A Dozen Years of Asynchronous Learning: Using LON-CAPA for Online Problem Sets

摘要

An asynchronous learning system tool allows the learner to work independently without synchronizing his/her schedule with those of other people or events. This paper discusses the experience of using the LON-CAPA learning system for asynchronous problem set delivery in six engineering, engineering technology, and landscape design courses offered through the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Delaware over a period of 12 years. LON-CAPA (web site at < http://www.lon-capa.org/>) is free, open-source, course-management software developed and supported by Michigan State University. It includes a testing and assessment component that allows for coding a variety of homework (HW) and test problems that are computer-graded and submitted by students on-line. Advantages of using LON-CAPA include: 1. Students have unique numbers for their problems. Cheating is difficult. Collaborative learning is encouraged. 2. The system provides immediate feedback by indicating whether submitted answers are correct or incorrect. 3. Multiple attempts encourage perseverance so that students will work on the problems and remain engaged in active learning until correct solutions are obtained. 4. Increased student/instructor interaction allows the instructor to "coach" students with appropriate assistance. 5. All resources on the LON-CAPA system network are available for sharing with all other system users. Courses included surveying, soil mechanics, stormwater management, and site engineering. Over 500 student-semesters of data that compared LON-CAPA problem-set performance to exam scores were scrutinized. For two courses, it was also possible to examine the relationship between exam scores and performance on conventional hand-graded problem sets. Significant positive relationships between successful completion of both types of HW problem sets and exam scores were found as were differences in results between conventional hand-graded HW and online LON-CAPA HW.