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Never heard of the Great Computer Challenge? Here's a couple of videos to give you an idea of what happens at this student competition which teaches the students how to work together as they work on real world computer problems.

Junior 10 Senior 10

Junior 09 Senior 09

Junior 08 Senior 08

Junior 05 Senior 06

Mark Your Calendars for the 26th Annual Great Computer Challenge 2011
	SENIOR GRADES 6-12 March 5, 2011
	JUNIOR GRADES K-5 May 14, 2011

The Great Computer Challenge celebrates 25 years in 2010!!

GCC 2010 Updates

Senior Great Computer Challenge-Grades 6-12
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Old Dominion University, Webb Center
Norfolk, Virginia

6-12 Students Take On The Challenge!

Imagine this, 117 teams with up to 5 students on each team, with each team bringing their own computer, met at Old Dominion University to compete against other schools in Desktop Publishing, Graphic Arts, Desktop Presentations, Web Design, Music Composition, Integrated Applications, Visual Basic, Scientific/Non-Business Programming, CAD, JAVA, and Video Editing. These teams had spent months preparing for a problem that they had never seen before. With the support of their teacher sponsor, they were ready to take on the challenge. These teams gathered from all over the Hampton Roads area including Gloucester, Hampton, Isle of Wight, Mathews, Middlesex, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and York, as well as several of the local independent schools including Bishop Sullivan Catholic H.S., Broadwater Academy, Chesapeake Bay Academy, Faith Academy, Norfolk Academy, Peninsula Catholic H.S., St. Gregory the Great, St. Pius X School, and Trinity Lutheran.
Winners for the Senior Division can be found here. Photos from the event can be found here.

During the competition, some of the other activities that occurred included:

Showing in the cafeteria was Net Files. Now in its eleventh season, Net Files continues to keep teachers on top of Internet integration. See the tools, sights, and equipment needed to be Net Wise and visit Net Classrooms where teachers seamlessly integrate the Internet into their lesson plans and student activities. Net Safety segments provide online Internet Safety resources and inform teachers of potential problems before they encounter them in the classroom.
www.netfiles.org

The Mock Competition, where coaches and parents were able to work on problems they chose, using computers that they brought with them.

Many joined Dawn Eibel of Norfolk to learn what the buzz is about using iPods and/or iTouch iPods in the classroom during the session, I Can, I Play, I Learn, all with an iPod iTouch. Participants found out some of the great ways that you can utilize these in the classroom. Can't use them in the classroom, but have a child who has one? Maximize their usage of the iTouch. It isn't just for playing games, emailing, or going on social networking sites.

Got Google? Sponsors came to learn that Google is so much more than a search engine from Anita Harris of Sussex. This session introduced participants to the world of Google Docs and other cool features. These features help to make your life more productive and allow you to work smarter and not harder. Visit Anita's wiki for some great resources.

eInstruction had a booth and presented Engaging and Assessing the 21st Century Students. The session was presented by Steve Agee. Students need to be engaged to learn. Today's student is growing up with more and more technology. Teachers need easy-to-use, quick, yet effective technology solutions to engage and assess the 21st Century learner. This session showed how some such solutions can be easily adapted in today's classroom with today's teacher for today's student.

Questions about eInstruction
http://www.einstruction.com
Steve Agee
steve.agee@einstruction.com

View the slideshow for a preview of the day's events, 25th Annual GCC, Senior Competition, March 6, 2010.
To view this slideshow, JavaScript must be enabled, and you need the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player.
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Junior Great Computer - Grades K-5
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Old Dominion University, Webb Center
Norfolk, Virginia

K-5 Students Take On The Challenge!

Imagine this, 110 teams with up to 3 students on each team, with each team bringing their own computer, meeting at Old Dominion University to compete against other schools in Desktop Publishing, Graphic Arts, Desktop Presentations, the Internet Scavenger Hunt, and Video Editing (new for level 2 this year!). Teams have spent months preparing for a problem that they have never seen before. With the support of their teacher sponsor, they are ready to take on the challenge. These teams gathered on May 1, 2010 from all over the Hampton Roads area, including Chesapeake, Gloucester, Hampton, Isle of Wight, Mathews, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg, as well as several of the local independent schools including Broadwater Academy, Chesapeake Bay Academy, Faith Academy, Hampton Roads Academy, St. Pius X, and Trinity Lutheran. Winners for the Junior Division can be found here. Photos from the event can be found here.

During the competition, some of the other activities that occurred included:

Showing in the cafeteria was Net Files. Now in its eleventh season, Net Files continues to keep teachers on top of Internet integration. See the tools, sights, and equipment needed to be Net Wise and visit Net Classrooms where teachers seamlessly integrate the Internet into their lesson plans and student activities. Net Safety segments provide online Internet Safety resources and inform teachers of potential problems before they encounter them in the classroom.
www.netfiles.org

The Mock Competition, where coaches and parents were able to work on problems they chose, using computers that they brought with them.

Diane Blowe of Norfolk had the young and old gather to learn about video editing in her session, Light...Camera...Making the Final Cut. They learned how to create a video using MovieMaker, and even had time to burn their creations to a CD and take them home.

Anita Harris of Sussex wowed the group with a session called Web 2.0 And You. Blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networks...feeling behind and are not sure you can catch up? Folks joined her to explore the rapidly growing world of free Web 2.0 tools such as VoiceThread, flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Google Apps, and more. An overview of Web 2.0 tools were shared that can be used both personally and professionally. Visit Anita's wiki for some great resources.

Ha Ha Ha!!! Whomever got to join Robb Ponton of Williamsburg was in for quite a treat during his session, Somewhat Humorous Look at the Future of Technology. Have you noticed how the funnies you read in the newspaper or online are mirroring the technological advances in our culture? Cartoons are great for education: they offer formative and summative evaluation opportunities and ways to get at higher level thinking skills.

Martha Razor of WHRO had many participants join her in the WHRO Kids Room. Activities included Between the Lions Bingo, Arthur word searches, Zoom science experiments, Create a Share A Story Book, and other WHRO Kids arts & crafts.

eInstruction had a booth and presented Engaging and Assessing the 21st Century Students. The session was presented by Steve Agee. Students need to be engaged to learn. Today's student is growing up with more and more technology. Teachers need easy-to-use, quick, yet effective technology solutions to engage and assess the 21st Century learner. This session showed how some such solutions can be easily adapted in today's classroom with today's teacher for today's student.

Questions about eInstruction
http://www.einstruction.com
Steve Agee
steve.agee@einstruction.com

Michelle Adams was at the Great Computer Challenge representing TeacherLine. Virginia’s PBS TeacherLine provides high-quality online professional development for Virginia educators through nearly 145 research-based courses at every grade level from PreK-12 in mathematics, reading, technology integration, teaching strategies, science, interdisciplinary, and curriculum mapping. All of Virginia’s PBS TeacherLine courses meet NCLB requirements, are aligned to Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL’s), and qualify for graduate credit and recertification points. As of June 1, 2010, registration course fees are no longer covered by NCLB Grant Funding for C.I.I. Members and C.I.I. Service Participants.
Please visit www.virginiateacherline.org for more information.

Questions about TeacherLine
Michelle Adams n michelle.adams@whro.org
John Whitley n john.whitley@whro.org
www.virginiateacherline.org