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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

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WeBWorK and the 24/7 Classroom

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  1. WeBWorK and the 24/7 Classroom April Allen-Materowski Professor Sherman Wong Mathematics Department Baruch College, CUNY

  2. 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 ) WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  3. 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 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  4. 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 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  5. 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. WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  6. 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

  7. What it Can Do (Cont’d) • Give student immediate feedback on whether answers are correct WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  8. Per Problem Per Set What it Can Do (Cont’d) Provide a breakdown of student performance by the following variables: Per student WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  9. What it Can Do (Cont’d) • Provide a summary of scores for all students in an Excel file at the end of the semester WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  10. 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) WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  11. How It Works… Before Class (Cont’d): Set Due Dates Choose Problems Assign to All Students WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  12. 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) WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  13. How It Works (Cont’d)… During Class: Log in to WeBWorK Click on Homework Set WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  14. 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) WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  15. 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 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  16. 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 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  17. 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 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  18. 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 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  19. 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 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  20. 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. WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  21. 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 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  22. “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” WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  23. “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) WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  24. Administrating and Supporting Aspect Professor Sherman Wong

  25. I. Advantages • Flexibility to style problems to one's needs • Ability to go beyond Pre-Calculus and Calculus • Use of Open-Source Programs WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  26. II. Disadvantages • Operating system is UNIX-based or LINUX-based, not Windows-based • Server is onsite, while commercial programs that are similar are hosted by vendor • Technical support is through a forum WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  27. III. Instructor Training • Setting up workshops for new faculty and posting documents on Blackboard • Availability of Camtasia videos for instructors • Questions directed to the WeBWorK administrator WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  28. IV. Problem Creation • pg language, perl language, LaTeX language (new enhancements to pg language) • Main obstacle -- solution generator WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  29. V. What To Do to Implement • Contact the following people: • Professor Michael Gage -- gage@math.rochester.edu • Professor Arnold Pizer – apizer@math.rochester.edu • Work with your IT person, to ensure you have a server that will support the program on your school’s system WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

  30. VI. Contact Information • April Allen-Materowski • April.allen@baruch.cuny.edu • Professor Sherman Wong • Sherman.wong@baruch.cuny.edu • Mathematics DepartmentBox B6-230One Bernard Baruch WayNew York, NY 10010 • www.baruch.cuny.edu/math WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom

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