In fifth grade I memorized the capitals of all fifty states. It took a while, and I got 100% on the test. To my knowledge that information has not helped me one single time since fifth grade. Fortunately I have Google today and any time I need to know some tidbit of trivia (sorry South Dakota) it takes about two seconds.
But how do I find the answers to more difficult questions? I am talking about the kinds of questions I am more likely to get.
Who is this?
I put together a search activity for my class. How many of these can you find?
How many can you find in two seconds?
What is the significance of this formula?
It looks like a circle with a line across the top and the bottom. What is the significance of the logo on the green shirt of the guy standing on the left side of this picture?
What is this substance?
The picture below is a movie poster. According to the poster, what is the main topic of the movie?
What is the name of this painting?
The pictures below are of the same tree. What kind of tree is it?
![iMac Back [397/1000]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6809747591_3027f3c94c_t.jpg "iMac Back [397/1000]")
Trying to figure out how to use this with my students. Maybe a good ice breaker on the first day of high school in my computer class? As Apple is fond of saying, Think Different.
I use it as an intro to social networking. They work in groups of three in class. Each person usually knows one of the answers. Then they pool their thoughts on search “terms” to find the other answers.
Interesting – I have the same problem trying to sell things on eBay. I have a box of stuff I can’t identify, particularly toys from my childhood. They may be useless junk or they may be valuable and I don’t know what to type into Google to find out!
You are right that quite often the real life memory tests are not just simple text-matching recall. I suppose this is where the power of crowdsourcing comes in?