“ThinkQuest: Students and Teachers Exploring a Global Web-Based Education Project” by Sibley

ThinkQuest is an educational initiative committed to advancing learning through the use of computer and networking technology. ThinkQuest challenges teachers and students of all ages to use the Internet in innovative and exciting ways as a collaborative, interactive teaching and learning tool.

Because of the Internet, groups of people from diverse locations, backgrounds, experiences, and nationalities are able to work and communicate in meaningful ways. ThinkQuest capitalizes on this new form of communication by inviting learners to explore topics they choose, collaborate to achieve a goal, and add meaningful content to the Internet.

An exemplary model of student-directed, project-based learning, ThinkQuest promotes an “Internet style of learning” – an interactive, participatory method that encourages students to learn by doing and take advantage of the Internet as a constantly growing source of information.

ThinkQuest teams have created a broad and valuable collection of Web-based educational resources for use by others around the world. In this way, ThinkQuest allows students to move from passive information consumers to active knowledge producers whose work is used and valued by millions. The initiative is comprised of several programs.

ThinkQuest Internet Challenge

The ThinkQuest Internet Challenge is an international program for students age 12-19 that encourages them to use the Internet to create Web-based educational tools and materials. Students form teams with colleagues from around the block or around the world and are mentored by teachers or other adult coaches. Competing for scholarships and awards totaling more than $1 million, student participants learn collaboration, project management, leadership, and critical thinking skills that help raise their level of academic and technological prowess. Teams submit their entries in one of five categories: Arts & Literature, Science & Mathematics, Social Sciences, Sports & Health and Interdisciplinary. Finalist team members and coaches from each category are invited to the ThinkQuest Awards Weekend. Participation has grown at more than 40 percent per year, with over 10,000 students and coaches from 64 countries participating in 1999.

ThinkQuest Junior

ThinkQuest Junior is a classroom-based competition that encourages girls and boys in grades 4-6 to take a meaningful interest in computers and technology.ThinkQuest Junior teams create educational Web sites on a variety of subjects that make learning fun and contagious for other students of the same age. More than $250,000 in cash, computers, and networking resources are awarded to winning students, teachers, and their schools. Participation in ThinkQuest Junior has more than doubled in its second year, with more than 1,000 teams participating from across the United States.

ThinkQuest Educational Technology Conference

This three-day conference for teachers and educational leaders is being held in Los Angeles, 10-13 November 1999, in conjunction with the ThinkQuest Awards Weekend. At the conference, noted technology and educational leaders share their visions and knowledge of technology and its implications for learning in the next century. Through presentations, panels, and small group discussions with conference attendees, issues critical to teachers and educational leaders, such as the future of the Internet, integrating technology into the classroom, and emerging Internet applications for education are explored in depth. For more information, check the ThinkQuest Web site: www.thinkquest.org