WeBWorK: Building the Next Generation to Make an Impact in the Classroom Peter Staab
Fitchburg State University January 18, 2014
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
1 / 13
Outline
1
What is WeBWorK?
2
Redesigning WeBWorK
3
Current/Future WeBWorK Projects
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
2 / 13
Outline
1
What is WeBWorK?
2
Redesigning WeBWorK
3
Current/Future WeBWorK Projects
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
3 / 13
What is WeBWorK?
[WW image] WeBWorK . . . is an open-source online Homework system. is used by at least 700 institutions worldwide. courses for many institutions are hosted at the MAA. has over 30,000 problems in the library and others are available. problems are now available for many textbooks.
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
4 / 13
Current Impact of WeBWorK in the classroom
Lots of articles have been published on effects of online HW and WeBWorK specifically. See (http://webwork.maa.org/moodle/mod/data/view.php?id=9) WeBWorK is great at evaluating certain types of problems (i.e. numeric, formulas, intervals, inequalities) WeBWorK does a better job grading those problems than I do. Achievements (Geoff Goehle) New Problem Types: Essay Questions (Geoff Goehle) Proofs (drag statements in the correct order) (John Travis and Davide Cervone) Multistep problems (Mike Gage)
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
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Current Desires
Modernize the Look and Feel (User Interface) of WeBWorK
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
6 / 13
Current Desires
Modernize the Look and Feel (User Interface) of WeBWorK Make WeBWorK easier to use
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
6 / 13
Current Desires
Modernize the Look and Feel (User Interface) of WeBWorK Make WeBWorK easier to use Make WeBWorK easier to adopt
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
6 / 13
Current Desires
Modernize the Look and Feel (User Interface) of WeBWorK Make WeBWorK easier to use Make WeBWorK easier to adopt Make WeBWorK easier to adapt
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
6 / 13
Current Desires
Modernize the Look and Feel (User Interface) of WeBWorK Make WeBWorK easier to use Make WeBWorK easier to adopt Make WeBWorK easier to adapt “Can you add XXX to WeBWorK?”
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
6 / 13
Outline
1
What is WeBWorK?
2
Redesigning WeBWorK
3
Current/Future WeBWorK Projects
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
7 / 13
Redesigning WeBWorK
Backend (code that runs on the web server) The backend of WeBWorK is being rewritten. More specifically, the API (Application Program Interface) which ties to the database. This gives flexibility in the interface. PG (the problem generator code) is not changing. This means problems do not need to be rewritten.
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
8 / 13
Redesigning WeBWorK
Backend (code that runs on the web server) The backend of WeBWorK is being rewritten. More specifically, the API (Application Program Interface) which ties to the database. This gives flexibility in the interface. PG (the problem generator code) is not changing. This means problems do not need to be rewritten.
Frontend (What the user sees) The User Interface is current being rewritten This will allow a more dynamic and intuitive interface. A beta version is currently available. Demo
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
8 / 13
Technical Effects of the Redesign
There are a lot of independent pieces (interface, library, database, server, PG code, documentation). Need to make sure that there are consistent interfaces (application, not user) between parts of the codebase. A next step is to use modules (self-contained pieces of code that just plugin). More people can be involved at a level they are comfortable. Separating the parts of the code will make WeBWorK more flexible in design and functionality.
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
9 / 13
Impact of the Redesign
WeBWorK will have a lower learning curve and thus more people will be inclined to use it. More innovative features can be added more quickly. Hopefully the maintenance (bug fixing) will be easier to do.
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
10 / 13
Outline
1
What is WeBWorK?
2
Redesigning WeBWorK
3
Current/Future WeBWorK Projects
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
11 / 13
Current/Future WeBWorK projects
Mobile App (iPhone, iPad, Android)
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
12 / 13
Current/Future WeBWorK projects
Mobile App (iPhone, iPad, Android) Problem Library cleanup/enhancement (John Jones, ASU; Jeff Holt, U. Virginia)
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
12 / 13
Current/Future WeBWorK projects
Mobile App (iPhone, iPad, Android) Problem Library cleanup/enhancement (John Jones, ASU; Jeff Holt, U. Virginia) Assessment (on the student, class or college-level)
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
12 / 13
Current/Future WeBWorK projects
Mobile App (iPhone, iPad, Android) Problem Library cleanup/enhancement (John Jones, ASU; Jeff Holt, U. Virginia) Assessment (on the student, class or college-level) Interactive Hints (Yoav Freund, Sunsern Cheamanunkul, Matthew Elkherj; UCSD)
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
12 / 13
Current/Future WeBWorK projects
Mobile App (iPhone, iPad, Android) Problem Library cleanup/enhancement (John Jones, ASU; Jeff Holt, U. Virginia) Assessment (on the student, class or college-level) Interactive Hints (Yoav Freund, Sunsern Cheamanunkul, Matthew Elkherj; UCSD) Screenshots from interactive hints.
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
12 / 13
For More Information
http://webwork.maa.org/ (Main WeBWorK site) http://webwork.maa.org/planet/ (WeBWorK blog) http://webwork.maa.org/wiki/ (Documentation and wiki) http://github.com/openwebwork (Code and Developer docs) Email me at
[email protected]. I will post these slides at http://webwork.maa.org/planet/.
Peter Staab (Fitchburg St. Univ.)
WeBWorK
01-18-2014
13 / 13
