WeBWorK Introduction

Introduction to WeBWorK for Students

(Have this guide with you when you log into WeBWorK)

What is WeBWorK? WeBWorK is a software package, developed at the University of Rochester, which delivers individually customized homework assignments via the Worldwide Web. Any student can connect at any time to a WeBWorK server from any computer with a reasonably up-to-date web browser. Each student gets his/her own version of a problem. The student can then submit their answers over the web and WeBWorK immediately tells the student whether or not their answer is correct. Students can resubmit their answers as often as they like without penalty (except for multiple choice or true/false questions), until they get a correct answer (up until the due date of the assignment).

How do I log into WeBWorK? From any computer with a network connection, start up your favorite web browser, such as Firefox, Netscape or Internet Explorer, then go to the Howard Mathematics Department web page and click on the WeBWorK box or go directly to http://butcher.math.howard.edu/webwork/.

Click on the name of your course and professor; you will then get a login window. Your WeBWorK login name is your first initial followed by your last name in lower case and stuck together, e.g., Tamika Jean Barnes would have the login name tbarnes. Your password is your Howard University ID#, without the @ symbol, e.g. 12345678

How is WeBWorK different from regular homework? The types of problems you will encounter in a typical WeBWorK assignment are likely to be similar to the kinds of problems you will find in the textbook. However unlike written assignments (which take a long time to grade if they get graded at all), WeBWorK will give you immediate feedback as to whether you are doing the problems correctly. So you have plenty of time to seek help. Suggestion: When you first log in, print out a copy of the entire homework assignment; solve the problems with paper and pencil as you would do ordinarily, and when youíre ready, input the answers in the computer. It will check the answers for you and tell you if you are right or wrong, and it will give you a chance to correct your answer, thus allowing you full credit on the second, third, fourth try . . . as many tries as you want. You will save a lot of time if you preview your answers before submitting them.

Do I still have to attend classes and read the text? YES! WeBWorK is NOT a distance learning system. It does not teach or explain, and most of the time does not give you hints. It cannot analyze your errors whether they are trivial or fundamental; it is simply a homework checker.

How should I go about doing WeBWorK assignments? Attend classes and read the relevant sections of the text. Log on to WeBWorK and print a hard copy of the assignment. Work out solutions to the problems on paper, starting with the easiest problems first. Log back into WeBWorK and submit your answers. If WeBWorK tells you your answer is wrong, take the following steps in roughly the following order:

Check for input errors; use the Preview Button to check that you and the computer are in agreement (as to the input, not whether your answer is right or wrong; the Submit Button will tell you the latter.)
Carefully go over your written solution looking for mistakes; talk the problem over with a fellow student.
Try doing some of the odd numbered exercises in the text that have the answers in the back.
Go to the Mathematics Tutoring lab and ask a tutor for help.
Go to the professor's office during office hours.
At each step, if you think you've found your mistake, go back to WeBWorK and try inputting your answer again. [NOTE: For this to work well, you need to start working on your assignments as soon as you can. Do NOT put off working on your assignment till the night before it is due - this will lead to a lot of stress and frustration.]

I am sure that I have the correct answer, but WeBWorK will not accept it. What should I do? You may be using the wrong syntax and WeBWorK is misunderstanding what you are trying to write. Again, use the Preview button to see how WeBWorK is interpreting your answer. If you still can't figure out what is going wrong, use the Feedback button to email your instructor a message describing your problem. NOTE: Many students who think WeBWorK is refusing a correct answer are actually making algebra mistakes, sometimes minor, sometimes serious. Please check your algebra and syntax before submitting your answer.