadows Community College - Reno, Nevada
Status: Installations
in “Production Cluster”
Universities (department level)
•Ohio University
•SUNY Stony Brook
•Florida State University
•University of South Carolina
•George Washington University
•University of Central Florida
•Michigan State University
Outside United States
•Simon Fraser University - Vancouver, Canada
•University of Halle - Halle, Germany
•University of Oldenberg - Oldenberg, Germany
On the web ...
www.lon-capa.org
help.lon-capa.org
bugs.lon-capa.org
mail.lon-capa.org
install.lon-capa.org