WeBWorK @ WWU
WeBWorK is an online method of delivering homework problems that gives students instant feedback. One of the key educational benefits of WeBWorK is that students receive feedback while the problem is still fresh in their minds. Students can then correct mistakes, review relevant material before attacking the problem again, or seek help from peers, tutors, or professors.
The Walla Walla University Mathematics Department uses WeBWork in most courses with the MATH prefix at the 300-level and below. To find out if your course uses WeBWorK, consult your syllabus or your instructor. For more information on how to access WeBWorK at Walla Walla University, please see the student introduction to WeBWorK handout below.
Did you know...?
Duncan contributes to WeBWork platform
Mathematics professor Jonathan Duncan is helping make homework easier for teachers and fair for students through WeBWork, a software platform for homework. For several years, Duncan has been a part of WeBWorK software development and has contributed to the course work library.
WeBWorK is a homework platform for creating and distributing personalized assignments on the web. In the past, students could wait weeks to receive grades; now their results are immediate. WeBWorK keeps students accountable by generating different homework problems for each student.
Professors can access gradebooks and course statistics in Moodle, an open-source course management system. It also provides discussion forums where students and teachers can post properly formatted math equations. Moodle allows teachers and students to check grades and organize classes, while WeBWorK provides the link between homework and grades.
Duncan, the chair of the Mathematics Department, has been the primary developer of the Moodle-WeBWorK bridge. Though he began contributing problems during his graduate studies at Indiana University in 2000, it wasn’t until 2007 that he began the software development. Duncan now provides ongoing service to keep up with frequent updates to the learning platforms. For more than a decade, he has contributed hundreds of free math and computer science problems to WeBWorK. These assignments are useful complements to the Mathematical Association of America’s official library of coursework.
The Mathematics Department started using WeBWorK in 2007. Today, WWU hosts WeBWorK for La Sierra University and many high schools in the Western United States.