Building Problem Sets

I. Log on to Webwork as instructor.

1. Go to webwork.wustl.edu and log on to your course.

II. You first need to "Create" a homework set before you can put any problems in this.

1. Go to "Hmwk Sets Editor"
2. Check the box "Create a new set named:"
3. Enter the name of the homework set in the box (something like "hw1" is great)
4. Click on the "Take Action" button
5. At the top of the screen, it should say something like

   "Results of last action performed: Successfully created new set hw2"

6. Click on "Hmwk Sets Editor" and you should see your new set there.
   • In the column labeled "Problems" it should have a "0" (you haven't put any problems there yet). You will be clicking on this number later.
   • In the column labeled "Assigned Users" it should say something like "0/56" (you haven't assigned this homework set to any users yet). You will be clicking on this later.
7. In the column "Set Name", click on the pencil to "Edit" the sets. This is NOT editing the problems.
   • Check the "visible box" (I don't know any good reason to leave the set invisible).
   • Change the open date (the date the problems are available for students).
   • Change the due date (the date the students must have their answers submitted).
   • Change the answer date (the date the students can view answers and solutions). I think it is good to have the answer date 12-24 hours after the due date in case a student claims to have a good reason for missing their assignment.
   • Change the "Set Header" to "screenHeader.pg" (this is important, scroll down until you find it).
   • Change the "Hardcopy Header" to "paperHeader.pg" (this is important, scroll down until you find it).
   • Check "Save changes" and then "Take Action!"

III. You need problems in your problem set.

1. Go to "Library Browser".
2. In the box "Adding Problems to Target Set:", select the homework set you just created above (or select an existing homework set).
3. Where it says "Select a Problem Collection", scoll through the list until you find a collection you want to look at. (This is the problem bank.)
   • The "Rochester" library is labelled nicely by subject and has problems from the University of Rochester (part of the Webwork distribution).
   • The "WashU" library is organized by course number.
   • The "Utah" library has some organization by subject as well as course number.
     • Math 1010: Intermediate Algebra
     • Math 1030: Quantitative Thinking
     • Math 1040: Introduction to Statistics
     • Math 1050: College Algebra
     • Math 1060: Trigonometry
     • Math 1070: Elementary Statistics
     • Math 1090: Business Algebra
     • Math 1100: Quantitative Analysis
     • Math 1080: Math for Life Scientists II
     • Math 1210: Calculus I
     • Math 1220: Calculus II
     • Math 1260: AP Calculus II
     • Math 1280: Engineering Calculus II
     • Math 2160: Intro to Scientific Computing
     • Math 2210: Calculus III
     • Math 2250: ODE and Linear Algebra
     • Math 2270: Linear Algebra
     • Math 2280: Introduction to ODE
     • Math 3070: Applied Statistics I
4. Click on "View Problems" and the problems in that particular collectino should be shown.
5. Select the problems you are interested in. Do this by checking the boxes

   "Add this problem to the current set on the next update"

6. When you have selected all the problems you are interested in, click on "Update". The problems you just selected should now be part of your homework set.
7. Repeat this process to add more and more problems to your homework set.

IV. Look at your set in the "Hmwk Sets Editor"

1. Click on "Hmwk Sets Editor"
2. Click on the number in the "Problems" column.
3. Try each problem and make sure it works correctly (I have found errors in the Library!!! If there is an error, let me know and I will fix the library.)
4. Delete the problems you don't like (check the "Delete" box and then click "Save Problem Changes")
5. Reorder the problems in an order you like (and then click on "Save Problem Changes")
6. Editing the problems is not as simple as clicking on "Edit". This is a file permission and Library integrity issue (we can't have everyone changing the problem library at will). If the Library needs fixed, let me know and I'll fix it. If you want to take an existing problem and modify it, then see below. If you don't care about any of this, ignore it all.

V. Assigning the homework set

1. You should now have a homework set created, but it hasn't been assigned to any students (yet).
2. First assign the set to you:
   • Go to "Hmwk Sets Editor" (You can also do this in the "Set Assigner")
   • Click on the numbers in the "Assigned Users" column.
   • Check the box next to your name (you may have to scroll down).
   • Click "Save"
   • It should now tell you:

     "Problems for selected students have been reassigned."

3. Now, go to the problem set and try the problems. (They should all work because you tried them before. Or, you can not try them above and try them at this point in the proceedure.)
4. Make sure a hard copy prints. (This is important because students will use the hardcopy feature but often a small TeX error will cause it not to print.)
   • Click on "Homework Sets"
   • Click on "Download Hardcopy for Selected Sets"
   • Select the set you are interested in and click on "Generate Hardcopy"
   • You should now have a pdf file to view. If you do not and there is an error, let me know and I will fix it. (These errors can be difficult to track down, but if you let me know, I'll fix it up.)
5. Assign the set to the students.
   • Go to "Hmwk Sets Editor" (You can also do this in the "Set Assigner")
   • Click on the numbers in the "Assigned Users" column.
   • Check on the "Assign to All Current Users"
   • It should now tell you:

     "Problems have been assigned to all current users."

6. IMPORTANT:
   • If it is before the open date (before students have started working on the homework), it is okay to edit the problem sets. To do this, you will have to "Unassign from All Users". In fact, this is what you will do if you find an error and then try to fix it.
   • If it is after the open date (and students have already started working on the homework, DO NOT "Unassign from All Users". In fact, do not edit the set at all at this point (contact me if there is a problem).

VI. Editing and modifying problems

1. Go to "Hmwk Sets Editor"
2. Click on the number in the "Problems" column.
3. Click on "Edit it" for the problem you want to edit.
4. Webwork will tell you:

   "Write permissions have not been enabled in . . ."

5. At the bottom of the page, in "Save As" box, enter a file name. It is best to organize your saved sets in directories so call you file something like:

   hw1/pr1.pg

   The "hw1" is the name of the set (so, something like hw1, hw2, hw3, etc.).
   The "pr1.pg" is the name of the problem (so, something like pr1.pg, pr2.pg, pr3.pg, etc.)
6. Click on "Save As"
7. Go back to: "Hwmk Sets Editor" and then click on the number in the problems column.
8. Change the file name in the box to your file name (so, something like "hw1/pr1.pg")
9. Click on "Save Problem Changes"
10. Now you can edit the file by clicking on "Edit it".