WeBWorK is an online math homework system. It is possible to connect Moodle to WeBWorK so that students are automatically enrolled in WeBWorK by clicking on a link from within Moodle and have WeBWorK send grade information to Moodle.
There are two main ways to set up the connection between Moodle and WeBWorK. If you aren't interested in having WeBWorK send grades to Moodle or you only need the overall WeBWorK grade reported back to Moodle, it is easiest to set up a single link between the two systems. If you need to have the individual grades for WeBWorK assignments reported to Moodle, you will need to create a link to each WeBWorK assignment.
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Ask a colleague who is a WeBWorK administrator or submit a Help Desk ticket (support@swarthmore.edu) to set you up with request a WeBWorK course. Provide the name and number of the course you want to configure.
Log into your course at webwork.swarthmore.edu with your Swarthmore username and password
If needed, follow the Instructions for copying a WeBWorK Course from one semester to anotheanother
Setting up a
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link between Moodle and WeBWorK
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Set up your WeBWorK course
The procedure below will create a link between WeBWorK and Moodle and can be used for either a single, course-wide link or a link to a specific WeBWorK assignment.
WeBWorK setup
Start by deciding if you want a single link to WeBWorK in Moodle or if you want a separate link for each assignment. A single link is simpler for the instructor to set up. Individual links may make it easier for students to know when assignments are due. When using individual links for each homework assignment, students must click on the link in Moodle to start their homework assignment. After they have clicked the link once, they can access the assignment by logging into WeBWorK directly.
The default configuration is a single, course-wide link. If you prefer individual links to each homework assignment, log into your WeBWorK course and click on Course configuration (left menu) → LTI tab → Grade passback mode → Homework
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The grade passback mode must be set before students enter your course. Changing the passback mode after students have logged in will likely cause problems. |
Moodle Setup
Go to your Moodle course and turn editing on
Click Add an activity or resource link, and select WeBWorK
Click Select Content
If the Moodle course hasn’t already been connected to WeBWorK, you will see a window showing some information about the informationcourse, including the Context ID. Copy the value of the Context ID.
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If you receive an error relating to “3rd party cookies” when following the procedure below, you may need to enable “cross-site tracking” in your browser in order to connect Moodle and Gradescope. If you are using the Safari browser, click on the Safari menu, then Preferences. Select Privacy, then make sure Prevent cross-site tracking is unchecked. |
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Leaving this browser window open, go back to your WebWorK course , and click on Course Configuration
Click on the LTI tab
Enter the value from Moodle in the Context ID field
Click Save changes
Go back to Moodle and enter
Give the link a name such as "WeBWorK"
Under "Preconfigured tool" select "Automatic, based on tool URL"
Click "Show more..." to show all the configuration details
Under "Secure Tool URL" copy and paste the URL for your WeBWorK course. The format should be
https://webwork.swarthmore.edu/webwork2/<CourseName>, where<CourseName>is your WebWOrK course name. For example:https://webwork.swarthmore.edu/webwork2/Gomez-M15-F23If you'd like the grades for all the WeBWorK assignments to be entered into the Moodle gradebook, complete the "Grade" section. Otherwise change the "Grade" type to "None".
Save your settings, close the “Select content” dialog box, and click Select Content again.
To create a single link to all the homework sets in the WeBWorK course, select Assignments (Course Home). To to link individual homework assignments, select specific sets. A Moodle activity will be created for each selected WeBWorK item.
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Click Submit Choices
Under the Grade section, adjust the settings as desired. If multiple WeBWorK sets were selected you must adjust the grade options individually after creating the Moodle activities.
Click Save and return to course
You should now have a link to WeBWorK in your Moodle course . Students will be able to click on the link to that students can use to access WeBWorK.
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Student Enrollments and Access
When a student clicks on
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a Moodle link to a WeBWorK course for the first time, their WeBWorK course account is automatically created.
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Moodle does not send the entire class roster to WeBWorK, so if a student never clicks on the WeBWorK link, they will not have a WeBWorK course account.
Once their WeBWorK course account is created, a student can log into their WeBWorK course either through the Moodle link or directly on the WeBWorK website. When using individual homework links, students must click on the WeBWorK homework link in Moodle once to create a connection between the two systems. After that, students can access their assignment via Moodle or by logging into WeBWorK directly.
By default, WeBWorK will assign students any visible homework sets in the course.
Setting up individual homework links between Moodle and WeBWorK
Set up your WeBWorK course
Go to your Moodle course and turn editing on.
Click "Add an activity or resource" link, select "External Tool" and click "Add"
Give the link a name corresponding to the homework set
Under "Preconfigured tool" select "Automatic, based on tool URL"
Click "Show more..." to show all the configuration details
Under "Secure Tool URL" copy and paste the URL for your WeBWorK assignment. The format should be https://webwork.swarthmore.edu/webwork2/<CourseName>/<AssignmentName> (where
<CourseName>and<AssignmentName>are specific to your course and assignment)Set the "Grade" parameters as you see fit.
Save your settings
You should now have a link to a specific WeBWorK assignment in your Moodle course with a gradebook entry. Repeat for each assignment. Students will be able to click on each link to access a specific WeBWorK homework set.
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Grading
If grading is set up in the Moodle WeBWorK activity, Moodle will add an corresponding entry to the gradebook.
WeBWorK sends the percentage grade for each assignment back to Moodle and the two systems do not synchronize visibility, due dates, or point values. Most
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instructors let WeBWorK control the availability and timing of the homework sets and set the point value of
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each homework set to be 100.
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WeBWorK calculates the overall grade by adding up the number of points earned for all assignments divided by the overall number
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Other Information
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PiRates
If you use Moodle, you You may want to enroll PiRates in your Moodle course with the Auditor role. This will allow them to see your Moodle resources and access your WeBWorK assignments via the link from Moodle, but does not create a Moodle gradebook entry. After they have logged into WebWorK to create their accounts, you may want to elevate their permissions in WebWorK.
More details
These blog posts from Geoff Goehle of Western Carolina University have some technical details at the beginning but instructor information towards the bottom of each post
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Other information about WeBWorK
WeBWorK Project Documentation Wiki