COLUMBIA, Md. — September 11, 2007 — Interwrite Learning, in partnership with TeacherTube, announces the company’s first video contest to recognize teachers and students for their creativity and use of technology in the classroom. Participants of the contest are asked to create a short music video parodying the song of their choice. The video should demonstrate how different kinds of technology are being used in the classroom.
The contest is not limited to users of Interwrite Learning’s products or members of TeacherTube. It is open to all teachers and students in the U.S., New Zealand and Australia (still up for discussion) who can creatively show how they are using technology in the classroom or how they would like to use technology in their classroom.
All participants will submit their videos on the Interwrite Learning Web site at www.interwritelearning.com/contest. Submissions will open at 12:00 Midnight EDT on September 11, 2007 and close at 11:59 EDT on October 21, 2007. Winners of the Interwrite Makeover will be announced on Tuesday, November 27, 2007.
Winners will be awarded with a complete Interwrite MakeoverTM consisting of:
- Interwrite Board, an engaging, durable, easy-to-use interactive whiteboard that features the Interwrite Workspace software. The Software and Board inspire students by turning classroom lessons into interactive experiences.
- Interwrite Pad, the number one leading wireless pad worldwide, gives teachers the ability to teach interactive lessons from anywhere in the classroom.
- Interwrite Cricket, the newest member of the Interwrite assessment family. Cricket is a powerful yet simple to use clicker for students of all ages. Cricket “clickers” combine robust radio-frequency technology with a friendly look and feel to make real-time student assessment practical for any classroom setting.
- Mitsubishi XD206 DLP projector integrates seamlessly with the Interwrite Boards and Pads with an RS–232c port for 3rd party control. The XGA projector (1024 x 768 resolution) has a bright 2000 ANSI lumens picture and high 2000:1 contrast ratio. Digital vertical keystone correction allows for presentation from a variety of locations.
- FrontRow Pro Digital, a sound system shown to improve attention, test scores, and teacher vocal health. FrontRow Pro Digital clarifies and evenly distributes the teacher’s voice throughout the classroom, helping students more easily understand teachers regardless of where they’re seated. Supports streaming media and podcasting, too.
- SP Controls, Inc.’s Pixie wall mounted modular control system is an elegant and complete control system that fits in a standard single-gang back box. Pixie offers intuitive control of virtually any display system with a remote control, be it a video projector, plasma screen, or LCD monitor.
- Brewer Technology and Learning will provide one full day (up to six hours) of professional development to each of the winning schools in order to help teachers learn to use the Interwrite MakeoverTM equipment as tools to enhance and accelerate the learning process.
The complete interactive makeover is valued at approximately $15,000. In addition, winners will receive a $1,000 cash prize and a celebration party for the entire school. The contest will name one winner from the following three grade level segments: Kindergarten through fifth; sixth through eighth; and ninth through 12th.
The video will be judged on the following criteria: demonstration of effective use of technology, portrayal of teachers and students working together and the overall creativity and spirit. The video must be submitted by a teacher and the grade segment that the video will be judged in is determined by the grade level of that teacher. Interwrite must be mentioned once within the lyrics of the song. The conclusion must direct viewers to www.interwritelearning.com/contest to vote. The video should be no longer than three minutes in length.
A panel of judges will select five finalists in each category and those will be posted to the contest Web site where the public can vote for their favorite to win the Grand Prize. The five finalists will be featured on the TeacherTube home page for a week following the announcement of the winners.
For more information on Interwrite Learning’s interactive learning solutions and rules and guidelines for participating in the video contest, visit interwrite learning
1 response so far ↓
1 megan // Oct 17, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Hi, -
I hope all is well! I wanted to let you know that with less than one week left in the first Interwrite Makeover™ video contest, Interwrite Learning is announcing today the five judges who will evaluate the submitted videos for the contest. The selected judges represent internet communities, education blogs and social networks.
Each judge will solicit feedback from within their communities to help them select which videos best meet the contest criteria:
· Effectiveness of demonstrating use of technology in the classroom
· The extent to which the entry demonstrates collaboration between the student(s) and teacher(s) in creating the video
· Overall creativity and spirit of the entry
Fifteen finalists will be announced on Friday, October 26, 2007, and the one final winner from each grade segment will later be announced on Tuesday, November 27, 2007. Each interactive makeover is valued at approximately $15,000, with a total of more than $50,000 in prizes to be awarded. Included in that is a celebration party for each winning entry’s entire school.
I’ve included the press release announcing the judging panel below. Do you think you can share this with your readers?
Megan
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Megan Lawler
Dittoe Public Relations
2815 East 62 St., #300
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Phone: 317-202-2280 ext 13
Fax: 317-202-2290
megan@dittoepr.com
Lauren Kinzler
Dittoe Public Relations
2815 East 62 St., #300
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Phone: 317-202-2280 ext 10
Fax: 317-202-2290
lauren@dittoepr.com
Judging Panel Announced for Interwrite Makeover Video Contest
$50,000 in classroom technology at stake in Interwrite Learning’s student/teacher video promotion; Judges represent internet communities, education blogs and social networks
COLUMBIA, Md. — October 17, 2007— With less than a week remaining in the contest, Interwrite Learning, a leading provider of interactive learning solutions for schools around the world, today announced the names of five judges who will evaluate the submitted videos for the first Interwrite Makeover™ video contest. The judges are Andrew J. Rotherham, Tony Brewer, Jenny Barrett, John Merline and Jessica O’Masta.
“The videos submitted so far are an amazing demonstration of collaboration, creativity and technology,” says Lisa O’Masta, vice president of marketing for Interwrite Learning. “The excitement this contest has created for both participants and voters is beyond anything we imagined. I’m glad I’m not a judge, I’d want to pick them all to win.”
The judges will select five finalists from the following three grade level segments: Kindergarten through fifth; sixth through eighth; and ninth through 12th. Once the finalists have been announced, the judges will collaborate to choose one final winner from each segment. Each judge will solicit feedback from within their communities to help them select which videos best meet the contest criteria:
· Effectiveness of demonstrating use of technology in the classroom
· The extent to which the entry demonstrates collaboration between the student(s) and teacher(s) in creating the video
· Overall creativity and spirit of the entry
In partnership with TeacherTube, Interwrite Learning recently announced the company’s first video contest to recognize teachers and students for their creativity and use of technology in the classroom. Participants of this contest are asked to create a short music video parodying the song of their choice. Each judge has a different background in the education sector and will solicit the individuals within their communities for feedback on evaluating the submitted videos.
Andrew Rotherham is the co-director of Education Sector, an independent national education policy think-tank, and writes an award-winning and widely read education policy blog, Eduwonk. Rotherham serves on the Virginia Board of Education and formerly served at the White House as education advisor to President Clinton. He will be selecting the contest’s finalists based on the videos that are both engaging and educational. In short, he wants to hear a good story and see a fun video that involves the students.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all of the videos and I’m excited to see what else comes in before the contest concludes,” said Rotherham. “There is enormous creativity in classrooms around the country and that is clearly on display in this contest.”
Jenny Barrett, former teacher and lead trainer at Sitech Systems NZ (Ltd), and current New Zealand distributor for Interwrite Learning, will be polling teachers and students to help her make her decision on which classroom deserves to win the Interwrite Makeover.
“The contest is a great opportunity for students to showcase their creativity and imagination,” said Barrett. “I will be asking the New Zealand audience to vote for the video that they like best via the Sitech E-learning Zone. We’ll be looking for a video that really stands out. There are so many simple tools that give people tremendous creative freedom of expression and we’re really eager to see the way young people and their teachers are grasping and putting new video and audio technology to work.”
John Merline plays a pivotal role in classroom technology. While Interwrite Learning provides a line of high-tech visual tools, Merline’s role as marketing director for FrontRow is to provide complimentary audio tools that are equally fundamental to modern classroom learning. Just as visual and audio tools work together to improve learning, Merline wants to see students and teachers working together to create great videos.
“I’m very interested to see how students will communicate the effective use of technology in the classroom, while demonstrating a noticeable collaboration between students and teachers,” said Merline. “This contest provides them with a great opportunity to work together to create something meaningful.”
Tony Brewer has been involved in technology and education for more than 20 years. Not only does Brewer run a professional development firm, in which he focuses heavily on classroom management, but he also gives motivational speeches across the nation that inspire teachers to embrace technology in their classrooms. It is to no surprise that this former teacher is looking for innovation and motivation in the submitted videos.
“I want to see how innovative the teacher is in terms of using technology, how well the video is produced and whether the use of technology is truly displayed,” said Brewer. “I ask myself, ‘am I being motivated to use technology after seeing this video?’ The overall aesthetic appeal will score major points with me as I have extremely eclectic taste.”
And in accordance with the right to a jury of ones’ peers, Jessica O’Masta is using the contest as the foundation of her high school graduation project. O’Masta plans to link the videos through an Interwrite MySpace.com page she created in order to gauge opinions from a variety of her peers and teachers. Along with the feedback she receives, O’Masta will be judging the videos based on their creative quality and noticeable effort.
Fifteen finalists will be announced on Friday, Oct. 26, 2007, and the one final winner from each grade segment will later be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007. Each interactive makeover is valued at approximately $15,000, with a total of more than $50,000 in prizes to be awarded. Included in that is a celebration party for each winning entry’s entire school.
For more information on Interwrite Learning’s interactive learning solutions and rules and guidelines for participating in the video contest, visit http://www.interwritelearning.com/contest.
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About Interwrite Learning
Interwrite Learning is a premier global provider of interactive learning solutions for primary, secondary and higher education markets. Interactive solutions, including the Interwrite Board, Pad and Panel all come with Interwrite Workspace, a next generation educational software application for creating, teaching and assessing student performance using digital content. Interwrite assessment solutions include Interwrite Cricket and PRS clickers, members of a powerful student response system that combines interaction and assessment to enhance classroom productivity and improve student results. Interwrite Learning has a rich 32-year history of delivering interactive solutions that are changing how the world learns. To learn more about Interwrite Learning’s Interactive Classroom solutions, please visit http://www.interwritelearning.com.
Dittoe Public Relations
Megan Lawler
megan@dittoepr.com
tel: 317-202-2280 x13
fax: 317-202-2290
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