Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction UW-Stout REU
August 27, 2013
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Initial Things URLs Server homepage: http://webwork.uwstout.edu WeBWorK courses: https://webwork.uwstout.edu/webwork2/ Direct Link to a Course: https://webwork.uwstout.edu/webwork2/course-name/ Ways to Find WeBWorK UW-Stout logins page, http://www.uwstout.edu/logins.what Add a link to webwork courses, or direct link to your webwork course on d2l page Normally, Stout user name (lower case) and password would let you and your students into the course
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Importing Classlist Initial Import from D2L For detailed instructions: http://webwork.uwstout.edu/home/ tutorials/import-d2l-roster-into-webwork.html Export to .csv the gradebook from your D2L course; make sure to include the first name, last name, email address, and user name in the .csv file. There are checkboxes for all 4 pieces of information on the ’export’ page of the ’gradebook’. Save the file to your computer Use file manager to upload the file to your webwork course Use ’Classlist Editor’ to do ’D2l Import’ of the file you’ve uploaded Several Sections in One WeBWorK Course If you have two (or more) sections in one WeBWorK course, just repeat the process: download the gradebook files from all sections on D2L, and import them into the joined WeBWorK course. Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Maintaining the Classlist Adding Students Easy way: wait until the students are on D2L, and then repeat what you did for initial import Harder way: add students manually; in that case, make sure that you give them some really random internal WeBWorK password; if you don’t do that, their internal WeBWorK password will be exactly what you’ve entered for their student id, which is not very secure
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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What to Do if Something Goes Wrong Student Can’t Access the Course Make sure that the student uses correct server, https://webwork.uwstout.edu/webwork2 There are over 150 universities using webwork, and their login pages might look quite similar. Make sure that the student attempts to log in into correct course and section Make sure that the student is really listed in the classlist of WeBWorK course Let me know – there might be some technical issue Where to Get Help Ask me – Alex Basyrov,
[email protected], x2393, JHSW 309 Ask other WeBWorK instructors. Note that ASK5000 might not be helpful with WeBWorK Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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If Something Goes Wrong What Could Happen Stout campus could lose internet connection to the rest of the world Jarvis Hall could lose power Network in Jarvis Hall could misbehave Jarvis Hall could get flooded - the electrical equipment and key network equipment are in the basement The fiber optic cable serving Stout could be disconnected/severed. WeBWorK server could go down
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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If Something Goes Wrong Let Me Know If something appears to be wrong with WeBWorK server, please let me know. Something small could be the only manifestation of a larger issue. Sporadic connection issues from off-campus in Fall 2012 – caused by an outdated Stout network equipment facing the global internet; it got replaced sooner in part due to questions from us. Sporadic connection issues while in Jarvis Hall in Fall 2011 – caused by a faulty network switch that got replaced after complaints from us.
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Authentication in WeBWorK Normal Login Process: What Happens Behind the Scenes 1
Sibboleth authentication via https://smidp.uwstout.edu
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If Shibboleth misbehaves: internal WeBWorK password
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If internal WeBWorK password fails: LDAP authentication via ldaps://uwstout.edu
Backup Login Process This is what we were using before Fall 2013, 1 2
Internal WeBWorK password If internal WeBWorK password fails: LDAP authentication via ldaps://uwstout.edu
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Shibboleth Authentication Typical Login 1
User attempts to access a WeBWorK course
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WeBWorK checks if the user was previously authenticated; if that fails, asks Shibboleth at webwork.uwstout.edu
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Shibboleth at webwork.uwstout.edu checks if the user was authenticated; if that fails, redirects user’s browser to https://smidp.uwstout.edu
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Shibboleth at https://smidp.uwstout.edu checks if user was authenticated; if that fails, asks for the user name and password; if the user name and password are correct, creates a session for that user; sends information back to Shibboleth at webwork.uwstout.edu
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Shibboleth at webwork.uwstout.edu sends information to WeBWorK
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WeBWorK checks that the user is in the classlist for the course, and lets the user in
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Internal WeBWorK Authentication, and LDAP Authentication Internal WeBWorK Authentication 1
WeBWorK asks for user name and password
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WeBWorK checks if the user name and password are known to WeBWorK; if that fails, WeBWorK sends the user name and password to LDAP authentication
LDAP Authentication 1
User name and password are sent to ldaps://uwstout.edu
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LDAP server confirms that user name and password are correct
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WeBWorK checks that the user is in the classlist for the course, and lets the user in
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Homework Assignments: From Scratch Creating the Homework Set Detailed instructions: http://webwork.uwstout.edu/home/tutorials/ create-homework-set-from-scratch.html Go to Library Browser, fill in the name of the new assignment, click ’create’ button OR, Go to Homework sets editor, and create a new blank assignment OR, select the existing assignment from the drop-down list in the Library Browser Use the Subject, Chapter and Secion pull-down lists to navigate to narrow down the problems Show the problems Add the problems you like
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Homework Assignments: From Scratch Assigning The Homework Set In the homework sets editor, click the pencil next to the homework set name Enter the correct open date, due date, and and answer date Check the ’visible’ checkbox Save changes In the homework sets editor, click the **/** link in the ’assigned users’ column, then click the ’assign to all users’ button
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Things To Check A Student Can Do Homework When... the set is visible the set is assigned to them it is past the open date, and before the due date
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Suggestions/Best Practices Use the ’orientation’ problem set in your courses; use the handouts Do not assign too much Due date: I avoid weekends. Due time: at night, or before your class meets; Really safe due time from server perspective: between 2am and 6am Mix problems from different sections in the same assignment if you want to See statistics, and assign again the problems that students struggled with Better to assign a lot of short problem sets instead of a few really long problem sets
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Suggestions/Best Practices Selecting Problems Double-check the problems: some of them are insane or broken Be careful with... UCSB - not randomized Utah - might be broken Freeman - might be of poor quality
MathObject problems are newer and likely to be better
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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The ’Email Instructor’ Button encourage students to use the ’email instructor’ button be ready for the amount of information that students might dump on you the “WeBWorK is wrong” attitude slowly transforms into “what did I do wrong” in about a month let students know when you will/will not respond to their emails if I get 15 emails from the same student, I would invite them to my office hours if I get emails from 15 students about the same problem, I would solve that problem in class
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Entering Math Expressions DragMath Homepage: http://www.dragmath.bham.ac.uk/ Java-based plug-in; no need to install Enabled in WeBWorK by default To Disable: Follow into ’Course Configuration’ Click on ’PG - Problem Display/Answer Checking’ Set ’Use DragMath editor for answer entry’ to ’False’ Click ’Save Changes’
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Entering Math Expressions MathView Homepage: http://www.calculus.net/mathview/ and http://livemath.com/download/ Needs installation on client machine; works in Internet Explorer and Netscape; does not seem to work in Firefox; I did not test in Chrome Disabled by default To enable: Follow into ’Course Configuration’ Click on ’PG - Problem Display/Answer Checking’ Set ’Use MathView editor for answer entry’ to ’True’ Click ’Save Changes’
Suggestion It might be a good idea not to use both DragMath and MathView at the same time Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Library Browser Changes To Interface Library Browser now uses JavaScript ’More Like This’ feature Other new buttons Suggestions Viewing multiple problems through Library Browser is a server-intensive process Please try not to view more than 100-200 problems at once
Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Stout Libraries What is There Math-118 Math-120 Math-121 Math-121 version 2 Math-123 Math-156 Math-158 There are Problems with Mistakes Yes, not all problems are perfect If you find a problem that needs fixing, please let me know via email. Let me know the path to the problem, or the course/assignment/problem number. Getting Started with WeBWorK: A Technical Introduction
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Achievements Gamification Gamification: the use of game design elements in non-game contexts
a
a From game design elements to gamefulness: defining “gamification”, Deterding et al; http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2181037.2181040
Achievements Achievements: goals in an achievement/reward system (different system than the core game) whose fulfilment is defined through activities and events in other systems (commonly in the core game). a a Framework for designing and evaluating game achievements, Hamari and Eranti, 2011
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Achievements Using Achievements In Your Course To enable achievements: Follow into ’Course Configuration’ The ’Genera’ section is selected by default; click on ’General’ if that section is not selected Set ’Enable Course Achievements’ to ’True’ Click ’Save Changes’
A new item ’Achievements’ will show up below ’Grades’, and ’Achievement Editor’ will show up below ’Instructor Tools’. Use the ’Achievement Editor’ to set up achievements. For now, the achievements were set up for Calculus I courses
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Other WeBWorK Tasks Students dropping the course: use Classlist editor to set the status of the student to ’Drop’; deleting the student will delete all of the data student has in WeBWorK. Copying Homework Sets: export the problem set, download the set***.def file, then upload the set***.def file to another course, and import the problem set. Exporting Scores to .csv file or to D2L gradebook: use ’Scoring Tools’ section
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Editing Problems local/*** vs. global/*** To edit a problem from the Library, you have to make a copy of the problem by choosing ’Save As...’ in the editor By default, WeBWorK appends ’local/’ in front of the file name to stress that the file is saved locally in your course If you’d like to make the new file available to your other sections, you can append ’global/[your user name]/’ in front of the file name. That way the new file will be saved in the globally accessible location Be Nice :-) Files saved in the ’global/***’ location are accessible to everyone Everyone can edit the files in ’global/***’ location, regardless of the original author. It does not mean that you should.
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