This beautiful website shown here, “Echoes From the Orient,” was created by a group of students from Egypt. The website featured Islamic art, particularly architecture, carpets and decorative arts. Echoes from the Orient was an entry in the 2001 ThinkQuest competition.
ThinkQuest is an international project-based learning challenge in which teams of students and teachers are challenged to author websites on educational topics. In the process of creating their websites, students build skills in teamwork, technology and project management, as well as expertise in their chosen topic. Teams compete for exciting prizes, including a trip to ThinkQuest Live, where the winners spend four fun-filled days learning, exploring and enjoying the sights of beautiful San Francisco, California, USA.
The ThinkQuest international student competition is sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation. The completed student created websites are published in the ThinkQuest Library, a rich learning resource used by millions. To see examples of submissions from past years go to http://www.thinkquest.org/library/index.html.
The timeline for ThinkQuest International 2006 has been announced. Coaches can enroll now and the competition starts on Aug. 15, 2005, when the Rules, Categories and Evaluation Criteria are posted. Teams begin building their websites anytime after Aug. 15. The sites are due on March 22, 2006 for Peer Review. During this period, each team will review several competing sites and offer constructive feedback. Teams then use this peer feedback to finalize their websites for submission on May 10. Official judging then takes place and the winners are announced on June 21.
To get started, form a team of three to six students, ages nine to 19, with one adult coach who is a school employee. Teams can also have an assistant coach. Diverse teams, made up of members from more than one school, community or country, are encouraged.
So what are you waiting for?
Take the challenge! Form a team and join the 30,000 plus students worldwide who have competed in ThinkQuest since 1996. Complete challenge information and registration may be found at http://thinkquest.org/competition/index.shtml.
