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WeBWorK Version 1.6 is available for downloading. Details are given below. You
can tell what version you are running by looking at the "WeBWorK Logo" at the
top of (e.g.) the login page. The version number appears on the right side. If
there is no version number, you are running a very old version.
Version 1.6 of WeBWorK contains many enhancements. Most noticeable to students
is that their answers are now saved. A students can fill in several parts of a multi-part
question, then log out. When the student returns to the problem, his or her old answers
will be filled in ready to be submitted. This also means that Professors and TA's, when
viewing a student's problem, can see EXACTLY what answers the student submitted. For
this and other reasons, the default mode (controlled by a check box) when Professors and
TA's are viewing a student's problem is now "Do Not Record Answers." This means a professor
can test an answer without modifying the student's score or saved answers. The "save answer"
feature is controlled by a global variable (default is to save answers) which can be over
ridden by setting $recordSubmittedAnswers = 0 or 1 in an individual problem. For example this
should be set to 0 for an anonymous questionnaire.
The classlist page now has much greater functionality. For example, you have a wide variety
of options when updating or replacing the classlist database using a classlist file (you
should almost never use the import_classlist-database.pl command line script anymore). There
are many other changes and bug fixes throughout the code.
Courses running under WeBWorK 1.5 will run without change under WeBWorK 1.6.
The templates tar file contains approximately 1300 WeBWorK problems covering pre-calculus,
first year calculus, and vector calculus and HAS NOT BEEN updated.
In the near future we will have available differential equations problems and also 8th grade level
problems. All the problems in the tar file also appear in the demo Course. If you are interested
in teaching a differential equations course using WeBWorK, please contact us and we can give you
access to the problems used at Rochester this fall.
You are free to use these problems, but please do not redistribute them.
If you are interested in using WeBWorK, but are not ready to install it at your
institution, we can host small (say under 100 student) WeBWorK courses at
Rochester. This will give people the opportunity to use WeBWorK without the
necessity of installing WeBWorK. If you are interested in this, please
contact Mike Gage (gage@math.rochester.edu) or Arnie Pizer apizer@math.rochester.edu).
WeBWorK is supported by an NSF DUE CCLI grant. Institutions interested in
adopting WeBWorK are eligible (even encouraged) to apply for support under
the CCLI Adaptation and Implementation (A&I) track. Information is available
at http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/ccli/ccli.htm We would be happy to
support you in such proposals. Last year several colleges and universities
received support under this program to adapt and implement WeBWorK.
Mike and Arnie will be conducting a MiniCourse on WeBWorK at the annual AMS/MAA
meeting in New Orleans next week. If you are attending, stop by and say hello.
Now finally the information that some of you really want:
In order to download version 1.6 of WeBWorK, connect to
http://webhost.math.rochester.edu/webworkdocs/
Click on download WeBWorK, register if you haven't already, and follow the
instructions. Note as of this moment some of the verbiage refers to version 1.5,
but if you read closely you will see you are downloading version 1.6
Arnie Pizer and Mike Gage
Posted by Michael Gage on 1/5/01; 11:24:48 AM
from the dept.
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