The ThinkQuest Rubric

Elements for us to consider

• enduring content/knowledge
• emerging ways of learning (killer apps as the catalyst for emerging ways of learning)
• emerging learning environments
• technical considerations

Student Projects
Schools for the Year 2050
In spring 2001, in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, a challenge was put forth by Mountlake Terrace High School math teacher Eeva Reeder to her 9th and 10th grade classes: Working as a member of an architectural team in the year 2050, students against five other companies to win the contract to design a state-of-the-art high school on a given site. Their proposed design was presented to a panel of professional architects who will be awarding the contract."

Compare these three teams' designs for a state-of-the-art school for the year 2050.
Then Cast Your Vote for the design proposal that best matches your idea of what school should be like.
Schools for the Year 2020
Requires QuickTime 5.01

Earth Observing System (EOS) Education Project
Use of emerging web-based tech to investigate how geoinformation enhances our exploration and understanding of the diverse and changing landscapes of the world. The EOS Project Mission encompasses relevant ideas that may be applied in the development of a site to teach themes, concepts and big ideas.

Replicators: Evolutionary Powerhouses
Fundamental concepts of natural selection are applied in biology, sociology, linguistics through interactive simulators.

Fusion of Form and Function: Art We Live In
Insights into technical, physics, engineering and the socio-cultural context of architecture. Users have the capacity to render their own 3-D

Blast off to the Virtual Planet
A game and a teaching tool, with the user traveling through the site by way of an interactive story.

Chess for Kids
Resources, tutorials, strategies, tournament prep and more on the game of Chess.

Innovative Classrooms
Building a Better Robot - lessons in applied mathematics and engineering -- and in the importance of teamwork
Space Age Thinkers - solutions to problems astronauts face in space
Jason and the New Argonauts - Via satellite, students can travel around the world

Astrobiology, Exploring the Living Universe

Astro-Venture
Interactive, multimedia Web environment where students role-play NASA occupations, as they search for and build a planet with the necessary characteristics for human habitation.
(Requires RealPlayer 8)

Killer Apps as Catalysts for Emerging Ways of Learning
Runaway Universe
A Companion Website for the video, Runaway Universe.
(Requires Shockwave)

New World Symphony
Example of music education
Michael Tilson Thomas conducts a seminar with student conductors and an ensemble in New York.\
(Requires RealPlayer)

Web Cytology An Exploration on Unicellular Life

Robotics - Sensing, Thinking, Action
Simulates two approaches to robotic exploration: operating a robotic vehicle remotely, or allowing it to work on its own.

The following are three sites which did not make the "final cut" in TQ. They did, however, attempt much and those attempts may be worth a look as we set up the standards and rubrics for our projects.

Media UnPlugged
The creators of this site intended to teach how television programming works, to develop the enduring knowledge of media literacy--to make their learners aware of factors that attempt to influence them and that shape their views of the world around us.

They used database programming to allow for site visitors to create an evening television line up, considering the factors of audience interest, advertising, etc.

They were not able to program the interactivity that they envisioned, but the attempt exceeded standards in online interactivity and complexity of learning tasks.

Project: Avalanche!
"If you feel buried by information on global warming, deforestation, and endangered species, you've come to the right place. Through a series of interactive questions, see what you'd do faced with various ecological questions. Play "Gaiagochi"--a simulation game that allows you to see if you can save the planet Earth! Somewhat strangely, this site also explores cultural trends--for example, compare your favorite snack food choices with those from other countries. It's fun, though!"

This site attempted to track visitor learning curves and originally intended to merge possible solutions for preserving our environment with public opinion, a "reality check" with the probably success of these solutions. The defining concept of the site was "Jihad vs MacWorld"--how much do we/should we work toward universality to preserve our world, and with what consequences?

Balance: Beyond Survival
We created a UniverCity to teach people about City Planning, World Civilizations, Resource Management and Architecture. Our UniverCity has different classes and the hallway makes you feel like you are really there. Our classes have multi-media, like video clips and animations. When you play a sim in our website you use the knowledge from the UniverCity. In our Future Sim we choose from three places we want to build in, land, underwater and space. When you have picked one city to build in you will see some icons and a picture or a graphic to put them in. At the end there will be a message board to write to us on what you think about the sim and if you have any suggestions. In our City Sim you will have some problems in your city that you need to solve. Then once you have solved one problem you move to the next. At the end there will be a message board to write to us on what you think about the sim, if you have any questions about City Planning and if you have any suggestions.

This site may be of interest to the "Greeks to Geeks" group. Fifth and sixth graders created the site based on the concept that we need to learn from past knowledge. They wanted to show, via info and interaction, how city planning in the past may affect or offer solutions for city planning in the future.