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

2. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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 data-driven/graphing calculator problems business applications business applications exercises from matrices exercises from matrices (Baruch College Math Department Uses MyMathLab in Algebra courses, but problems not applicable to our Precalculus/Applied Calculus courses )

3. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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

4. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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

5. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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.

6. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010 WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom What it Can Do Generate homework problems which have similar properties, but different numbers for each student

7. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom What it Can Do (Cont’d) Give student immediate feedback on whether answers are correct

8. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom What it Can Do (Cont’d) Per Problem Per Set Per student Provide a breakdown of student performance by the following variables:

9. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom What it Can Do (Cont’d) Provide a summary of scores for all students in an Excel file at the end of the semester

10. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom How It Works… Before Class: Log In to WeBWorK Application: www.baruch.cuny.edu/webwork2 www.baruch.cuny.edu/webwork2 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) View assignment sets (See Assignment Set Codes on Syllabus:http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/math/pdf/2003.pdf)http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/math/pdf/2003.pdf

11. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom How It Works… Before Class (Cont’d): Set Due Dates Choose Problems Assign to All Students

12. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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)

13. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom How It Works (Cont’d)… During Class: Click on Homework Set Log in to WeBWorK

14. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom How It Works (Cont’d)… During Class (Cont’d): Click on a Problem Work through pre-selected problems as examples in lesson or… 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 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)

15. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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

16. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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) 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 Tell students particular times during week you are available to answer questions

17. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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… Can either click on link provided automatically in email and then follow prompts, or… Log in to WeBWorK Application 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) 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 Reply to student with explanations/hints If there are problems you need to email all/select students about, there is an email tool

18. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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

19. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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

20. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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.

21. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom 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 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/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 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 Students use solutions that are written up and posted on Blackboard to help them solve their own (slightly different) problems

22. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom “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 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 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”

23. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom “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)

24. Administrating and Supporting Aspect Professor Sherman Wong

25. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom I. Advantages A.Flexibility to style problems to one's needs B.Ability to go beyond Pre-Calculus and Calculus C.Use of Open-Source Programs

26. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom II. Disadvantages A.Operating system is UNIX-based or LINUX-based, not Windows-based B.Server is onsite, while commercial programs that are similar are hosted by vendor C.Technical support is through a forum

27. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom III. Instructor Training A.Setting up workshops for new faculty and posting documents on Blackboard B.Availability of Camtasia videos for instructors C.Questions directed to the WeBWorK administrator

28. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom IV. Problem Creation A.pg language, perl language, LaTeX language (new enhancements to pg language) B.Main obstacle -- solution generator

29. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom V. What To Do to Implement Contact the following people: Professor Michael Gage -- gage@math.rochester.edu Professor Michael Gage -- gage@math.rochester.edu Professor Arnold Pizer – apizer@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

30. Allen-Materowski/Wong, Baruch College June 8, 2010WeBWorK and 24/7 Classroom VI. Contact Information April Allen-Materowski April.allen@baruch.cuny.edu April.allen@baruch.cuny.edu April.allen@baruch.cuny.edu Professor Sherman Wong Sherman.wong@baruch.cuny.edu Sherman.wong@baruch.cuny.edu Sherman.wong@baruch.cuny.edu Mathematics Department Box B6-230 One Bernard Baruch Way New York, NY 10010 www.baruch.cuny.edu/math