I believe that what we gained from this experiment - I had never before used e mail and knew none of our correspondents before we began - goes far beyond the original topic of birds, though the learning about that topic was rich and varied beyond any prepared lesson plan's scope. My original goal was to enhance our in-class study of birds, but I had absolutely no idea how dramatically and positively these "strangers" would impact our class.

Special education students were complimented for their "great questions," sometimes because our correspondents interpreted fairly simple questions with respect and eager curiosity that enlarged the field of the question itself. All the students seemed to realize and enjoy the gift we were being given: not only the excitement of frequent, sometimes almost immediate, personal answers to their questions, but the larger gift of having their wonderings listened to, respected, and responded to with care and skill and fascinating facts.

We learned that there are curious, kind and intelligent people sitting at their computers, willing to share with us what they know and care so much about. We were given side information and the hope that these children might grown up to protect what they were so eagerly asking questions about now.

We learned that there can be many answers to the same question, and that these can fit together to make a larger and more inclusive answer. We learned that scientists can and do argue and that there are some questions too big to be answered. We learned that these can be the most satisfying of all, because they lead to yet more questions and that wonderful tickle of wondering.

So, I believe we learned how to learn joyfully, in cooperation with each other and with other people who were generous with their knowledge, their time, and their enthusiasm for our learning. I wouldn't have thought of listing those as goals in my original plan, because I hadn't experienced the power of the Internet for bringing people together, but I believe they are the most powerful lessons we were fortunate enough to learn during the project, and the most powerful lessons anyone can absorb in order to become a strong and capable learner.