Video conferences

Video Conferences on WeBWorK topics

Instructions for joining video conference

Video conference instructions

Upcoming Video Conference Topics

Planned schedule: alternate Wednesdays: 5PM EDT, 4PM CDT, 3PM MDT, 2PM PDT unless otherwise noted

• Wednesday December 2, 2009 5pm EST
• Wednesday November 18, 2009 5pm EST
• Wednesday November 4, 2009 5pm EST
  • Simplified entry for authoring questions -- including Davide Cervone's PGML

Past Video Conference Topics

• Wednesday October 21, 2009 5pm EDT Large Installations
  • Discussion about best practices, tools, procedures, etc, for managing large WeBWorK installations. People from a number of large institutions using WeBWorK will share their experiences, advice, and problems.
• Wednesday October 7, 2009 5pm EDT WeBWorK - Moodle interoperability
  • 1. I'll start with 15-20 minute presentation on how I use the WeBWorK- Moodle assignment bridge to run courses at U. of Rochester
    • More detailed coverage of this material is at Moodle_Assignment and importantly at Moodle_Assignment#Limitations and Instructor_tips_for_Moodle-WW_Assignment_module
  • 2. A chance for you to introduce yourselves to each other. It is a fairly small group using both Moodle and WeBWorK and you may not all know each other
  • 3. Comments from the audience on their use of Moodle- WeBWorK particularly where it differs from my use.
  • 4. Preliminary discussion of the Moodle - WeBWorK question type and it's potential. (This probably deserves a second video conference.)
  • 5. A discussion of what remains to be done on both the Assignment and Question type WeBWorK-Moodle bridges
• Wednesday September 23, 2009 5pm EST Assessment Projects
• Wednesday July 15, 2009 5pm EST No Web-Conference this week
• Wednesday July 1, 2009 5pm EST WeBWork Authentication
• Wednesday June 17, 2009 5pm EST -- Web-Conference Series is on Vacation!
• Wednesday June 3, 2009 5pm EST -- Web-Conference Series is on Vacation!
• Wednesday May 22, 2009 5pm EST Mathfest Summer Workshop Planning
  • (Not Recorded) - Summer Workshop to take place August 5th in Portland. Contact Mike Gage for more information.
• Wednesday May 6, 2009 5pm EST Providing new problem types through Flash embedded WeBWorK problems -- Barbara Margolius and Dan Gries
  • Providing new problem types through Flash embedded WeBWorK problems (Video)
• Wednesday April 22, 2009 5pm EST Sequential Multipart Problems - Ken Appel and Davide Cervone
  • Seqential Multipart Problems (Video)
• Wednesday April 8, 2009 5pm EST Model WeBWork Courses and the WeBWork/Moodle Bridge -- Mike Gage
  • Model WeBWork Courses and the WeBWork/Moodle Bridge (Video)
• Wednesday March 25, 2009 5pm EDT Gavin LaRose (University of Michigan) talked about using the Gateway testing feature of webwork
  • sorry -- no video capture of this webconference
• Wednesday March 11, 2009 at 5pm EST -- Jason Aubrey & Mike Gage
  • Discussion focusing on tasks for the summer of 2009
• Wednesday February 25, 2009 at 5pm EST -- Sarah Osborne (Techsmith) and Jason Aubrey (University of Missouri)
  • Using Video in WeBWork
• Wednesday February 11, 2009 at 5pm EST -- Paul Pearson, University of Rochester "Managing WeBWork Email."
  • Using Gmail to centrally manage WeBWork email.
  • Instructions on the Wiki: How to Effectively Manage Email Sent Vida the Email Instructor Button
  • Preview of next Web-Conference on embedding Video (and other stuff) in WeBWork problems.
  • Managing Email Effectively Web Conference Recording (Video)
• Wednesday January 28, 2009 at 5pm EST -- Doug Ensley, Shippensburg University
  • Flash Applets
  • Flash Applets Web Conference Recording (Video)
  • Mike Gage's WeBWork Course for Applet Development and Demos
• Wednesday January 14, 2009 at 5pm EST -- Vicki Roth, University of Rochester
  • Assessment of WeBWork
  • For more information see, http://webwork.maa.org/moodle/course/view.php?id=13
  • Assessment Web Conference Recording (Video)
  • User-Friendly Handbook for Mixed Method Evaluations (from NSF)
• Wednesday 12/17/2008 at 5pm EST-- Robin Cruz, College of Idaho
  • Presentation of PreCalculus Problems
  • Writing has presented a different set of challenges to that of writing Calculus problems.
  • Precalculus Problems Web Conference Recording (Video)
• Wednesday 12/3/2008 at 5pm EST, Darwyn Cook, Alfred University
  • Discussion of proposed GraphObjects interface (see Graph_Object_Wishlist)
  • GraphObjects Web Conference Recording (Video)
• Wednesday 11/19/2008 at 5pm EST, Jason Aubrey and Mike Gage
  • Geogebra applet examples -- Jason
  • Discussion of AppletObject API specification -- led by Mike
  • AppletObjects Web Conference Recording (Video)
  • Mike Gage's WeBWork Course for Applet Development
  • GeoGebra.org
• Friday, 11/14/2008, Mike Gage
  • Collection of physics problems: http://hosted.webwork.rochester.edu/webwork2/physics_library/
    • Use guest login to see problems
  • Model calculus course -- under construction: http://hosted.webwork.rochester.edu/moodle/course/view.php?id=3
    • This is the first semester calculus course taught at the U. of Rochester (from Stewart's calculus book).
    • You will need to fill out the information for a "New Account" -- it's a quick process or login as guest.
    • The code for the WeBWorK questions is being converted to conform to current best practices using MathObjects. Set 1 has been converted -- you can look at question by question comparisons between the old and the new code.
  • Open discussion on topics and schedule for video conferences
• Friday, 10/24/2008, Davide Cervone
  • Overview of PGML (PG markup language) -- simplified entry for PG questions
  • Experimental PGML markup lab at: PGLabs
  • Web Conference Recording (Video)

Suggested Web Conference Topics

potential video conference topics

(x indicates that it has been discussed at least once so far -- later we'll try to replace this with dates and links)

• Assessment -x
  • What has been done so far
  • Assessment issues
  • Assessment tools and protocols. What is available, what is needed?

• Authoring issues:
  • MathObjects - x
  • AppletObjects API - xx
  • GraphObjects API - x
  • how to draw pictures using GD
  • tableObject
  • Interface for Sequential Problems (MultiPart) Robin Cruz, Ken Apell,
  • Merge the original Matrix definitions into the MathObjects matrices
    • The main effect would allow more operations with matrix valued objects.
    • Do matrices take complex MathObjects at the moment?
  • Simplified entry
    • PGML--hardcopy is working now -x
    • Daniel Graham xml version
    • Molzon U. of Kentucky

• Organization
  • time for WeBWorK conferences - x
  • topics to discuss -- ongoing
  • other organization principles
  • recruit community organizers using conferences?

• Course and site management
  • Handling large volumes of email -- gmail approach --Paul Pearson x
  • Creating Gateway tests -- Gavin LaRose x

• Bridges -- interoperate with other software
  • Administering WeBWorK at large schools -- writing scripts, other issues x
  • Moodle integration -- bridge 1 M. Leventi & M. Gage xx
    • I could demo the Linear algebra course --Mike
    • Also discusses workshop and webwork integration --Mike and Vicki Roth
  • Moodle integration -- bridge 2 M. Leventi
  • Blackboard integration M. Gage

• Using webwork in computer science --- Christelle Scharff

• National Problem Library --- management issues
  • Designing a procedure for submitting questions to the library
  • Tagging problems
  • Cleaning, creating and organizing tag names.
  • Discussion of how best to upload problems to the National Problem Library
    • Reference link to NPL: http://webwork.maa.org/wiki/National_Problem_Library*Contributing_to_the_NPL
    • Issues -- replace vs. add new problems
    • How to insure that new problems are a clear upgrade from old

• Creating collections of questions
  • Project -- getting UCSB stewart problems tagged
  • QA of model Calculus problems -- on hosted2
    • a model calculus course
  • Physics problems on hosted.
    • Entry Project: Edit the "set0" for each set to describe the subject matter of the problems in the set.

• WeBWorK software fundamental overhaul/maintenance
  • ease of use topics -- Arnie Pizer
  • Basic PG code overhaul
  • Basic User interface overhaul
  • Basic Database overhaul
  • Redesign database -- (make it look more like moodle) (M Leventi and S. Hathaway)

• Documentation
  • Rework the standard CSS so that it is more regular and a better model
    • Make more examples of CSS variants
    • Create HowTo customize the CSS -- perhaps this is a screen cast -- not a video conference
  • Making screencasts -- list of desired topics
    • prospective
      • using the "instructor tools" link
      • Creating gateway quiz sets
    • completed
      • Creating and configuring a webwork course
      • Adding many students to your course
      • Adding Homework Sets.