OEF announces ThinkQuest competition

Mumbai, Sep 10: The Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) today announced the opening of ThinkQuest International 2008, inviting students and teachers from around the globe to take part in one of the most well-known project learning competitions in the world.

ThinkQuest is open to students between the ages of 9 and 19 and their teacher-coaches worldwide. Students are encouraged to team with peers in other regions to develop websites on educational topics, an Oracle release said.

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.
''ThinkQuest is a unique educational programme. It brings together students and technology in ways that positively impact kids' lives and the communities in which they live,'' said Clare Dolan, Vice President, Oracle Education Initiatives.

More than 280,000 students benefit each year from the Oracle Education Foundation's technology programmes, which help kids develop vital skills for life and work in the 21st century.

Professional educators will judge all submitted websites for ThinkQuest International 2008. Entries are due on April 2, 2008, allowing teams up to eight months to build their websites.

According to the release, qualifying entries will be published in the ThinkQuest Library. Winners will receive prizes from the Oracle Education Foundation, including laptops and 1,000 US dollars 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.

UNI