ThinkQuest UK

Tony Parkin & Glyn Barritt

ICT Development Team, SSAT

ThinkQuest UKThinkQuest UK

Renowned international competition open to teams of students aged between 9 and 19

Aim: to create and develop an educational website for publication in the ThinkQuest Library

UK competition runs in parallel and will offer prizes for student voice, community & global perspectives

Teachers and other adults in a learning resource capacity are invited to coach teams of students

Or volunteer to judge the 2008 competition!

Free Adobe software for participants!

Student voice … lifelong skill development …

www.thinkquestuk.org.ukFurther information available from

ThinkQuest UKThinkQuest UK

UK winners announced in June

2007 Awards event on 6 and 7 November, London’s Design Museum

Press coverage, case studies … high profile for winning teams!

But … one primary team also aninternational 3rd prize winner and spent a week in November in San Francisco!

Successful sites are published for the world to see in the ThinkQuest Library

Our first UK winners!

www.thinkquest.org/libraryThinkQuest Library

ThinkQuest UKKelly Rayson, Barrow Hill says …

“Project-based learning is nothing new to

the education world. The idea that

students learn through engaging tasks

that require them to use teamwork,

problem solving, critical thinking and time

management skills in real life situations

has clear benefits.

An international website competition

offering fantastic prizes also provided a

wonderful carrot to dangle in the face of

my prospective team members.”

ThinkQuest UKInternational winners …

Young Blood: Children of War[1st prize 19U 2007]

On the Brink[1st prize 12U 2007 and Intl Global Perspectives]

Internet Safety[2nd prize 15U 2007]

Coffee: All Ground Up[2004 Finalist Best of Category]

A website to help visitors gain a deeper understanding of the importance of water and the consequences of water shortage. A section also deals with the devastating forces of water.

1st prize in the 19U

ThinkQuest UK The role of the Coach

Register the team(s) NOW – changes to the team are possible up to the submission date

TQ Calendar

– important dates and deadlines– also ability to add your own planning events

Free Adobe software – offer ends 31 March 2008!

TQ Library – ideas on content, design and winning ingredient!

Step by step guide and other supportavailable from the international site.

ThinkQuest UKPoints to watch out for …

Websites not submitted by the due dateor incomplete when uploaded

Sources of information not cited – immediate disqualification!

Plagiarism .. content needs to be presented in students’ own words!– Encourage students to search

for sources other than found on Wikipedia!

The inclusion of inappropriate/objectionablecontent or advertising materials

ThinkQuest UK

Ensure that the site does not contain students’ last names, email addresses or contact details

No links to discussion boards, guestbooks or any other tool whereby students could post personal information

No more than six students in a team!

Points to watch out for …

ThinkQuest UK… and the ‘techie’ points!

First page should be named index.htm/html and be found at the top level of the website.

Use relative links and image references, not absolute links which may break on upload.

Each site is allocated 50Mb on the TQ server!

Ensure that all files run within a browser and test the website in several browsers

Certain applications are not supported – do readthe supporting material

ThinkQuest UKJudging based on …

Content– deep exploration of topic, accurate, credible, current

Writing and Organization– concisely, correct grammar & punctuation & spelling

Originality– think about using interviews, surveys, videos, observations

Educational Relevance– websites must have relevance to other students & teachers

Global Impact – diverse views, engages others

in making a difference

ThinkQuest UKJudging based on …

Citations– ALL sources to be identified and credited … footnotes on the

relevant page and on a summary citations page

Collaboration– Site Profile and website to describe team working and

contingency planning

Team Diversity– Members in different countries, socioeconomic groups etc

Website Structure, Appearance and Function– Aesthetic, easy to navigate, no technical issues

Media Use– appropriate use

ThinkQuest UKOK … the real role of the coach …

To monitor team leader’s timelines and project management.

Continual encouragement - to remind students that every successful team’s a winner!

Their website, having passed its health checks, will be published in the renowned TQ Library for the world to see … and use … and gain encouragement from in the competition years to come!

To help avoid the pain of disqualification … but let’s hope that’s not going to happen!

ThinkQuest UKKelly says …

“In all honesty, the prizes and trip were just the icing on the cake. My team members have gained self-confidence through this project, and are already to engaging themselves and their peers in new endeavours, entirely of their own volition.

My team this year have a lot to live up to!”

UK Winning Teams

Seven … thought to be a sacred or lucky number for thousands of years.

We talk about being in seventh heaven when we’re very happy, but facing seven years’ bad luck if you break a mirror! And so this website takes a look at the occurrence of the number 7 … from the Seven Wonders of the World … to 7 in stories, like Snow White!

3rd Prize in the UK’s 12U

Through animiated characters like Ally the Apple, Mike the Melon and Ollie the Orange, this website looks at food and lifestyle for keeping fit and healthy.

And this site also won an Honourable mention in the international competition, in the 12 and under category.

2nd Prize in the UK’s 12U and Student Voice Prize

Global Tales - a collection of traditional myths, legends and folk tales from all over the world! 

The countries featured are Australia, Japan, Iraq, China, Africa, India, Norway and the United Kingdom.

1st Prize in the UK’s 12U and Global Perspectives Prizeand 3rd prize in the international 12U competition!

Now that so many computer games are based on conflict avoidance strategies, this website was developed out of a fascination with the cold war period and the lessons learned in avoiding a similar situation in the future.

1st Prize in the UK’s 15U

This site aims to cover the whole UK Life Support syllabus, to aid all those qualified in Life Support to keep their knowledge up-to-date and to prepare for exams.

The skills are the same worldwide, so you might just save a life … perhaps that of a loved one!

2nd prize in the 19U and Community Prize

2008 submission date …

02 April 2008

So plenty of time to get THINKING!