Plant how to questions

[Janice M. Glime]

  I have to agree with David about the courtesy with which we answer
questions not of apparent interest to this group.  I responded today to
the person who asked about the Secret Life of Plants and he told me he had
gotten only angry responses up to that point.  He was interested in
whether there was follow-up research that supported or disproved the
claims in the book.  His query only asked about the book and did not mean
that he believed its claims.  Such books can be valuable starters for
student experiments.
  I have found in a group that I manage that it takes only one person to
destroy the valuable interaction a newsgroup offers.  People are afraid to
ask questions and respondents send the response only to the questioner.
In an era when we are trying to encourage our students to be active
participants in class, perhaps we need to use our newsgroup to learn how
that works - and doesn't work.
Janice
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 Janice M. Glime, Professor  
 Department of Biological Sciences
 Michigan Technological University
 Houghton, MI 49931-1295
 jmglime at mtu.edu
 906-487-2546
 FAX 906-487-3167 
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