ThinkQuest 99 Team Members and Coaches,
In this issue of TEAM TQ we provide an important Announcement regarding the use of
ThinkQuest Resources, There is a check list for completing your 1999 ThinkQuest entry,
Information on the new ThinkQuest help desk and a reminder to use the FAQs and help desk
if you have a problem.
Finally, there is a collection of reflections from some of last year's coaches to
provide a little perspective in these last intense days before the 1999 entry deadline of
August 16th.
1. Announcement Regarding Use Of ThinkQuest Resources
Accounts on our web servers are given to teams solely for use of developing and
maintaining entries.
Your team's account should not be used for any other purposes - e.g., storing mp3s,
storing software not being used in the creation of your entry, storing *any* illegal files
or using cpu time for processes not related to your entry.
One program which we must specifically mention is seti@home
This program is designed to use up as much system resources as possible.
Teams are not allowed to run this program on our servers.
Teams that misuse their account in any of the ways mentioned above run the risk having
their account closed and their team disqualified.
2. Check List For Completing ThinkQuest 1999.
With only a few more weeks left, please be sure that your team completes the following.
A. Uploading of your entry - deadline 12:00 Noon EST August 16, 1999. We cannot over
emphasize the fact that teams should not wait until the last moment to upload. Teams
should be uploading and testing their entries on our server now. Sometimes an entry is
developed on one computer and works fine, but when moved to another computer it no longer
works - this is generally caused by use of Absolute path references used in HTML links.
Only by uploading and testing your entry on the ThinkQuest server will these kind of
problems be found. If you wait until the last minute to upload you may not have time to
fix problems like these.
If you are looking for information on how to upload, please see:
* The general information at:
http://www.thinkquest.org/web/ftp.html
Note that the name of the server is: dev99.advanced.org not
hyperion.advanced.org
* Tutorials with screen shots:
PC - http://www.thinkquest.org/web/wsftp.html
Mac - http://www.thinkquest.org/web/fetch.html
B. Completing the Entry Form - deadline 12:00 Noon EST August 16, 1999.
The Entry form is located at http://members.thinkquest.org:8080/tqapp/judging/entry.phtml
If the Entry Form for your team is not completed, your entry cannot be judged.
Teams should start the Entry Form as soon as possible. It can be started, saved on
line, and worked on again later - up until the deadline.
3. Getting Help
A. FAQs-
If your team is having technical problems, please try our technical FAQs at: http://www.thinkquest.org/web/faq.html
B. tq-help@advanced.org
Questions of any kind can be sent to tq-help@advanced.org
and we will do our best to answer you as quickly as possible.
Please always be sure to include your TEAM ID and the URL to any file that your team is
having problems with.
4. Reflections from Coaches
We Know that many teams are now in the most intense phase of developing their
ThinkQuest entries. With much work still to be done, and so many loose ends to tie up. We
have include here some comments from last year's coaches sent to us after the entries were
in. There is no central theme, except for the appreciation of a challenge fulfilled.
A. When the team is right, and the project is one that they own, when they are truly
challenged, it is a joyful experience :) I have felt in my work with students, that what
we need to teach or, better yet, model for them is passion and compassion....the
commitment to a goal that brings excellence and that respect of the other human beings
working with us that bonds us in our efforts. TQ is the perfect environment for developing
and sustaining this.
B. Most of all we ( the coaches) were ready to boost the students' morale when we
feared they would get drowned in the flood of material and information. Sometimes we went
for a chunk of pizza which did the job!
C. this was definitely not the usual teaching routine. We realized that we could remain
in the background and leave the initiative and the enthusiasm to the students. The more
they took responsibilities the more they grew with the task and impressed us with their
ideas.
D. Coach 1, assisted Kalle in finding resources and setting up interviews, as well as
placed several strategic wake up calls during some early morning chat sessions Coach 2,
Darren's content coach and chauffeur, asked a lot of questions, critiqued site
organization and design, hummed along through the investigation of Real Audio sites, and
basically enjoyed the trip :)
E. Jason and I also found out "Mountain Dew" works well when we needed to
stay awake to chat with our Polish teammates and complete the project
F. Perhaps my most meaningful role in this project came as the deadline loomed
precariously close. Sitting in the middle of my kitchen were three bushels of plum
tomatoes.. I convinced my husband to drag my computer, modem, etc. down to the kitchen
table so that I could simultaneously access tomatoes and keyboard armed with my hard copy
of the site's text and trusted highlighter in hand. With the web site on the screen and
the phone propped to my ear, Steven and I went through all of the last-minute editing
errors as seven quart jars of tomatoes bubbled at a hard boil in the background. This was
certainly fun!
G. Once formed, the progress of this team reminded me of an anonymous quote used by my
former department chairman, Ed Anderson: There they go, over the hill. I must hasten
after, for I am their leader!"
H. Observation:
"What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in
pursuit of the child" George Bernard Shaw
From all of us on the TQ team, we want to extend our appreciation for the hard work you
have been doing, offer our encouragement to keep it up, and the reminder not to get
discouraged. Yes, the 16th is getting close, but so is the 17th, and all the days after
that when you will feel the satisfaction of completion and the pride in your
accomplishments.
Keep up the great work!
Sincerely,
The TQ Team
