CPR Calibrated Peer ReviewTM
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
for Students

at Texas A&M University

If you have any questions on CPRTM that are not covered here,
please contact Dr. Wendy Keeney-Kennicutt and she will gladly add the answers to this listing.

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    For The New Student:

    • I am doing CPR in my course. How do I login to the software?
        All new CPR users (students and faculty) must complete an account profile. To do this, you must access the following URL: http://cpr.tamu.edu, click on Access CPR at TAMU, then click on the New Users: first time logging in? link and follow the onscreen instructions. Pick your institution (there is only one - TAMU) and enter your UIN. If you don't know it, go to myrecord.tamu.edu. It is the 9-digit number near the top of the page with 00 in the middle. You will be allowed to select your own password and a challenge question and answer during this process. You will be given your CPR username (one letter and 5 digits) after you complete setting up your profile and allowed to log in again. Write that down in a safe place - you will need it every time you log in. For more information, you can watch a "Flash" movie on Logging In As a New User. [top]

    • Do I have to take the CPR Tour?
        All new students to the CPR program have to take the CPR Tour and a little quiz. You only have to do this once, even if you use CPR in several courses. [top]

    • In CPR, what does a student do?
        Students take CPR assignments. During assignments, students explore source material, enter text, calibrate themselves by reviewing a good essay, a so-so essay and a badly written essay, perform reviews of their peers' work and their own essay, and view results. Take a look at this pdf file, Student Handout to help you overall. To view, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer. To download Adobe Acrobat viewer for all platforms, click here. [top]

    • In CPR, what does my instructor do?
        Your instructor activates and monitors assignments in your course. He or she can see your work, see who reviewed you, and change your score when appropriate. [top]

    • In CPR, what does an administrator do?
        Administrators create and delete institution courses, and create, edit and delete user accounts. If you are unable to log in, first talk with your instructor. You will rarely need to email the TAMU CPR administrator, but in an emergency, contact Dr. Wendy Keeney-Kennicutt, the TAMU CPR administrator. [top]

    • Can I use the back button on my web browser when using CPR?
        Yes, you can. Unlike WebCT, you can definitely use the back button. [top]

    • Can I be enrolled in more than one course?
        Of course, you can. All your courses will show up when you log into the CPR system. [top]

    During the Assignment:

    • What are some hints for doing well on a CPR assignment?
        Click HERE to get a good overview for doing well in CPR. To view this file, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer - it's free. To download Adobe Acrobat viewer for all platforms, click HERE. [top]

    • What are some pointers to help me decide on a grade for my peer's essay?
        See the hints in the above FAQ. If you prefer a more holistic approach to reviewing essays, here are

        Student Guidelines for Rating CPR Essays (on a scale of 1 to 10):

        • 1 or 2: The discussion is completely unsatisfactory. The text does not demonstrate that the author has an understanding of the principles. Serious mis-statements have been made. The discussion is disorganized and unclear.

        • 3 or 4: The discussion is not a finished effort. The text indicates that the author has only a vague understanding of the principles involved. Erroneous statements have been made. The text lacks good organization or clarity in presentation.

        • 5 or 6: The discussion is acceptable but does not demonstrate the author has a sophisticated understanding of the concepts. The text contains errors in statements and possibly some irrelevant statements. An attempt at organization and clear presentation has been made.

        • 7 or 8: The discussion is a good quality effort. The text indicates the author has an understanding of the principles and no erroneous statements are made. Some inappropriate references to details may be included. Sections of the text are organized and clear.

        • 9 or 10: The discussion excels in all areas. The text indicates that the author has a sophisticated understanding of the concepts without unnecessary statements. If appropriate, the text may contain suggestions for improvements or further studies. All statements are correct. The text is well organized and clearly presented.

          Thanks to Lynne O'Connell (Boston College) and Arlene A. Russell (CPR Team)

      • Are there any secrets to writing a good essay for CPR?
          Here are some suggestions. Read very carefully the guiding questions, the writing prompt and all the information that your instructor has given you. Include the answers to the guiding questions in your essay, but be sure your essay/paragraph flows nicely. Write your essay first in a word processing program, double check your grammar and spelling, add HTML tags, then copy/paste your work into the textbox. You can save your document as HTML, but simply adding the HTML code yourself is much simpler and makes your document easier to proof. See the next FAQ.[top]

      • Do I put my name on my essay?
          No, please don't put your name on the essay. We want all the papers to be anonymous. The review and critiquing process is more objective when one does not know whose essay it is. [top]

      • Can I put pictures in my essay?
          The answer is no and yes. CPR was originally devised so that the essays would be words only. Therefore, the CPR program does not allow you to upload pictures onto the CPR server. However, you can put a picture that is sitting on another server into an essay. You must, however, do it anonymously. The address must be one that cannot be traced back to you, since everyone will be able to see the link's address. If you wish to put a picture in your text, type
          <img src="http://web address/picture.gif or .jpg">.
            When you preview the page, you will see your picture. For example, if you copy this into the text box:
          <img height=200 width=150 alt=chemistry logo src="http://www.chem.tamu.edu/class/fyp/pics/chembutt.gif">,
          you should see this chemistry logo,

          CPR
          In this example, I set the height and width of the image to be 200 and 150 pixels, respectively; you can set this to be whatever you want or omit it altogether. "alt" means if the picture doesn't show itself, the words, "chemistry logo," will appear. This also isn't necessary, but it is good form. If you don't have access to a server that will show an address untraceable to you, speak with your instructor. [top]

      • What are HTML tags and how do I use them?
          HTML coding is used to format documents that are posted to the web. There are several ways to incorporate HTML code into your essay. (1) You can write in MSWord or WordPerfect and Save as Webpage (not Webpage (filtered)), go to View on the browser's tool bar, click on HTML Source and paste the code into the text box. The problem that can happen is that the source code is too complex for CPR to handle. You'll be able to see it just fine in the Preview mode, but CPR won't accept it. (2) Open up Netscape, go to Windows, and use Composer. The source code is much simpler. (3) Use a commercial HTML converter, like what's available at http://www.sautin.com/rtf-to-html/rtf-to-html-converter.htm or (4) just type in simple HTML code - much easier to read. Here is a website that I include in every assignment that I write: www.cwu.edu/~verheys/howto.html. If you need symbols, you may have to use Scientific Notebook which is available in all the TAMU open access labs on the Windows machines. CPR does not handle ASCII code.

          Examples of simple HTML coding are as follows:

          <B> text </B> Displays the enclosed text in boldface; <B>Hi</B> gives Hi.
          <i> text </i> Displays the enclosed text in italics; <i>Hi</i> gives Hi.
          <SUB> text </SUB> Displays the enclosed text subscripted; H<SUB>2</SUB>O gives H2O.
          <SUP> text </SUP> Displays the enclosed text superscripted; Na<SUP>+1 </SUP> gives Na+1
          <CENTER> text </CENTER> Centers the text on the line
          <BR> Inserts a line break after the text.
          <CENTER> text </CENTER> Centers the text on the line
          <BR> Inserts a line break after the text.
          <P> or </P> Inserts a blank line after the text. 

          If you wish to use the greater than sign (>) or the less than sign (<), you must be careful because the word counter in CPR will get confused. CPR will think you are trying to format in HTML. You should use &gt; for > and &lt; for <.
          A forward arrow (-->) can be --&gt; and a double headed arrow (<-->) can be &lt;--&gt;.  

          When you wish to put a link to a webpage in your text, type <a href="http://website address">Name of the website address</a>.  When you preview the page, you will see Name of the website address (whatever is between <a href="…"> and </a>) which will be clickable and take you to the website.

          It isn't easy to imbed an image anonymously into your essay and most professors don't want you to put pictures into your assignment - we want you to write. The CPR program does not allow you to upload pictures onto the CPR server. However, you can put a picture that is sitting on another server into an essay. You must, however, do it anonymously. The address must be one that cannot be traced back to you, since everyone will be able to see the link's address. If you wish to put a picture in your text, type

          <img src="http://web address/picture.gif or .jpg">.
            When you preview the page, you will see your picture. See the previous FAQ for an example. If you don't have access to a server that will show an address untraceable to you, speak with your instructor. [top]

    • Why does my work not get saved?
        Whenever you are working in a textbox for a certain period of time, the server and/or the program thinks you are not working and will disconnect you from the server. Therefore, you need to save your work every 15 minutes or so. An alternative is to write the assignment in your word processing program, then copy and paste the text into the box. This procedure is definitely recommended. If you keep a copy and get disconnected, you can always reconnect and resubmit your essay. You'll know when you have been disconnected when you click on a button and immediately get taken to the login page. If you discover your work was not submitted after the deadline has passed, contact your instructor immediately. [top]

    • Why is my word count different in MSWord than in CPR?
        The word count for essays will probably be wrong if you use < (less than) or > (greater than) in the text.  The counter gets confused when it sees what it thinks is a part of the HTML format. You should use &gt; for > and &lt; for <. [top]

    • Why can't I see all of a calibration/review question?
        This is probably because there was a coding error when the question was written by your instructor. Contact your instructor as quickly as possible. [top]

    • When I log in, I get a message that I am not registered in the class. Why is that?
        Be sure that you are logging into the correct site: cpr.tamu.edu. If that is the case, you may not be registered - check with your instructor. [top]

    • How many times can I submit my essay?
        You may submit your essay as many times as you wish up to the text writing deadline. You may save their work as you go along, but you must click on the submit button for your final version. It’s probably better to just use the submit button, so you don't forget. [top]

    • I submitted my essay, but I am not allowed to go on to the calibration stage. What is wrong?
        Two different scenarios may have happened. (1) You may have saved your essay, but didn't submit it. You'll need to contact your instructor as soon as possible - he/she can submit it for you. (2) The server/program timed you out while you were typing in the text box, but you didn't realize it.

        Whenever someone is writing in a textbox for a certain period of time, the server and/or the program thinks you aren't working and will disconnect you from the server. When you hit the submit button, you immediately get taken to the login page and your essay never gets submitted. You need to email your essay to your instructor as soon as you discover this situation, so that he/she can submit it for you. This is why it is good to work in Word or WordPerfect so that you still have a copy of your essay. If you choose to work directly in the text box, you must save or submit your work-in-progress every 10 to 15 minutes. It is much better to write the assignment in a word processing program. It is very easy to spell check and grammar check, then copy and paste the text into the textbox. [top]

    • My instructor submitted my essay, but I still cannot do the calibrations. What do I do?
        Sometimes the instructor's submission tool doesn't work the first time. Email them immediately. [top]

    • What does it mean when the assignment is paused?
        An assignment is paused when the instructor deems it necessary to stop the clock. Perhaps there was a glitch somewhere that needs fixing. Your instructor will unpause the assignment and should contact you when the problem is resolved. [top]

    • I missed the writing deadline. What can I do?
        Contact your instructor immediately. There are four options depending on the instructor: (1) you may be able to email the assignment directly to your instructor and he/she will submit it for you, or (2) your instructor may give you extra time to do the assignment, (3) you will do a makeup assignment, or (4) you will take a 0 for the assignment. [top]

    • I missed the writing deadline and I can't do the rest of the assignment. What is the problem?
        This is the way CPR was set up. A student who hasn't done the original writing assignment is not deemed qualified to critique his or her peers. You will either get a 0 for the assignment, take a makeup or you must email your instructor to extend your deadline or submit your essay (see above FAQ). [top]

    • I wrote my essay, but missed the calibration deadline. What can I do?
        Email your instructor immediately. He or she may extend your deadline so you can finish the assignment. [top]

    • I missed both deadlines. What can I do? I really want to do the assignment.
        Email your instructor immediately, or see your instructor in person. Bring your university approved excuse or any pertinent documentation with you. Hopefully, your instructor has a makeup policy. [top]

    After the Assignment is Over: