This is not a pressing issue, but I just set up a course for practice users where we wanted all the users to see the same problems. I implemented Davide's hack on setting up modified ".pl" files in the course/macros directory and it works fine. But I'd like to suggest a few modifications that would integrate this feature into Webwork.
1. When assigning a problem set, have an option to use the same seed for all students. If the option is checked, Webwork would then know to load a "dummy" macro file for each problem that sets the random number to the same value for all students.
2. The classlist could have an option to turn off the random number generator for some students (the practice users, for example). If checked, then Webwork would always set the seed for these students to a common value.
-Tom
The random number generator is seeded by a number that is assigned to each problem and each student. (You can see the seed if you edit a particular student's problem set details.) So the way this would be implemented would be set those seeds to a common value across all students, not to include additional .pl files. (My .pl file hack was just an easy way to get the effect you requested.)
Certainly it would be possible to have an option to reseed a problem or the whole set to make all students have the same seed. I wonder how much use it would get though. (I'm afraid I don't remember what your original motivation was.)
Davide
Certainly it would be possible to have an option to reseed a problem or the whole set to make all students have the same seed. I wonder how much use it would get though. (I'm afraid I don't remember what your original motivation was.)
Davide