This tutorial
introduces attendees to ThinkQuest, a unique program designed
to promote Internet-based learning and collaboration. It gives
an overview of the ThinkQuest contests in which students and teachers
from across the world work together in teams to produce educational
Web sites on a variety of topics. Besides highlighting the educational
strengths of the ThinkQuest concept, the tutorial describes ThinkQuest
participation from beginning to end: how teams are formed, how
topics are chosen, how team members collaborate and communicate
via the Internet, what tools are used, what rules and requirements
the Web sites must meet, what problems may be encountered, what
role coaches play, how the Web sites produced are promoted, how
they are judged and how participants are rewarded. It discusses
aspects such as topic research, critical and responsible use of
reference sources in content creation, work organization and overall
project management, design considerations, programming features,
use of multimedia, the importance of interactivity, enabling classroom
usage, ensuring continuity of site usage and growth and enhancing
international scope. The tutorial combines a presentation with
a practical session partly based on examples from the ThinkQuest
library of entries and offers plenty of opportunity to ask questions.