LON-CAPA is an MSU-developed open-source distributed learning content management and assessment system.

As a course management system, LON-CAPA can be used by instructors to:

• build a course containing various types of digital content, such as movies, office documents, webpages and applets.
• search or browse the multi-institutional LON-CAPA network for shared resources for use in a course.
• provide online randomized homework, quizzes, and exams individualized to each student.
• create, print, and score randomized, paper-based Scantron exams.
• set parameters for course items such as number of tries, due date, and question display style (e.g., open-ended for homework or multiple-choice for exams).
• facilitate communication with and between students via discussion boards, messages, and chat.
• encourage collaboration via group discussion boards, portfolios and chat.
• enable each student to build a personal e-portfolio of digital content, which they can catalog and share with others, or submit for assessment.

As a content management system, LON-CAPA users with authoring privileges can:

• use templates to create many different types of randomized homework problems.
• upload and store digital materials such as webpages, images, movies, and office documents.
• publish material to the LON-CAPA network and control how the work is cataloged, distributed and shared.

For more information see http://lon-capa.msu.edu