Getting Started with learnr2 Tutorials

How exercises, quizzes, and downloads work in this format

Introduction

This tutorial is an introduction to the general use of interactive R tutorials built with learnr2. It is meant for beginning students who have never completed one before.

A learnr2 tutorial runs entirely in your web browser using Quarto and WebR (R compiled to WebAssembly). There is no separate R or RStudio installation to set up, and no server involved — the code cells on this page run right here as you work through them. When you are done, you will download a file containing your answers and then submit it to your instructor (or just keep a copy for yourself).

Most tutorials begin by asking for your name and email. (Your instructor might also ask you to fill in the “ID” field so your work can be matched to a grading roster; if not, just leave it blank.) Fill in the fields below and click Submit — your answers also save automatically as you type, so nothing is lost even if you forget to click it.

Student Information

Exercises

In each tutorial, there will be a set of exercises for you to complete. For non-coding questions, you write your answer and then click the “Submit Answer” button, as you did above. For coding exercises, you write R code in a runnable cell and click “Run Code” to see the result.

If you don’t click “Run Code” (or “Submit Answer”), your response isn’t recorded.

Exercise 1

Let’s practice some simple math. Type 4 + 5 into the code cell below and click Run Code to see the result. Clicking Hint gives you a hint about what to type.

Once you run the code, the answer [1] 9 should appear below the cell — right here on the page, with no separate console to switch to.

There are two types of answers for tutorial questions: prose and code. With prose answers, you use the “Submit Answer” button, as you did with your name and email above. With code answers, you use the “Run Code” button, as you did for this exercise.

Exercise 2

Let’s use variables to perform the same calculation. Below, we have already assigned 5 to x and 4 to y. On the blank line, add the two variables by typing x + y. Click Run Code to see your result.

Once you run the code, the answer [1] 9 should appear below the cell.

Exercise 3

Now change the values to x <- 6 and y <- 10 and add them together. Click Run Code. You should get the answer [1] 16.

Note that the assignment symbol, <-, is a less-than sign followed by a dash. We often pronounce it as “gets.” So we might say, when reading this code, that “x gets 6.”

If you used the hint, note how we did not provide the entire answer. This is our standard approach with hints.

Your progress on every exercise and question in this tutorial is saved automatically to your browser’s storage as you work. Try reloading this page — your answers above are still there. It’s not a problem to close a tutorial partway through and come back to it later.

Exercise 4

Let’s run a command that reports the version of R powering the code cells on this page.

You should see something like [1] "R version 4.4.2 (2024-10-31)". Because this R is compiled to WebAssembly and running right here in your browser, the exact version may differ from what you’d see on a desktop install of R — and that’s fine. There’s no separate R Console involved; the command runs and reports its result right here, the same way every other exercise on this page does.

Exercise 5

Not every exercise involves code. Sometimes we’ll ask you to write a sentence or two of prose instead, with no strict right answer to match.

Most instructors grade tutorials on an honest-effort, pass/fail basis, so don’t stress about getting prose answers “right.”

Exercise 6

Some exercises produce a plot instead of a number or a sentence. Let’s make one, using cars, a small dataset built into R (speed vs. stopping distance for cars in the 1920s — no package needed). Type plot(cars) into the code cell below and click Run Code.

You should see a scatterplot appear below the cell, the same way text output did in the earlier exercises.

Now paste a screenshot of that plot into the box below — take a screenshot with your usual tool (e.g. Cmd+Shift+4 on a Mac, the Snipping Tool or Win+Shift+S on Windows), then click the box and press Ctrl+V/Cmd+V to paste it in, as a PNG. There is no file-upload button to click; pasting is the whole mechanism.

Your Answers

At the end of every tutorial, you will save your work (and submit it, at your instructor’s discretion). First, answer the question below about how many minutes you spent on the tutorial. Then click the button below that to gather every answer on this page into a single file and download it.

The downloaded file’s name will start with getting-started, followed by a timestamp, and will be saved wherever your browser saves downloads. Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, send them this file as-is (for example, attached to an email or uploaded to your course’s learning management system).

Summary

You now understand how learnr2 tutorials work: running code in live cells right in your browser, answering quiz and prose questions, and downloading your answers when you’re done. Good luck with your data science journey!