Chance To Create Websites And Win Prizes

The Oracle Education Foundation is inviting students and teachers to take part in the ThinkQuest International 2008 competition.

ThinkQuest is open to students aged between nine and 19 and their teacher-coaches worldwide.

Students are encouraged to team with peers in other regions to develop websites on educational topics. As they create their sites, the participants develop important 21st century skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, self-direction, problem-solving, and technology skills.

Additionally, the students become published web-authors in the popular ThinkQuest Library, sharing their work with 30 million web learners each year.

Oracle Education Initiatives vice-president Clare Dolan said ThinkQuest was an educational programme which brought together students and technology in ways that positively impact children’s lives and the communities they lived in.

“More than 280,000 students benefit each year from the foundation’s technology programmes, which help children develop vital skills for life and work in the 21st century,”she added.

Entries must be in by April 2 next year, allowing teams up to eight months to build their websites.

Qualifying entries will be published in the ThinkQuest Library. Winners will receive prizes from the foundation, including laptops and US$1,000 (RM3,500) school grants for the top five teams in each age division, travel to the annual ThinkQuest Live event for the top three teams in each division, and digital cameras for the team that receives the Global Perspectives Award.

Students and educators interested in taking part can get more details at http://www.thinkquest.org.

*From TheStar (Sept 2007)