Login Page for WeBWorK  

Student FAQ for WeBWorK

Functions available for use in WeBWorK

WeBWorK and Math 8

I. What is WeBWorK?

WeBWorK is a system that allows students to do their homework in an interactive web-based environment.

Using WeBWorK, students may try to answer homework problems more than once. After each try, a message appears telling the student whether the answer is correct or not. This provides immediate feedback to the students, allows them to discover what they did wrong, and hopefully allows them to understand the topic of the question better.

Each WeBWorK problem set is individualized. Each student has a different version of a problem generated from a fixed template; for example the numerical values in the formulas may be slightly different.

II. How anybody can try out WeBWorK

Anyone with an internet connection can try out WeBWorK by following the directions in Part III below. Use practice1 as the login name and 000-00-000a as the password. To see different problems, you can login as practice2, practice3, or practice4 and use the the passwords 000-00-000b, 000-00-000c, etc.

III. How to use WeBWorK to do your homework

Using WeBWorK is quite simple. Below are the basic steps on how to get started.

NOTE: Most pages of WeBWorK also contain directions. Therefore, if you are ever unsure of what you should do, try reading the directions and descriptions on the page at which you are looking.

  1. You can use any computer with a browser like Netscape or MSIE. In general, it is not possible to use a text-based browser like lynx since most of the mathematics is rendered using a graphic format.
  2. Open Netscape and go to the main WeBWorK page, http://webwork.dartmouth.edu/webwork2.
  3. On that page you will see names of current WeBWorK courses. Find the name of your course and click on it.
  4. This will get you to the main page of your course. This page includes necessary information about logging in.
    To log in, click on the 'Login' button.
  5. This will take you to a login page. Enter your login name and password, and click on the 'Continue' button.
    Your login name is the usually just your last name, followed possibly by a digit for people in the class with the same last name (e.g. smith, smith2, ...)). Possible exceptions include compound last name like "den Hartog" or "De La Huerta" which would be rendered Hartog and Huerta respectively.
    Your initial password is (unless you gave me something else) your six-character student ID ``number''.
  6. If your login is incorrect, you will be told so, and you can return to the login page and try again.
  7. If you are registered for the course, you should receive and email from your instructor confirming your login and password.
    If your login is correct you will see a page where you can do following:
    • Look at and do the problems in a set via Netscape.
      To do the first days assignment, for example, click on the line in the box that starts with '22Sept04'.
      On each line in the box, where all the sets are listed, after the set number, you can see whether the set is open or closed. If the set is open, that means that when you solve a problem, it will be counted towards your grade. If the set is closed, you can still solve problems, but your results will not be recorded.
      After the indication of whether the set is open or closed, there is additional information about the due date (if the set is open), or whether the answers are available (if the set is closed).
    • Get a printout of the problem set.
      To print out 22Sept04, for example, click the box next to it (and any other set that has a box next to it) and click the download button. Your browser should then be able to handle the pdf file. If not, any of the computer consultants should be able to help you with this kind of problem.
    • Look at a summary of your WeBWorK homework scores.
      Click on grades on the left column.
  8. If you are printing out a problem set or looking at a summary of your homework scores, you are done. If you are viewing a problem set via Netscape, you will see a page with the problems in the set you chose. To view and/or answer a problem, click on the problem. Once you choose a problem and click on it, you will see the text of the problem with boxes for your answers. Enter your answers and click on the 'Submit Answer' button. If you are working on a problem set that is already closed, you will have the option to see the correct answer or a solution if one is available (currently only a few problems have solutions available). To see the correct answer and/or solution, just check the box(es) and click on the 'Submit Answer' button (you do not have to enter an answer to see the correct answer or solution). Once you have submitted an answer, you will be told whether your answer is correct or not. If not, you can try again. After you've tried a problem, you can either go to the next problem, the previous problem, or see the list of the problems again.
  9. If you want to check the status of your problems (e.g. to double check that your answers have been recorded), use the "Prob. List" button at the top of the page to see the problem list page.
  10. When you are finished, log out using the "Logout" button at the bottom of the page.
  11. That's all, folks!

IV. Important facts to know