May 01, 2003 Newsletter

1. FAQ
The online FAQ at http://www.uaechallenge.com/faq2004.htm has answers to many
questions that people ask us about the IT challenge. For example, how much does it
cost to enter the challenge (the answer is nothing - it is free).

If you have a question, please check the FAQ first. If you cannot find the answer,
you can email us your question at uaechallenge@hct.ac.ae

2. Categories
The categories for this challenge are the same as last time. In the Secondary
Schools, there will be awards for best teacher, student and school project.
Colleges and Universities will compete head to head in the Tertiary category,
with awards for the best teacher, student and organizational project.

The judging panel will also select three special awards for the best teacher, student
and organizational project done by UAE national(s).

3. Projects Update
We started accepting projects online on March 1st, 2003. So far, 22 projects have
been registered. Officially, project registration begins in earnest in September 2003,
so we are delighted to have this many projects registered already!

If you have a project and want to register it for the challenge, please go to
http://www.uaechallenge.com/register1_2004.asp

Roland Steinwand from ADWC submitted a project in the last challenge. It is an
online web site for teaching English to college students. We asked Roland what
changes has he made to his web site since last time. Roland has added more
content such as listening activities, and its more than twice the size it was
before. Heaps of content has been added and it now covers two different levels.
In addition, Roland has altered the way in which the material is sequenced,
giving easier access to activities and exercises. The changes have led to a
significant increase in the number of people using the site; for example, Roland
recently recieved an email from a collegue in Fujairah letting him know that 500
students are now using Roland's site! Rolands web site can be found online at
http://imtcsamba.hct.ac.ae/cconline/year1/index.htm

4. Meet the people behind the challenge
Parvathy Kumar is the new IT Challenge Coordinator for 2004. Her contact details
are on the web site and she can be contacted at parvathy.kumar@hct.ac.ae

Last year, Parvathy served on the organizing committee and also was the
finalist coordinator. Her role for this challenge has been expanded and we
look forward to her contributions. Parvathy was recently featured in the
Friday magazine.