Quick Guide for Instructors

This document provides some instructions on how to set up and manage a WeBWorK course. 

Create a new homework set

  1. Under "Main Menu" on the left, click "Hmwk Sets Editor".

  2. Click the "Create" tab on the right. Enter the name of the new homework set. You may create a new empty set or a copy of an existing set. Press "Take Action!".

Hide/unhide a homework set

Note: Visible homework sets are displayed in bold. Hidden homework sets are displayed in italic.
Note: All visible homework sets will be assigned automatically to newly added students.

  1. Under "Main Menu" on the left, click "Hmwk Sets Editor".

  2. Click the "Publish" tab. Choose "selected sets", then choose "Visible" to unhide or "Hidden" to hide. Check all the homework sets below that need to be hidden/unhidden. Press "Take Action!".

Edit an existing homework set

  1. Under "Main Menu" on the left, click "Hmwk Sets Editor".

  2. The homework list shows the number of questions, number of assigned users and the open/close dates. To edit a homework set, click the corresponding number under "Edit Problems".

  3. You may change the dates under "General Information". The "Opens" date is the date students can start accessing the homework set. The "Closes" date is the due date. Students can still access the homework set and submit answers after the due date, but they will not receive any mark. The "Answers Available" date is the date when the answers and the solutions (if available) are released to students.

  4. If the homework set is empty, you may add blank problems here so you can edit the code and create your questions later. Otherwise, you may rearrange the problems by dragging and dropping. To display the content of the problems, press "Render All" right about the first question. To save all changes made, press "Save Changes".

Add existing problems to a homework set

  1. Under "Main Menu" on the left, click "Library Browser".

  2. Next to "Add problems to Target Set", choose the homework set.

  3. "Open Problem Library" is the collection of problems created by the WeBWorK community. "Local Problems" are all the problems stored locally in the course. Once the desired category or folder is selected, press "View Problems". Press the "Add" button to add a question.

Edit a problem

  1. Under "Main Menu" on the left, click "Homework Sets".

  2. Open the homework set and the problem you need to edit.

  3. Press "Edit" at the end of the problem.

  4. A new browser tab may be opened. Change the code as wished. There are a few saving options.

    Press "Take Action!" to save the changes.

Release a homework set to students

  1. Under "Main Menu" on the left, click "Hmwk Sets Editor".

  2. Find the homework set to be released and click the corresponding number of assigned user (in the column of "Edit Assigned Users").

  3. Press "Assign to All Current Users" or check the students who will be assigned and press "Save".

Act as a particular student

  1. Under "Main Menu" on the left, click "Classlist Editor".

  2. Click the login name of the student. You will see this student's versions of all homework sets.

  3. To stop acting the student, press "Stop Acting" at the top right corner of the window.

Change the due date or the mark of a homework set for one particular student

  1. Under "Main Menu" on the left, click "Classlist Editor".

  2. Find the student and click the corresponding number of assigned sets (in the column of "Assigned Sets").

  3. To change the due date, check "Closes" and enter the new dew date for this particular students and press "Save Changes".

  4. To change the marks, click the homework set, then change the number next to "Status" for a problem and press "Save Changes".

Download grades

  1. Under "Main Menu" on the left, click "Scoring Tools".

  2. Highlight all homework sets that needs to be included in the grade book. Press "Score selected set(s) and save to:".

  3. The link to the CSV export file is directly under "Totals".