WeBWorK at CSUSB

Greetings!

The purpose of this page is to answer frequently asked questions about setting up and using WeBWorK here at CSUSB. This is by no means exhaustive. For complete WeBWorK documentation, see the WeBWorK homepage at:

http://webwork.maa.org/

Answer: WeBWorK is a free, online homework system. That means neither our students, nor the university, need to pay to use it. It was created and maintained by mathematicians (and not business people) at the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). It has a huge library of problems to select from in pretty much every subject we teach at CSUSB. Students receive instantaneous feedback, and you do not need to grade their work.

Answer: No. The course roster is automatically populated by the system. However, if you would like people who are not enrolled to access your course (such as wait-listed students) you should message Viet Pham (Viet.Pham@csusb.edu) with their name and CoyoteID.

Answer: There are two main ways to create homework assignments, and I will go over both.

1. Build the set yourself by going through the library.
2. Import a previously built assignment.

To build the set yourself, first select Library Browser on the left toolbar.

In the box to the right of the button Create a New Set in This Course, input the name of your assignment, for example "HW 3", and the press the button to create it.

Next, select the subject you are teaching, such as Calculus - single variable, Algebra, or Statistics. Select the chapter and section as appropriate and then select view problems.

Scroll through the problems. When you see a problem you like, click the Add button beside it. I recommend you add any you might potentially want. Don't worry about the order, you can reorder and delete them later.

Advanced: You can use the advanced search to additionally search by textbook, or you can select the OPL Directory to search by university. Be patient as it takes a while for the OPL library to load.

Now to edit the set, select Hmwk Sets Editor on the left toolbar.

There are a few things you will need to edit here, and usually in this order:

1. Finalize the problems you use and the order you want them in.
2. Open and Close Dates for the set.
3. Assigned users.

First, to finalize your problems, find your homework set on the list, and select the number under header Edit Problems. For example, above, I would select the number 15. Upon doing so, scroll down and you will see the problems you select from the library.

Currently, all you see is the location of the problem in the library. Click Render all to see the problems themselves. You can then reorder a problem by clicking and holding the arrow button next to the number, and moving it to where you want it to go. To delete a problem, select Delete it? beneath the problem and select Save Changes at the bottom of the page. For that matter, you should frequently save changes you make, it will not autosave. You can adjust how much each problem is worth, and how many attempts you want your students to have. I often do 2 and 6, respectively.

Next, scroll to the top to edit the Open and Due dates. Be sure to click save!

Lastly, once you have made the set, you need to still assign it to your students. Go back to Hmwk Sets Editor and now select the number under header Edit Assigned Users. In most situations, you will then want to select the button Assign to All Current Users.

Note: If a student enrolls in your section after the quarter had begun, they will be automatically be put in the WeBWorK roster, however, you will need to go back and manually assign to them the assignments they missed.

Answer: Say you have a webwork set downloaded on your computer called “setHW_3.def” and want to import it into WeBWorK.

1. Select File Manager on the left toolbar.
2. Select “choose file” next to Upload and find “setHW_3.def” on your computer. Click “Upload.” The file is now in your File Manager.
3. Select Hmwk Set Editor on the left toolbar.
4. Select the “import” tab.
5. Select the set, give it a name, and assign to users.