This is an example site that shows what the WeBWorK Q&A plugin looks like in action. It also provides an example of how to set up a site using the plugin.

If you are using the WeBWorK Q&A plugin, please feel free to use and adapt anything on this site to fit your own. All content is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.

WeBWorK Q&A plugin

WeBWorK Q&A is a free WordPress plugin that enables anyone to create a community forum where people can ask and answer questions about WeBWorK problems.

What is WeBWorK?

WeBWorK is a homework platform used to give online assignments in math and science courses. Online homework systems have a number of benefits over traditional, textbook-based, homework assignments:

  • They can provide instant feedback for students (without revealing the answer to a problem).
  • They can use randomization so that each student gets a unique problem.
  • They can adapt to student work on-the-fly, redirecting students to simpler problems if they become stuck, or breaking a problem down into a series of small steps.
  • They can provide instructors with valuable feedback about where students are successful and where they are being challenged.

While many homework platforms are closed, fee-based systems designed by textbook publishers, WeBWorK is an open source project supported by the Mathematics Association of America (MAA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), with an active community of hundreds of colleges, universities and high schools across the U.S. and around the world.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is free and open source software that anyone can use to create a website. It powers 42% of sites on the internet, including this one.  

What is WeBWork Q&A?

WeBWorK Q&A brings WeBWorK and WordPress together in order to give students a place to get help with their homework. Students using WeBWorK can click the “Ask for Help” button (in WeBWorK) and be brought to this site, where they can ask questions about a problem, view questions (and answers) from other students working on the same problem, and even answer questions themselves.

Where did WeBWork Q&A come from?

WeBWorK Q&A was developed in partnership with The OpenLab at City Tech, an open platform for teaching, learning, and collaboration. Instead of working on assignments in isolation or interacting only with their instructor, students using WeBWorK on the OpenLab become part of a community of learners, working together on the same material and offering mutual support.