What is the ThinkQuest Website Competition?
The ThinkQuest Website Competition challenges teams of students, ages 9-19, to develop educational websites on topics of their choosing. Each team must be coached by a teacher, who enrolls the team and guides the students. Website entries may utilize a variety of technologies and take a variety of creative forms.
Completed websites are published in the
ThinkQuest Library, the world's largest online repository of student-developed learning projects. Winning teams receive exciting prizes.
Why Compete?
The ThinkQuest Website Competition provides an opportunity for teachers to engage students in developing vital 21st century skills, helping to prepare them for success in life and work outside of school.
The following are a few examples of ways you can use the ThinkQuest Website Competition to develop students' 21st century skills (
read definitions of these skills):
- Critical thinking: Help students choose a topic that enables them to investigate and propose solutions for a real world issue.
- Creativity: Encourage students to develop a website that uses an innovative format and integrates multimedia components, such as artwork, photography, or videos.
- Teamwork: The ThinkQuest Website Competition requires students to compete in teams, working cooperatively to meet a shared goal.
- Cross-cultural understanding: Encourage students to research a topic of global relevance and to use sources that provide diverse viewpoints.
- Communication: Remind students that information on their websites must be clearly presented and logically organized in order to serve a global audience of web learners.
- Technology: The ThinkQuest Website Competition challenges students to develop websites, requiring them to learn how to use web technology tools.
- Self-direction: Make students responsible for managing their time effectively in order to meet the competition deadline.
In addition to developing important 21st century skills, students become published web-authors with a global audience when their completed websites are published in the
ThinkQuest Library.