The Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE) has completed the judging process for the 2009 ThinkQuest Australia competition and is pleased to honour the student teams and coaches who have participated in the competition and produced the winning websites. ThinkQuest Australia has proved its value as a creative activity designed to promote student abilities in digital information skills, creative design, project management and teamwork.

WINNERS

Years 7 - 9 (Tied)

Biosphere Project - Saint Martin's School

Student team members: Ashley, Sophie, Elise, Ashley, Meghan, Natalia
Coach: Mr Cunningham

Biosphere Project - Saint Martin's School
Student team members: Alana, Lucy, Gabrielle, Rebekah, Laura, Rosie
Coach: Mr Cunningham

Years 10 - 12

TMT Gaming - Moreton Bay College

Student team members: Mandy, Taylor, True-Joy
Coach: Ms Willis

RUNNERS UP

Years 10 - 12

Africa - Ipswich Girls' Grammar School

Student team members: Alex, Tayla, Emily
Coach: Mrs Coleman

The comments from two of the judges who participated in the panel to evaluate the final ranking of the winning sites are indicative of many reactions to the entries in the 2009 competition.

"I found the quality of the entries to be quite impressive, and I was particularly encouraged by the younger age group. Many of these entries showed a very high level of collaboration and originality. The students obviously had a great time producing these entries, and learned a lot about their topic and themselves. I would strongly encourage schools to include Thinkquest in their planning for 2010."

"The 2009 ThinkQuest Australia finalists demonstrated a high level of creativity and originality in their entries. The finalists in the 12 and under category were most impressive in their use of original artwork and content. Their entries clearly showed evidence of collaboration and diversity of culture. Likewise the 15 and under finalists presented carefully researched original content."

 

We thank all students for their participation and teachers for their support during the competition.

Web Challenge - ThinkQuest Competition

The 2009 Queensland Schools Web Challenge is operating as a subsidiary of the ThinkQuest Australia Local Competition, which is being organised by the Australian Council for Computers in Education.

The ThinkQuest Website Competition is an international website competition organised by the Oracle Education Foundation and funded by Oracle. This year, ACCE is hosting the inaugural Australian ThinkQuest Local Competition. This competition will be officially launched on Monday 16th March 2009.

 

Teams that compete in the Queensland Schools Web Challenge will automatically enter in the Australian ThinkQuest competition, so there are two opportunities to win prizes!

QSITE will continue to provide prizes for all members of teams who are Winners, Runners-up, or receive Judges or Encouragement Awards) from Queensland (who may also win prizes from the national competition) and all students will receive a Certification of Participation.

Students may also have the opportunity to submit their websites to the ThinkQuest International Competition.

 

Important Dates:

Launch of the ThinkQuest Australia Local Competition: 9th April 2009

Entries Due: Monday 21st September 2009

 

The competition continues to provide the opportunity for students to:

• Interact with local and global communities
• Explore the Internet as a tool for communication and research
• Participate in the design and publishing of a web page or web site

How can I take the challenge?

1. Rules & conditions are outlined on the ThinkQuest website.

2. Ensure your school has QSITE Institutional Membership.

If your teacher needs help, they can make contact with any of the following teachers who have experience in entering the Web Challenge:

• Justin Graham (Fraser Coast Anglican College): jgraham@fcac.qld.edu.au
• Heather Burn (Moreton Bay College): burnh@mbc.qld.edu.au
• Nathan Hutchings (Forest Lake College): nhutchings@flc.qld.edu.au
• Janet Sawbridge (MacGregor State School): jsawb1@eq.edu.au

3. Choose a topic for your website - as outlined in the ThinkQuest Categories.

4. Work out with your mentor how you will publish your website.

Your completed websites need to be published on the Internet for judges to view.

If you do not have facilities to do this at your school, contact Aussie School House to apply for web space.

5. Register your team - registration details to come.

6. Create your website.

Create a website using any web publishing software you have available.

Your website should identify key issues - eg. WHAT, WHY, WHEN, HOW, and WHO. This website might help you plan the content for your website.