Introduction to WebWork April 22, 2014

This presentation and all relevant files are here: http://webpages.sou.edu/~stonelakb/math/webwork/

(Brian’s Website / links / WebWork Files)

Why Online HW?

• Changes HW from “practice” to “learning”– Provides instantaneous feedback

• (In my experience) dramatically increases the amount of time students spend on HW

• Saves department money (graders)• Saves you time – inputting grades, returning papers, etc.

• Randomizes questions to discourage copying

Why WebWork?

• Supported by the MAA and the NSF• National Problem Library of over 20,000 problems• Supports: algebra, discrete math, probability and

statistics, single and multivariable calculus, differential equations, linear algebra and complex analysis

• Used successfully at over 700 colleges and universities • Developed and maintained by mathematicians • Not tied to any specific book or author• Offers Moodle integration• It’s FREE!

Still Unsure?

• “Math should be done with paper and pencil”– Can still have students write up all HW– Can create hybrid assignments– Keep HW notebook, collected at EOQ?

So it’s perfect?

• No! • Typing math is hard– Preview answers button is helpful

• Students get frustrated– “I got the right answer, I was just missing a

parenthesis.”– Choosing the right problems becomes more

important.

Practical stuff

• Go to http://webwork.sou.edu/webwork2• I’ve created a login for everyone– Username: your version of stonelakb• Stuff before @ in your sou email

– Password: thanksbrian• To avoid cluttering, I’ve given everyone access

to “Math251” (master course).– I’ll create a copy for anyone interested

Creating HW Sets

• I’ve already done so for 111 and 251– Using 251 this quarter

• You can use mine, edit mine, or start from scratch– Probably good to share resources at some point

• Library Browser is fairly intuitive– Problems ordered by topic or by book

• Best to learn by trying– HW sets editor/create a new set named/Library

Browser 2 (easy to delete set when done)

Importing Students

• Two different ways to import students:– Expert level:– Using Brian’s Spreadsheet

• Copy/Paste from “Classlist Download to Excel or Word”– Include name, ID and email

• Drag Formulae in “export2” tab• Save export2 tab as .csv

– In Webwork• File Manager / Choose file / upload• Rename as .lst• In Classlist Editor import users from file

– Make sure to assign HW sets to users

Importing Students

• Can also import one by one in Webwork– Optional Fields: First and Last Name– Fields to leave blank: section, recitation, comment– Standards probably worth following• Student ID: SOU ID

– This is also a student’s default password

• Login Name: The stuff before the @ in SOU email• Email address: SOU email address

– Make sure to assign HW sets to users

Documentation

• Everything else is pretty intuitive.• TONS of help documentation on web:

– http://webwork.maa.org/wiki/A_day_in_the_life_of_a_WeBWorK_instructor#.UxpatOddVLq

• Or, you can always ask me!