How can we improve jiskha.com?

Any ideas for improvement are welcome.

Thanks!

Perhaps separating the subject areas. The subject area categories could be fairly general:

English, including how to research
Mathematics/economics
Sciences
Social studies/history
Foreign languages
Arts and electives

They could even be grouped into four:

English/social studies/history
Mathematics/sciences
Arts and foreign languages
Other (electives)

Just some ideas.

I love the search capability. Thanks!!

=)

Do you mean separating the forum into four general areas?

Yes -- somehow having links for students to click on before they post a question -- the links would take them to the different subject area groupings. Then it would be good if there could be directions at the top that, in their "subject" line, they should make their topic clear: Algebra (in the math section) or Shakespeare's King Lear (in the English section), etc.

=)

I wonder if trying to get the students to find the right category -- and then post an appropriate subject would produce more headaches than they would cure. And what would we do with a question placed in the "wrong" (GASP!)category or folder?

I love the idea of major catagories... and 4 sounds just about right. If a student puts a question in the wrong catagory, we can alway copy/paste to the correct catagory and leave a message to that effect.

Being a newbie, is there a bookcase for websites?... I have about 2 K in English and history that I have annotated and if there is a place for them I will gladly share.

We would be happy to publish your English and history content on jiskha.com

You can improve it by someones on all the time cause sometimes people need help and i try to help, but my knowledge is limited.

I would like to see email response to the student, with a link in the email back to the basic thread, and a link to Jiskha.

1. I think the idea of separating into groups is good. We don't have enough traffic to separate into individual subjects YET but we have enough to separate into groups. And the broad groups I have seen suggested are good. I have seen this site mushroom from two or three posts per day to over a page almost every day. It gets hard to follow up on answers when we have that much traffic. The recently installed search option has ameloriated that to a large extent and I am appreciative of Jiskha adding that feature.

2. I also like the idea of emailing responses to the student. Of course, we would not know the email address of the student(s) nor would the students know our email address but the site would automatically send the response. Responses need to continue to be posted, too.

3 Being able to correspond with the webmaster easily has been very good.

4. We need to recruit some more specialties; especially in organic and physical chemistry. I don't know enough about the other areas to make a suggestion for them; however, the recent additions in business and statistics have been superb.

5. I would hope some students would respond to this question.

6. I would like to see a general statement somewhere on the site about the purpose of the site, that we don't do homework but we help do homework and all that jazz.

7. It would help tremendously if we could write subscripts and superscripts EASILY; there may be a hard way but I don't know it either. We would be the envy of every other help site on the Internet if we had that option and it was easy to do.

8. I will save some for a later day.

May I also vote for categories! I have to slog through so much ONLY looking for foreign language and finding that so seldom! I haven't been unable to post as I get "software error."

To improve jiskha.com, here are some ideas that have been suggested:

1. Separate the subject areas: Consider creating general subject area categories such as English, Mathematics/Economics, Sciences, Social Studies/History, Foreign Languages, Arts and Electives. This could help students easily navigate to the relevant section when posting a question.

2. Group into four major categories: Another suggestion is to group the subjects into four major categories like English/Social Studies/History, Mathematics/Sciences, Arts/Foreign Languages, and Other (Electives).

3. Implement clear instructions: Provide clear instructions at the top of each section, guiding students to select the appropriate category and clearly mention their topic in the subject line, such as Algebra (in the Math section) or Shakespeare's King Lear (in the English section). This would help streamline the organization and make it easier for tutors to respond.

4. Publishing annotated websites: If there is a section for recommended websites, you can consider sharing your annotated English and history websites there.

5. Continuous availability: Having someone available to provide help and support at all times could be beneficial, as students sometimes need assistance outside of regular hours.

6. Email response with links: Implementing an email response system that sends a link back to the original question thread and includes a link to Jiskha could help improve communication and convenience for students.

7. Recruiting more specialists: Expanding the range of specialties covered, such as adding experts in organic and physical chemistry, could enhance the range and quality of support provided.

8. Clarify site purpose: Include a general statement on the site about its purpose, clarifying that the intention is to help with homework rather than doing the homework for students.

9. Subscripts and superscripts: Offering an easy way to write subscripts and superscripts could be a valuable addition, as it would make it easier for tutors and students to handle mathematical and scientific notation.

These are just a few ideas that have been suggested by users to improve jiskha.com. Considering these suggestions and collecting feedback from both tutors and students can help in making improvements to the website.