First-hand answers to life's persistent questions -- some supervision required
Community Review for Quora
My Take
Overall, Quora is a resource that can provide students with background and insight on a variety of subjects from a variety of contributors. Left to their own devices, students may become overwhelmed and find themselves off-task as they peruse the seemingly endless database of questions and answers. As far as contributors go, it is mixed bag -- the most credible answers often populate at the top of the list, but I would caution student users as the purpose of Quora is to provide real-life answers, and as such, may include content not suitable for all students. I definitely like the idea of Quora, but find it's adult-centered nature challenging to use in class without having already chosen the content for my students.
How I Use It
Quora is definitely a resource best used at the high school / college level. That being said, Quora can be used to answer questions that will help students develop a deeper understanding of a specific idea. For example, in my Film as Art class, I might ask students to read a response to the question "How does it feel to produce a film flop" and write a response that incorporates the experiences expressed in article and cites in-class learning on financial success in film. It is important to note that in this scenario, I would definitely provide the article for the students, as Quora is open to all types of answers -- some that are relevant and well-written, and some that are either second-hand experiences or not educationally appropriate for a variety of reasons. In addition to using Quora for teacher-evaluated resources, I would also consider Quora as a high-interest resource for teaching students how to evaluate the validity and relevancy of online resources.