yahoo answers/homework help

[tofu]

have any of you guys ever perused the yahoo answers service? People post questions that (ostensibly) do not lend themselves well to simple search engine queries. They have science and astronomy sections, so I thought it might be fun to answer a few questions for people.

But then I noticed that a large portion, perhaps *most* of the questions, are quite obviously just kids looking for easy answers (not help) with their homework. For example, this question (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtMKSdXsNihhAuPakOigpJABxgt.;_ylv=3?qid =20071209122620AArMCnU):

What were the three types o evidence Wegner collectedto try to prove the theroy of Continental drift?

Who would phrase a question that was except a teacher writing a homework assignment or test question? Some of the people even post multiple choice questions, and the multiple choice answers! They don't want to learn, and they haven't gotten stuck and turned to someone else for help, they just want someone to pick, A,B,C, or D for them!

link (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhAk65VkdTpf0hIrm.ekrNMjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid =20071211170856AAhTbog)
The uneven distribution of insolation by latitude is primarily a result of
A. Earth's spericity, which presents varied angles to parallel solar rays
B. the variation in the value of a watt
C. the changing distance of Earth from the Sun
D. variability in the Sun's output

I found the whole thing a little depressing. Do teachers know about this? Does Yahoo know?

[CodeSlinger]

Depressing, definitely. But I comfort myself with the thought that these kids are only shooting themselves in the foot (feet?). Quizzes and tests, where they won't have this "ask a friend" option available, will give them the grades they deserve.

[Bogie]

Yahoo used to be my favorite place. I still use their real time quotes and stock market data but as for Q&A and forums, they make me appreciate BAUT.

I'm sure that teachers are "on to" those kids doing homework by Q&A. They still have tests to see who is doing the work themselves don't they?

[Larry Jacks]

Via Instapundit:

Slate did an article on Yahoo Answers (http://www.slate.com/id/2179393) yesterday. It was pretty devastating:

The blockbuster success of Yahoo! Answers is all the more surprising once you spend a few days using the site. While Answers is a valuable window into how people look for information online, it looks like a complete disaster as a traditional reference tool. It encourages bad research habits, rewards people who post things that aren't true, and frequently labels factual errors as correct information. It's every middle-school teacher's worst nightmare about the Web.

...

For educators fretting that the Internet is creating a generation of "intellectual sluggards," the problem isn't just that Yahoo!'s site helps ninth-graders cheat on their homework. It's that a lot of the time, it doesn't help them cheat all that well.

Surveys indicate that many kids don't think cheating is wrong so long as no one gets hurt (as in getting caught and held accountable). This attitude doesn't bode well for their future in the real world.

[KaiYeves]

The answer to the multiple choice question is A, by the way.
8th grade Earth Science.
I paid attention.