WeBWorK: An environment to deliver web-based homeworks and more

Dr. Christelle Scharff

Research DayWednesday, May 2 2002

Agenda Presentation of WeBWorK

General presentation Educational advantages Features – Students/Instructors User feedbacks

Creation of homeworks WeBWorK at Pace WeBWorK and Oliver Perspectives

What is WeBWorK? http://webwork.math.rochester.edu/ WeBWorK is a software freely available

to educational institutions. Developed by University of Rochester It is a web-based environment to deliver

and check homeworks. Mainly used in Mathematics (algebra,

calculus) and Physical Science (physics, chemistry, astronomy)

Who is using WeBWorK? 30 institutions around the country University of Rochester Columbia University Harvard University McGill University SUNY Stony Brook Pace University

Other Course Management Systems General CMS:

WebCT Blackboard

Specialized in mathematics questions: e-grade WebAssign Prometheus

Educational advantages of WeBWorK Immediate feedback on homeworks for

students. The overwhelming majority of students

complete all of their homework correctly -- (sometimes after several attempts).

It's possible to capture detailed information about students' approaches to homework. This suggests possibilities for early intervention.

WeBWork Features - Students Easy of access – Internet

connection and browser. Each homework can be printed. Immediate feedback as to whether

the answer is correct. Every problem has a Feedback

button which sends an e-mail message directly to the instructor.

WeBWork Features - Instructor Easy of access and use – Internet

connection, browser, editor. Management of the course:

Initial class list, passwords and permissions Add and remove students Change passwords, login names

Create problem sets (with solutions) Due date Individualized version of the problem for each

student. Create and administer an exam

WeBWorK Features – Instructor (continued) Monitor the progress of the

students: All the class Monitor the problems of a particular

student Email to students

Automated grading and delivery of solutions at a specified date.

User feedbacks + “You learn more from WeBWorK because

you know right away if your answer is right”. + “You can’t cheat. It shows you know the

material”. + “I can keep trying until I get it right”. - “It is too easy, you can guess the answer.” - “If someone is determined to cheat then they

will cheat. WeBWorK does not make it easier or harder.”

- “WeBWorK is to simplify the HW process not to help you understand better”.

Surveys results – 200 students

22% of the students said they preferred paper-based homeworks to web-based homeworks.

8% of the class said they felt it was easy to cheat on homeworks.

Create problem sets Language: PG (Problem Generating)

Perl, HTML and LaTeX Matching problems Multiple choice problems And more … “Ask the questions you should rather than

the questions you can.”

WeBWorK is extensible New macros can be written to test

students answers. New macros can be written to ask

new types of questions, to include java applets, to interface WeBWorK with another software etc. Example: Oliver

Problem example

Question 1 – Source code

# A question requiring a string answer. $string = 'world'; BEGIN_TEXT Complete the sentence: $BR \{ ans_rule(20) \} $string; $PAR END_TEXT ANS( str_cmp( "Hello") );

Question 2 – Source code# A question requiring a numerical answer. #define the variables $a=random(1,9,1); $b=random(2,9,1); BEGIN_TEXT Enter the sum of these two numbers: $BR\($a + $b = \) \{ans_rule(10) \} $PAR END_TEXT $sum = $a + $b; ANS( num_cmp( $sum ) );

Question 3 – Source code# A question requiring an expression as an

answer BEGIN_TEXT Enter the derivative of \[ f(x) = x^{$b} \] $BR \(f '(x) = \) \{ ans_rule(30) \} $PAR END_TEXT $new_exponent = $b-1; $ans2 = "$b*x^($new_exponent)"; ANS( fun_cmp( $ans2 ) );

WeBWorK at Pace

CS361 To deliver functional programming

homeworks http://webwork.csis.pace.edu/web

work/demoCourse/

Oliver and WeBWorK Oliver stands for OnLIne inference

and VERification system. It is a web-based system for teaching propositional logic proofs (designed by Wildenberg and Scharff – FIE 2002).

It is used at SUNY Stony Brook. It has been integrated in WeBWorK

for online support and grading.

Description of the system

Further Directions Use of WeBWorK in CS361 and

CS387 Interface of WeBWork with a

software verifying proofs by refutation (propositional logic).

Use of WeBWorK for Online courses.

References

http://webwork.math.rochester.edu/docs/