Quora is a relatively new site that is different than most. It is a place where you can sign up for a free account (using email, Twitter, or Facebook) and then follow different topics. People post questions in these topics and then other users post answers.

I very quickly signed up and started to follow Physics Education (since I teach Physics). Within a few minutes, I had answered a couple of questions, commented on two answers to questions, and found some questions that were similar to ones I had and got answers for them. It was very easy to use.

When you first sign in, it will suggest different categories for you to follow. This changes as you follow new categories also (it learns).

You can also connect and follow others from your Twitter followers and Facebook friends. I did not set those up since I can't access those sites at school (argh!) (I access Twitter through Tweetdeck).

I can see this as a good thing for education. Students can find answers to there questions on different topics. They will have to confirm that the answer is valid though, since the answers come from lots of different people. Students and teachers can also use this as a way to learn and share with others.

So far I am following Physics Education, Rocket Science, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Education and Technology in Education. (my BS degree is in Aerospace Engineering and I did that for 10 years before becoming an educator).

Try it out!