Transcript WeBWorK and the 24/7 Classroom
WeBWorK and the 24/7 Classroom
April Allen-Materowski Professor Sherman Wong Mathematics Department Baruch College, CUNY
Underlying Need
Needed a computerized homework system for Precalculus and Applied Calculus Homework system needed to be customized in order to have not only “standard” problems but also: data-driven/graphing calculator problems business applications exercises from matrices (Baruch College Math Department Uses MyMathLab in Algebra courses, but problems not applicable to our Precalculus/Applied Calculus courses ) June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
Enter…University of Rochester
Representatives from the University Rochester demonstrated their ONLINE homework system “WeBWorK” to Baruch College faculty Unhappy with MyMathLab’s problems for these particular courses, Mathematics Department decided to try WeBWorK Professor Sherman Wong coordinated implementation Professors Sherman Wong and Baryl Shaw became WeBWorK programmers, developing all assignment sets June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
Dates of Implementation
Fall 2006: Trial of WeBWorK in MTH 2003 (Precalculus with Elements of Calculus) Spring 2007: Voluntary Use in MTH 2003 Fall 2007: Full Implementation in MTH 2003 Spring 2008:Trial of WeBWorK in MTH 2205 and MTH 2207 (Applied Calculus) Fall 2009: Full Implementation in MTH 2205 and MTH 2207 June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
What it Can Do
UPDATE SINCE JUNE 8 PRESENTATION: WEBWORK NOW HAS A NATIONAL LIBRARY OF PROBLEMS, SO YOU CAN PICK COMPUTER-GENERATED PROBLEMS FOR MOST UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS COURSES, WITHOUT HAVING TO PROGRAM YOUR OWN. June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
What it Can Do
Generate homework problems which have similar properties, but different numbers for each student June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
What it Can Do (Cont’d)
Give student immediate feedback on whether answers are correct June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
What it Can Do (Cont’d)
Provide a breakdown of student performance by the following variables: Per Problem Per Set Per student June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
What it Can Do (Cont’d)
Provide a summary of scores for all students in an Excel file at the end of the semester June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works…
Before Class: Log In to WeBWorK Application: www.baruch.cuny.edu/webwork2 In WebWork “Instructor Tools”: View assignment sets (See Assignment Set Codes on Syllabus: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/math/pdf/2003.pdf
) June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works…
Before Class (Cont’d): Set Due Dates Choose Problems Assign to All Students June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works (Cont’d)…
Before Class (Cont’d): Click on Assignment set link and click on “download a hard copy of this assignment”, to create and print a “pdf” of assignment to use in class, BE SURE TO CLICK “CORRECT ANSWERS” BOX (if you have a tablet pc, save pdf on flash drive) June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works (Cont’d)…
During Class: Log in to WeBWorK Click on Homework Set June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works (Cont’d)…
During Class (Cont’d): Click on a Problem Work through pre selected problems as examples in lesson or… Answer students’ questions on class meeting AFTER the original lesson, once students have worked on problems at home Can project problems on board and write solutions underneath (or have students come up and write solutions) June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works (Cont’d)…
During Class (Cont’d): If have a tablet PC, can paste pictures of problems from pdf file directly into class notes document, and write solutions underneath June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works (Cont’d)…
After Class: Monitor your email for students’ questions. If you want to avoid receiving MANY emails, you can: Ask students to work through entire assignment FIRST, and then send ONE email to you, listing all questions (this makes it easier to login and “Act as” the student and look at all problems at once, rather than answering emails one question at a time) Tell students particular times during week you are available to answer questions June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works (Cont’d)…
After Class (Cont’d): If student has emailed you a question: Can either click on link provided automatically in email and then follow prompts, or… Log in to WeBWorK Application Go to “Instructor Tools”, “Classlist Editor” Click on User’s link in order to “Act As” that student Look at homework assignment in question, including student’s past answers and the correct answer (you might need to work through their problem) Reply to student with explanations/hints If there are problems you need to email all/select students about, there is an email tool June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works (Cont’d)…
End of Semester: Go to Instructor Tools Go to Scoring Tools Highlight assignments you want to score, using Control Key to skip unassigned sets Click on “Score Selected Sets” Click on link with Excel .csv file that WeBWorK created June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
How It Works (Cont’d)…
End of Semester: Open in Excel, edit as needed to get overall percentage or copy and paste into your grade spreadsheet June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
Nice Aspects of WeBWorK
THERE’S A NATIONAL LIBRARY OF PROBLEMS FROM WHICH TO CHOOSE, and you can customize problems however you need Each student’s problem set is similar in type of problem, but has different numbers, so no sharing of answers Can create problems with graphs, or that require graphing calculators to be solved WeBWorK problems can be used as class examples, rather than writing all different examples. This way, students are more prepared to start their homework right away. They do more homework as a result.
Can project the problems directly onto the board and write solutions on board (and students also come up and write solutions). Can also use a tablet pc and paste the problems in as pdfs and then write solutions into the class notes file. June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
Nice Aspects of WeBWorK (Cont’d)
Facilitates the 24/7 Classroom It’s available online, so always accessible Students call up problems on their Iphones/blackberries anywhere, even in class Students/faculty can print out as pdfs on paper to work on train, etc.
Students regularly email faculty with specific questions, demonstrating that they are working Students use solutions that are written up and posted on Blackboard to help them solve their own (slightly different) problems June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
“Tricky” Aspects of WeBWorK
Sometimes an error in the code, causes the problem to not “behave” correctly, giving students erroneous feedback that answer is incorrect. Faculty need to contact administrator, who needs to look at the code Students will do problem correctly, but INCORRECTLY ENTER the answer. They will either email instructor or bring it up in class Faculty will have to look at the individual’s problem and answers that were entered, to reconcile If either of the two things mentioned above happen frequently, students might do problems incorrectly, and incorrectly assume that it’s “WeBWorK’s Fault” June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
“Tricky” Aspects of WeBWorK (Cont’d)
Sometimes customized changes to assignments are not saved if they are done before assignment is assigned to students Answers difficult to read (exponents are represented by **, etc) June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
Administrating and Supporting Aspect
Professor Sherman Wong
I. Advantages
A.
B.
Flexibility to style problems to one's needs Ability to go beyond Pre-Calculus and Calculus C.
Use of Open-Source Programs June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
II. Disadvantages
A.
B.
Operating system is UNIX-based or LINUX-based, not Windows-based Server is onsite, while commercial programs that are similar are hosted by vendor C.
Technical support is through a forum June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
III. Instructor Training
A.
B.
Setting up workshops for new faculty and posting documents on Blackboard Availability of Camtasia videos for instructors C.
Questions directed to the WeBWorK administrator June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
IV. Problem Creation
A.
B.
pg language, perl language, LaTeX language (new enhancements to pg language) Main obstacle -- solution generator June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
V. What To Do to Implement
Contact the following people: Professor Michael Gage - [email protected] Professor Arnold Pizer – [email protected]
Work with your IT person, to ensure you have a server that will support the program on your school’s system June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College
VI. Contact Information
April Allen-Materowski [email protected]
Professor Sherman Wong [email protected]
Mathematics Department Box B6-230 One Bernard Baruch Way New York, NY 10010 www.baruch.cuny.edu/math June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College