PRESS RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 2008
S.A. SCHOOLS CONTRIBUTE TO EDUCATIONAL WEB RESOURCES
ThinkQuest South Africa announced the 2008 winners of the ThinkQuest competition at an Awards Function in Durban. The competition saw teams of South African learners design and build websites for an international educational library which is visited by thousands of learners every day.
________________________
ThinkQuest is a web-design competition in which teams of 3 to 6 learners design and build educational websites. (See www.thinkquest.org.za). Learners are encouraged to form teams across social, cultural and international borders. South African teams make use of the opportunity to involve learners from different cultural backgrounds and often from different schools on the same team. Websites are evaluated by a number of international judges – drawn from more than 15 countries.
Sonja Balt, Programme Manager for Oracle Learning Initiatives in South Africa, explained the enthusiasm of Oracle Corporation, the world’s largest enterprise software company, for this project.
“The ThinkQuest Competition is only a part of the ThinkQuest offering of an advanced but safe technological environment where educators and learners can create projects, collaborate and integrate technology in the classroom. Moreover, all of this is provided free.”
THINKQUEST 2009
Peter Waker, of the Computer Society of South Africa, who manages the ThinkQuest competition in South Africa, used the occasion to announce the launch of ThinkQuest 2009. The competition will run from 20 August 2008 to 2 April 2009.
To create an even playing field between wealthy participants and less advantaged students, the Oracle Education Foundation will again make free software kits available for deserving students. Each kit consists of Dreamweaver 9.0, Flash Professional 9.0, Premiere Elements 3.0 and Photoshop Elements 5.0.
The learners will again compete in three age groups:
12-and-under
15-and-under
19-and-under
To view the results and websites please visit http://www.thinkquest.org.za/results08.htm
Coaches can register for ThinkQuest 2009 at www.thinkquest.org.za
PRESS RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 2007
SCHOOLS SHINE IN WEB-DESIGN
ThinkQuest South Africa announced the winners of the annual ThinkQuest competition at an Awards Function in Cape Town. The competition saw teams of South African learners design and build websites for an international educational library which is visited by thousands of learners every day.
_________________________
ThinkQuest is a web-design competition in which teams of 3 to 6 learners design and build educational websites over a period of 7 months. Learners are encouraged to form teams across social, cultural and international borders. South African teams make use of the opportunity to involve learners from different cultural backgrounds and often from different schools on the same team. Websites are evaluated by a number of international judges—drawn from more than 15 countries.
The South African winners were announced at a function in Cape Town. Guest speaker, Western Cape Education Minister, Cameron Dugmore, praised the competition as a great way to prepare teams of the age of technology while at the same time creating bridges across the social and cultural divide. “For ThinkQuest 2008 I would like to see more examples like this—cooperation between established schools with their wealth of experience and facilities and disadvantaged schools. Both should benefit greatly from such joint projects. The cooperation between Parklands College and Sophakama Primary and also between St John’s Preparatory and Yeoville Boys’ Primary are examples of what can be done.”
Peter Waker, Manager of ThinkQuest in South Africa, announced that in order to create an even playing field, teams participating in ThinkQuest 2008 could apply for free software kits. Each kit consists of Dreamweaver 9.0, Flash Professional 9.0, Premiere Elements 3.0 and Photoshop Elements 5.0.
The learners compete in three age groups: Under 12, Under 15 and Under 19.
St John’s Preparatory School, which had entered 4 teams in partnership with Yeoville Boys’ Primary, entered the runner-up team: “The Nameless Wonders”. Their website about various sports drew the following comment from international judges: “Interesting idea – a good review of several sports with insight and rules”.
(View the website at http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01633/)
First Place in the Under-12 section went to Team Sharks from Bay Primary School in Kalk Bay for their website “The Great White Shark”. The judges were impressed by a team that found their inspiration in False Bay – immediately outside their classroom windows. One of the American judges wrote, “An interesting site and extremely comprehensive. I know my students will love to use this site for their research on sharks.”
(View the website http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01560/)
Apart from winning the Under-12 category in South Africa, the team was also placed in the top 20 internationally. Each team member and each coach received a certificate and a cheque for R1,000 from Dan Ellappa, Director of Oracle University in South Africa.
The Under-19 category was won by “The Bergies” from Bergvliet High School in Cape Town. Their website titled “2010 – Soccer Mania” was one of 11 sites from South Africa that won international ranking in this age group. The site featured all the soccer stadia that will be used for 2010 and added useful features such as details about tourist attractions near each stadium. The judges remarked, “We think you should be proud of this effort as your country prepares for the cup. If the hosting and games go as well as this site, it will be most memorable.” (View the website at http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01687/)
Team members and coaches each received cheques for R1,000 from Wendy Beetge, Oracle Corporation South Africa’s Head of Transformation and Corporate Social Investment.
Team “SOPC Environ” from Parklands College earned special mention. Not only were they first in their age group in South Africa, they were also among the top 10 sites internationally.
The team’s website “Environmental Issues International” drew lavish praise from the international judges. “This site presents many opportunities for students and teachers to learn about and then react to the current circumstances on our planet. It shows how everyone can make a difference.” Another judge classified it as “An outstanding effort and a good source of information.” (View the website at http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/02232/)
The titles that took the top 3 places in South Africa in each age group:
| School | Title (links open in new window/tab) | |
|---|---|---|
| 12-and-Under | ||
| First in SA | Bay Primary | The Great White Shark |
| Second in SA (Runner-up) | St John’s Preparatory and Yeoville Boys' Primary | Nameless Wonders |
| Third in SA | St John’s Preparatory and Yeoville Boys' Primary | Sports and Recreation |
| 15-and-Under | ||
| First in SA | Parklands College and Sophakama Primary | Environmental Issues International |
| Second in SA | Stellenbosch High | Formula 1 in Schools |
| Third in SA | Edisang Primary | Can SA host the Soccer World Cup Successfully? |
| 19-and-Under | ||
| First in SA | Bergvliet High | 2010 – Soccer Mania |
| Second in SA | PJ Olivier High | Helicopters, Workhorses of the Sky |
| Third in SA | Westerford High | Alternative Energy Sources |
For further details see www.thinkquest.org.za/results.htm
PRESS RELEASE: SUNDAY 4 AUGUST
PUPILS WIN AWARD FOR TOP WEBSITE
Press release in color (555kb PDF)
Press release in black and white (212kb PDF)
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these pages.
PRESS RELEASE: THURSDAY 2 AUGUST
THINKQUEST WEBSITE RATED BEST IN AFRICA IN UNDER 19 CATEGORY
Over the past 5 Months a team of Bergvliet High students, under the Guidance of Mr Price and Mr Odell, took part in the ThinkQuest website design competition. ThinkQuest is an annual international competition, sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation, where students and teachers work in Teams to create innovative and educational websites to share with the world.
The team, who called themselves the Bergies, consisted of five members: Robin Pretorius, Sasha Lewis, Analodia Arends, Trishen Sewpaul and lead by Bruce Lunnis. The theme of the Bergies website was the 2010 FIFA World Cup and great effort was put into the design as well as the content of the website.
Mr Odell (assistant coach) Bruce Lunnis (leader), Mr Price (coach), Robin Pretorius and Trishen Sewpaul, as well as Sasha Lewis and Analodia Arends, who were absent.
Any content used had to be approved by the respective copyright holders so the team spent countless hours negotiating with and interviewing FIFA, the International Marketing Council of South Africa and Cape Town City Management. The website concentrated mostly on the 2010 FIFA World Cup venues as well as tourism surrounding these venues and each member had to research two Stadiums and two South African Provinces.
All the hard work and long nights paid off as the team's website, 2010 Soccer Mania, was rated the best website in AFRICA in the under 19 Category.
To view the website and others done by students around the world go to the Oracle Thinkquest website /www.thinkquest.org and click on the Library.
PRESS RELEASE: WEDNDESDAY 1 AUGUST
TWO SA SCHOOLS IN TOP 20 FOR WEB DESIGN
A total of 21 teams from South African schools won international ranking in the 2007 annual ThinkQuest Competition. Two South African teams were among the top twenty international teams in their age groups. The websites created by the teams are available as an education resource at www.thinkquest.org/library/.
The South African team to win International Honourable Mention was from Parklands College and Sophakama Primary School. The team was entered by Maxwell Mdini a teacher from Sophakama Primary School at Du Noon, an informal settlement on the northern outskirts of Cape Town. Mr Mdini was receiving computer training at Parklands College, a nearby prestigious private school, when he heard about the opportunities offered by ThinkQuest. As Sophakama Primary School has neither the technical infrastructure nor the expertise to create a website, he teamed up with assistant coach Richard Knaggs and students from Parklands College. Using Parklands facilities, the team created the award winning website ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES INTERNATIONAL. In keeping with ThinkQuest International rules, only the first names of the team members are made public. They are: Alexander, Atanas, Brett, Itumaleng, Matthew and Mitchell.
The Oracle Education Foundation will donate a laptop computer to each of the team members, the coach and the assistant coach of Sophakama Primary. The school of the main coach will receive a US$1,000 award.
Wendy Beetge, Head of Transformation, Oracle South Africa is delighted that Sophakama Primary will receive a US$1,000 award: “This is exactly the type of cooperation across financial and social boundaries we like to see. We trust that this example of cooperation will be followed by other teams as well.”
According to Richard Knaggs, coach of the winning team, “Taking part in this ThinkQuest competition has been the richest and most complete learning I have ever experienced; from learner, to educator, to assessor, to Oracle, to technology and beyond! Every educator has to do it.”
ThinkQuest is an annual international web-design competition organised by the Oracle Education Foundation to encourage learners from all over the world to think, connect, create and share. Students work in teams of 3 to 6 to build innovative educational websites to share with the rest of the world.
Teams submit their websites in April each year. In the first phase of judging, judges from all over the world log into the websites and evaluate them from their own computers. Each website is evaluated by at least 6 judges during the first phase. Of the hundreds of websites evaluated in this way, 61 were selected for the second phase of judging.
For the second phase, judges from different countries are brought together in San Francisco to evaluate and discuss the websites during a four-day period. They select a first, second and third, and seven “Honourable Mentions” for each of the three age groups.
Peter Waker, Vice President of the Computer Society of South Africa, who promoted and administered ThinkQuest in South Africa this year is delighted with the results: “Not only did one of our teams get “Honourable Mention” and all the awards that go with it, but another team was in the top 20 for their age group. “The Great White Shark” by the Sharks Team from Bay Primary School in Kalk Bay is a delightful site created by three young ladies who very cleverly used the advantage their environment gives them. They have “great whites” at their front door and used the opportunity nature offered them on a plate.”
“We are proud of all 21 teams that received international ranking. Learners from all over the world visit www.thinkquest.org/library/ to find information. We are impressed that their websites will be part of a portal that receives more than a million hits per month.”
The 21 websites that received international ranking are:
SCHOOL |
TOWN |
TEAM |
AGE DIVISION |
Bay Primary |
Kalk Bay |
Sharks |
12 and Under** |
Bay Primary |
Kalk Bay |
Save the orb.Earth |
15 and Under |
Bergvliet High |
Bergvliet |
The Bergies |
19 and Under |
Dominican Convent |
Johannesburg |
Group B |
15 and Under |
Dominican Convent |
Johannesburg |
Group E |
19 and Under |
Dundee High |
Dundee |
Computer crashers |
19 and Under |
Edisang Primary |
Klerksdorp |
Power Buddies |
15 and Under |
Isimelela High |
Langa |
Be Warned |
19 and Under |
King David Linksfield |
Johannesburg |
dnb |
19 and Under |
Sophakama Primary & Parklands College |
Cape Town |
SOPC Environ 2007 |
15 and Under* |
PJ Olivier High |
Grahamstown |
PJ Olivier High School |
19 and Under |
St John's Preparatory & Yeoville Boy’s Prim. |
Houghton |
The Nameless Wonders |
12 and Under |
St John's Preparatory & Yeoville Boy’s Prim. |
Houghton |
Pro-computer whispers |
12 and Under |
St John's Preparatory & Yeoville Boy’s Prim. |
Houghton |
Websurfers |
12 and Under |
St John's Preparatory & Yeoville Boy’s Prim. |
Houghton |
Team Virus |
12 and Under |
Stellenbosch High |
Stellenbosch |
Team Zealous |
15 and Under |
Sunningdale Private |
Table View |
Sunningdale School |
19 and Under |
The Kings School |
Johannesburg |
Intelligent Design Team |
19 and Under |
Uitsig High |
Gauteng |
Mythic Zenith |
19 and Under |
Uitsig High |
Gauteng |
Cyber Dragons |
19 and Under |
Westerford High |
Rondebosch |
Team Westerford |
19 and Under |
*Honourable Mention in 15 and under
**Finalist in 12 and under
Enrolment for ThinkQuest 2008 will open on 15 August. Teams can enter on www.thinkquest.org.za
Press release by Peter Waker
Vice President (Education & Training) Computer Society of South Africa
Phone 021 447 8450
waker@interware.co.za