1. The CAPA (Computer Assisted Personalized Approach) software was developed at Michigan State University, and now is used at dozens of Universities around the country. It is currently being used in introductory astronomy and physics courses at ETSU. To access the ETSU CAPA web page, go to: http://capa.etsu.edu.

2. Click on the `Login to CAPA' link.

3. Set the "Class" option to "varfall03".

4. Enter your CAPA number. This number is a randomly-generated 8-digit number, preceded by an "A". This will be emailed to you at the beginning of the semester.

5. Enter your CAPA ID for the current homework set. This ID is different for each homework set. At the beginning of the semester, you will be emailed all six CAPA IDs for the entire semester, one for each homework assignment. If you do not receive your CAPA ID at the beginning of the semester, please contact me as soon as possible at beverly@panda.etsu.edu. See the class syllabus for a listing of the dates that the homework assignments will be posted.

6. Click the next "here" button.

7. Hit the "Try current set" button.

8. The problems will then appear. Each student in the class will have a different set of problems. It is generally a good idea to print out the homework set immediately after entering CAPA, so that you can work on the problems at your leisure.

9. Answer the questions by typing in the boxes. Include the units if required. The computer only allows certain abbreviations for units; if what you use does not work try another abbreviation (for example, the computer wants "m" for meters, "s" for seconds, and "min" for minutes). You only have ONE try to get a particular homework problem correct, so make sure you have reviewed the material before attempting the problems. (If you get the number right, but the units wrong, CAPA will generally allow you additional tries).

If you exit CAPA and re-enter, it will save your previous results and remember them. This means that you do not need to answer all the problems during a single session.

You are allowed TWO TRIES to answer each problem.

The homework is due at 6 PM of the day listed on the course syllabus. NO LATE HOMEWORK WILL BE ACCEPTED, FOR ANY REASON (including computer and network problems), so DO YOUR HOMEWORK EARLY, well in advance of the deadline if at all possible.

10. After successfully completing the problem set, hit "term summary". This will summarize your homework grades for the semester.

11. Do not try to start a new CAPA session if you are already logged onto CAPA. This will cause your homework grade to not be recorded correctly. Make sure you have completely exited from CAPA before you start a new session.

12. The answers to the CAPA problems will be posted on-line at 8 AM the morning after they are due. To reach them, simply log into your account and enter the CAPA ID for that assignment.

13. If you have any problems using the CAPA program, or have difficulty with a particular problem in the homework set, please contact me at beverly@panda.etsu.edu. Note that the ETSU campus network is not completely reliable; if you cannot make contact with CAPA immediately, try again in 5 or 10 minutes. It may just be a momentary network glitch.