WeBWorK is a
system that allows you to submit solutions online to problems assigned each week.
In WeBWorK, you can try to answer
homework problems more than once. After each try, a message
tells you immediately whether
your answer is right or not. This allows you to try to find
out what you did wrong and, I hope, to understand the
question better.
WeBWorK is supposed to be a learning tool for students and ultimately it functions on an "honor system." You can help each other with ideas or hints on the problems, or to get
over some point where you're stuck. But in the end you are to solve the problems yourself and submit your own
work.
Actually doing problems for somebody else just intereferes with an opportunity for
people to learn and get feedback, and getting a few points boost in the
WebWorK score doesn't contribute that much to the overall course grade
anyway. In any case, WebWork
problems will usually vary slightly from student to student so that
just "knowing the answer somebody else got" usually won't help. If there are indications (from the computer system, or
otherwise) that you are not doing so, it may constitute an academic
integrity violation.
We will using WeBWorK very briefly in class. Then you
should go to the WebWorK page
(and probably "Bookmark" it on your computer for the semester).
From this page, select the link for Math 131 and logon to WebWorK.
First Time Logging On You
will need a username and a password. Your username is your 6-digit WU
Student ID Number and this is also your initial password. This
is a terrible choice for a password -- so after logging in the first
time, you
should immediately: - Change your password to
something else
- Use the menu to update your email address, if necessary. This will let me or the WebWorK coordinator respond to any message you send us from within WebWorK.
- What if I forget my password? Send an e-mail your
instructor who will be able to reset your password. Or, instead, you
can send a message to webwork@math.wustl.edu
WeBWorK is fairly easy to use, and many of your initial questions during the
first couple of weeks can probably be answered on one of the following pages.
Otherwise, send me an email: Ron Freiwald
There is a set of "Review Problems"
now available for practice. These problems will let you review some of the precalculus
review material in Section 1.1 - 1.6 that we are not going to discuss in
class, and they will let you see how to enter answers in
WebWorK. Generally, the syntax is very much like
what you find on a graphing calculator -- for example, x^2
is entered
to
represent x2 and sqrt(x) is used to represent "the
square
root of x." Any solutions you submit (or don't submit) for the questions in the review set will not be counted toward your WeBWorK score for the course.
On Monday, September 6 (even though
it's a holiday) the first real WeBWorK problem set HW1
will "open" -- meaning that you can start working on it. When you're ready, you should open HW1 and print out a copy for
yourself to work on until you're ready to submit answers. There will probably be about 15 problems, so start early.
When you enter answers for some or all
problems, WeBWorK
will tell you whether you're right or wrong.
If a solution is wrong, you can try the problem again and resubmit
an answer as many times as you like up until the HW1 deadline at 5 p.m. on the following Monday, September
13. At that time, HW 1 will be automatically close online and HW 2 will open up a few minutes later.
The usual pattern for WeBWorK
assignments throughout the semester will be "Assignment opens
Monday, and solutions are due by 5pm the following Monday, at which time the next assignment opens online." The Daily
Assignments page will remind you of the dates. Problem set will usually contain about 15 problems for the week.
Each question will be
worth 1 point. At
the end of the semester, your total WeBWorK
points will be converted to
a percentage = your WEBSCORE, and WEBSCORE will count for 10% of your grade in the
course.
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