WebAssign Spring 2006 Newsletter
Dear Instructor,
We hope your semester is going well. Without further ado, let's jump into the topics of the day...
In this issue:
New WebAssign Features!
Practice Questions
You can now create questions which allow your students to do some self-study on a concept that gives them trouble by popping up a "practice" window with related question(s). They will be able to try the practice questions as many times as they like, and can try different randomizations and check the answer key for each. If there is a solution for the question, a button will show up that allows students to see the solution. There is no credit assigned or score recorded for practice questions.
Somewhere in one of your questions just add the following tag. The only required information to include is one or more question ID(s) (qids).
For example: <PRACTICE qids="1,2,3,4">
When students view the question or you try it in the Test/Preview window, a Practice button will take the place of the above tag.
There are many other options available for this new tag. For a complete list check out the following template questions: template.practice (532897) and template.practice.textbook (531994).
Submit Whole Question
A new assignment submission option is now available that requires students to focus on a question as a whole and answer all parts before submitting. With this new option a submission is deducted for all parts of a question when submitted.
To help keep the different types of submission options clear to students, we have clarified the wording on the submit buttons they see.
Submit buttons for this new mode now read: "Submit Whole Question"
Submit buttons for the previously available submit-by-part mode now read: "Submit Modified Answers To Question #"
Syntax Errors
An often requested feature is finally in place. If your assignments are set to allow question part submission, syntax errors for numerical and symbolic questions will not count as a submission for your students. If they make a syntax error, their response will not be scored and a submission will not be used up; they simply get a message to check their syntax.
This should make students happier and keep them from getting frustrated when they simply enter the letter 'o' instead of a zero or forget to enter a final parenthesis.
If you would like to override this (default) behavior and count syntax errors as a submission you can change your options on specific assignments or for an entire class.
<symimage>
Ever get tired of typing out <eqn Symbolic::Image("...")> every time you want a mathematical expression displayed in your questions? A much simpler version is now available. Just use <symimage(...)> in place of the above. And you don't have to worry about the quotes!
Numerical-with-Units
A new question type allows you to write questions that require students to enter appropriate units along with their number. The best part is that any equivalent unit (metric, english, etc) is accepted.
If a student enters a number without units, they receive a message and do not lose a submission (in submit-by-question-part mode).
You can even choose to grant partial credit if a student enters a compatible unit with the wrong number!
Update!
As the newsletter went to press we have decided that this new question type will soon be integrated with the Numerical question type. We hope this change will make using units with your numerical questions even easier. If you'd like to know when this change happens please sign up for WebAssign announcements.
Coming Soon
As always, let's take a peek at some of the projects that are on our developers' desks right now...
Question Pooling
Under development is a much requested feature; the ability to create assignments by letting Webassign randomly choose different questions from a "pool" of questions, so that each student gets a truly different assignment to work on.
We are designing this feature for maximum flexibility; you will be able to have WebAssign select any number of questions out of a pool, and you can intermix pooled questions with specifically assigned questions within an assignment.
This feature will be particularly useful when used with test bank questions.
Conditional Release of Assignments
Planned for Fall 2006 is the ability to release assignments based on students completing specified prerequisites. As work on this progresses, we will likely be looking for people to help finalize the specifications and features.
Group Assignments
In early development is a feature to allow instructors to assign students to groups for group submission of an assignment. Any member in the group will be allowed to submit the assignment and all group members receive the same score.
The ability to define global groups to use throughout a class, as well as assignment-specific groups will be included. You can create the groups yourself, or have WebAssign randomly divide students into the number of groups you specify.
Percentage Adjustments
Also on the agenda is the ability to set percentage-based (rather than points-based) adjustments. This feature is especially useful for the penalty you assign for automatic extensions.
New Textbook Content
 WebAssign
Enhanced content for math and physics from selected Brooks/Cole textbooks offer students valuable content. The new Brooks/Cole offerings, available this fall, include:
- Active Examples -- Function the way students work
Active Examples are a bridge from homework to examples and additional practice. While doing homework, students can link to an example from the book, encouraging them to work through the textbook examples.
These multi-step fill-in-the-blank examples allow students to work through examples at their own pace. When they are finished, they may return to the original homework problem.
- Skillbuilder Videos -- Portable office hours
For selected math textbooks, students can see and hear additional instruction through the Skillbuilder Video link from each homework question. The examples worked in each 2-5 minute video correlate to the problems in the homework questions.
- Textbook PDFs -- Portable textbook
Students will also find helpful links to excerpts from some textbook. Whenever they leave their book behind, they can always refer to important sections within their homework assignment.
WebAssignPLUS includes a complete on-line version of the John Wiley & Sons textbook, the Student Study Guide, the Student Solutions Manual, and a variety of interactive study aids.
All of these rich resources are linked together in a dynamic and interactive environment for students. Additional links to the eBook within each problem are structured to support the way students work and provide them with superior just-in-time learning resources. Also the eBook availability provides students with a significantly less expensive (compared with the printed text) option.
Coming this fall, Cutnell and Johnson College Physics will include GO questions that offer students help and feedback as part of a new type of study builder question.
WAUG 2006: June 12 - 14
Mark your calendars for the 7th Annual WebAssign User’s Group Meeting, (WAUG), June 12-14, 2006 on Centennial Campus at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
WAUG is an outstanding opportunity for both new and experienced WebAssign users to learn how WebAssign works and how to leverage the #1 homework and grading service to engage your students in their own learning.
Day 1 WebAssign/101 workshops are "soup to nuts" in-depth, hands-on, training on all aspects of the system – from creating courses and rosters to simple question coding. Please bring a wireless laptop to maximize your experience for these workshops.
Day 2 Tools of Engagement sessions feature instructional applications, advanced question coding workshops, a Gradebook tutorial, and how to get organized with Folders.
Day 3 Building The Community discussions focus on best practices, recent rollouts, additional question coding instruction, and the Developer's Roundtable – your chance to tell WebAssign designers what you would like to see in the next version.
Participants will have opportunities to meet and speak with experienced WebAssign teachers and learn how they use WebAssign daily in their classrooms.
WebAssign staff will be available throughout the meeting to spend one-on-one time and answer your questions. Be sure to plan on joining us for the Monday evening reception and Tuesday night dinner.
Online registration, housing information and a tentative program are available.
There is no fee to attend, but seats are limited.
We look forward to seeing you at WAUG in June!
Did you Know?
- On Wednesday November 23, 2005 at 12:24 PM EST the 500,000th question was created in WebAssign!
- The highest usage of WebAssign occurs between 9 and 10 PM Eastern on Monday nights and is 99% students.
- The lowest usage occurs on Saturday between 5 AM and 8 AM Eastern and is 10% faculty.
Until next time, best wishes from all of us!
Sincerely,
The WebAssign Team
|
