User blog comment:Noeinstein777/Purpose of KA Wiki ???/@comment-24808864-20140817020631

That is a big question NoEinstein! Thank you for the idea.

I don't know if the Wiki as a whole even has a purpose. Maybe discussing something like this could give us an overarching goal. I can, however, share my personal purpose.

I am a teacher and encourage my students to use KA in their studies. Sometimes there are skills I can tell my students need extra practice with, but because of my limited classroom time I cannot provide extra help in the classroom well. The KA is great and diagnosing weaknesses and giving practice to encourage learning with appropriate hints and skill leveling that takes into account not just the mathematics, but also the psychology of learning.

One thing I do not feel KA does well, is it does not always explain the mathematical theory completely, the "reasons." Sal is wonderful, and he provides excellent examples, and he gives meaningful and relevant motivation. If I want my students to really know mathematics, however, I need them to understand more of the why, and not just the how.

This is the reason I have been trying to make a page for each exercise. If I can do so, then I will be able to edit and update them with new tricks, techniques, strategies and explanation of the theory. I hope that strategies will help my student to connect the videos they see on KA, with the exercises they are asked to complete.

So to me, the KA wiki is a "virtual textbook" to supplement the videos, exercises and examples that are done on KA.

Now, the other questions (I won't go quite as in depth).

2) I want people to come to this wiki to share ideas regarding education. Whether it is a conversation about the gamification of learning, or just a question they would like to ask, I want them to feel comfortable being able to come here, and share freely with others.

3) Top Five things for someone visiting the KAwiki to see?

-A strategy to solve a problem that has stumped them.

-An explanation for how to get a badge that has been eluding them.

-A page that motivates them to work harder and learn more.

-A page that inspires them to learn about a topic they know little about.

-A place for people to collaborate and work cooperatively.