LON-CAPA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Developed by | Michigan State University |
| OS | Cross-platform |
| Genre | Course Management System |
| License | GPL |
| Website | lon-capa.org |
LON-CAPA is an e-learning platform, also known as a Course Management System (CMS) or Learning Management System (LMS). It possesses the standard features of many learning platforms (user roles, calendar, e-mail, chat rooms, blogs, resource construction, test grading, etc.), but it differs from traditional e-learning platforms in that its many web servers (in various parts of the world) can communicate with each other.[1] Consequently, the term LON-CAPA can also refer to the LON-CAPA network, i.e. the entire set of LON-CAPA web servers and the specific implementation of an internet protocol that connects these web servers.[2] LON-CAPA can also refer to the LON-CAPA project, i.e. the core team of scientists and programmers that develop and maintain the LON-CAPA software.
There are, as of 2007, more than 130 LON-CAPA domains, where a domain is a unified set of LON-CAPA web servers. [2] LON-CAPA domains are operated, generally speaking, by individual universities and high schools in the United States and Canada, but include private organizations and a significant number of universities in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.[2] The LON-CAPA network allows participating universities and schools to create learning resources (test problems, web pages, etc.) and to share them across the network. This collaborative aspect is LON-CAPA's most distinctive feature.[1]
Another special feature of LON-CAPA is the ability to design test resources (called problems) that make use of random numbers (stored in Perl variables). This allows a single "problem resource" to generate a variety of similar (but different) test exercises, thus significantly reducing the risk of cheating amongst students.[3]
Currently, the great majority of LON-CAPA's learning resources are written in English and focus on the mathematical and natural sciences, mostly significantly physics and chemistry.[1] The learning platform works extensively with LaTeX, a language used to represent formulas and mathematical expressions. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).[4]
LON-CAPA is open source and free of licensing fees.[4] Significant technologies include Linux, Apache, mod_perl, MySQL, LaTeX and CPAN. The core LON-CAPA development team is based at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.[3] There are also major LON-CAPA network nodes at Simon Fraser University and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The name LON-CAPA is an acronym, derived from Learning Online Network with Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach. In 1999, two distinct e-learning projects, CAPA and LectureOnline, joined efforts in the creation of LON-CAPA, which provides a superset of the CAPA and LectureOnline functionalities.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c LON-CAPA. CampusSource. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ a b c Network Features. LON-CAPA. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ a b c Gasperson, Tina (2006-05-17). Open source package passes personal learning test. Linux.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ a b Moore, Janet (2003-11-19). Practice: Computer-Assisted Personalized Assignments, Quizzes, and Examinations. The Sloan Consortium. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
