no.stupid.answers

And now I present thee with a homemade reflection from Zanbabe, a Senior Supervisor and Mentor on WikiAnswers:

You know, one of the things that we talk about a lot in education is Inquiry-Based Learning. The basic idea is that when you get students (of any age) to ask questions, then they are driving their own learning, and those questions can take people way past the minimum requirements of a subject into complex (and fascinating) areas where they can excel… because they are motivated to learn through their own questions.

When you are the one asking the questions, you integrate the concepts into your conceptual view of the world instead of popping them into short-term storage for the test, and then dumping that information later. We learn much more about the interrelationship of ideas as we question as well, because we are fitting it all into our heads as the way we understand life.

This is one of the reasons that a place like WikiAnswers is amazing. It provides an area where anyone, from anywhere, can learn. And where anyone, from anywhere can teach… and the labels cease to matter, because we’re all learners and all teachers. I answer someone’s question about a science fiction story, and someone else answers my question about how to replace my broken door handle… and everyone wins, and everyone learns.

Sure, some people ask silly questions… and some people post silly answers. But we get a chuckle out of the first, and supervisors monitor the site trying to ensure that people get quality answers.

The great thing is that, despite the existence of vandals, and despite not always having enough Supervisors to keep the site pristine all the time, we really do have a learning community. People who are dedicated to knowledge… to teaching, to learning, and to helping each other. … that is a great group to be a part of, in my book.

-Zanbabe

In recent years the potential for computers and the internet as educational tools has grown tremendously. When I was an elementary school student, ‘computer class’ meant going once a week to play Lemonade Stand in a stuffy closet with a bunch of dusty Apple II’s and Commodores.

Twenty-plus years later, students in middle school and high school are not only computer savvy, but also benefit greatly from education using alternative tools on the internet.

I’ve begun a hunt for teachers who prefer alternative methods of learning to try out an idea brewing: a WikiAnswers classroom project, where a class can work on asking and answering questions on WikiAnswers in a topic they are studying for class (there are currently 3,073 categories and counting!). The teacher might want to seed the questions and have students work together to answer them, or the students might want to quiz each other; the possibilities are vast and I’d be happy to work with teachers to figure out ways to use WikiAnswers as an educational tool.

In fact, if there is a category you’d like to try with your students that doesn’t yet exist on WikiAnswers, we’d be happy to add it! Most categories have a Supervisor dedicated to growing them and protecting them from vandals, and would be happy to work with you.

Leave a comment if this idea appeals to you and your class.

As always, I find it fun to see what bloggers have been wanting to know in the past week. Here we go:

• Wonder Years is caught wondering: What is the origin of the word “please”?
• Quite Noteworthy notes the answer to: What is the GOP and how does it work?
• Your Career Service wants you to know how to update your resume.
• Kiss the flame gets hot over the multiple answers to What causes a car to overheat?
• In This Storm researches the answer to What does high Mean Platelet Volume level mean?
• Sleepless in Midland tosses and turns over the answer to What are the Ten Commandments?
• Soniq and The Quill and Nail share with us what it means to be Rickrolled.
• Soulbounce croons: Was Tenika Watson gay?
• EDUC 628 is looking to get educated on What is the purpose of an education?
• Green-Tinted Glasses is past the education and wants to know how much money a garbage collector and a miner earn…