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Mo_
Mo_
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I think the best assignment you could give your students, is how to find things on Stack Overflow. They don't necessarily have to contribute text.

Search for some common misunderstandings or problems, where there's an answer on Stack Overflow. It should not show up as a top result in google, if you search in general terms. An example from my field would be a question about BB_ENV_EXTRAWHITE, which is found in seconds, if you know the variable name already, but takes some search if you don't. Also show them the "linked question" page on the right of each post, it's gold.

Then let your students document (ifif and) how they found the answer in the end. For me, this kind of search is the most common during my daily work. I bet both them and you will learn something from it, and maybe some useful duplicate questions get the up votes they deserve.

If your students ever decide to contribute to Stack Overflow, be it for an assignment or other reasons, they have at least the skill needed to not write a duplicate question.

I think the best assignment you could give your students, is how to find things on Stack Overflow. They don't necessarily have to contribute text.

Search for some common misunderstandings or problems, where there's an answer on Stack Overflow. It should not show up as a top result in google, if you search in general terms. An example from my field would be a question about BB_ENV_EXTRAWHITE, which is found in seconds, if you know the variable name already, but takes some search if you don't. Also show them the "linked question" page on the right of each post, it's gold.

Then let your students document (if and) how they found the answer in the end. For me, this kind of search is the most common during my daily work. I bet both them and you will learn something from it, and maybe some useful duplicate questions get the up votes they deserve.

If your students ever decide to contribute to Stack Overflow, be it for an assignment or other reasons, they have at least the skill needed to not write a duplicate question.

I think the best assignment you could give your students, is how to find things on Stack Overflow. They don't necessarily have to contribute text.

Search for some common misunderstandings or problems, where there's an answer on Stack Overflow. It should not show up as a top result in google if you search in general terms. An example from my field would be a question about BB_ENV_EXTRAWHITE, which is found in seconds if you know the variable name already, but takes some search if you don't. Also show them the "linked question" page on the right of each post, it's gold.

Then let your students document if and how they found the answer in the end. For me, this kind of search is the most common during my daily work. I bet both them and you will learn something from it, and maybe some useful duplicate questions get the up votes they deserve.

If your students ever decide to contribute to Stack Overflow, be it for an assignment or other reasons, they have at least the skill needed to not write a duplicate question.

Source Link
Mo_
Mo_
  • 2.4k
  • 10
  • 30

I think the best assignment you could give your students, is how to find things on Stack Overflow. They don't necessarily have to contribute text.

Search for some common misunderstandings or problems, where there's an answer on Stack Overflow. It should not show up as a top result in google, if you search in general terms. An example from my field would be a question about BB_ENV_EXTRAWHITE, which is found in seconds, if you know the variable name already, but takes some search if you don't. Also show them the "linked question" page on the right of each post, it's gold.

Then let your students document (if and) how they found the answer in the end. For me, this kind of search is the most common during my daily work. I bet both them and you will learn something from it, and maybe some useful duplicate questions get the up votes they deserve.

If your students ever decide to contribute to Stack Overflow, be it for an assignment or other reasons, they have at least the skill needed to not write a duplicate question.