EDIT: As pointed out to me, the official language of Macedonia is Macedonian! Not Greek. My apologies. Bradley
Back in 2005, the iTest allowed a fairly large school in Warsaw to participate in the competition on a trial basis. We wanted to get a feel for how international schools would deal with a number of issues, probably the biggest of which was handling the exam submission time that was I think 2 AM in the morning for them. This pilot went well and the iTest then knew that international expansion was possible, at least in the high school mathematics realm.
In 2006, we did not have any international schools participate during the competition period, but the positive exposure on a number of foreign internet sites regarding that particular exam helped build credibility abroad.
Officially, the iTest's policy is that while we don't overtly market ourselves to schools internationally, we now feel like we have the operational capacity to allow them to participate, if they so choose. There are no state-level awards for international schools given by the iTest, but students at these schools remain eligible to win the grand prize.
All this is simply leading up to the announcement that we're working with a school this year in Macedonia to provide iTest content to an entire school of around 900 students. This school will have some participating teams in the 2007 iTest when it occurs, and will (like many other schools here in the US) use the exam as an additional component of classroom curriculum at times throughout the year.
I often refer to the iTest as bringing an "open source" approach to education, as we allow our content to be used in a number of ways (all after the competition concludes each year, of course) and to be changed and altered by educators as necessary to conform to a particular school's curricular needs. For example, we heard once about an educator stripping out the first 5 problems of the iTest and giving these problems as 'bonus questions' on a pre-calculus exam. This is the essence of an "open source" mentality - our content is malleable and ready to augment the US educational system in a variety of capacities.
This school in Macedonia, once the iTest is complete, will translate iTest problems into Macedonian (native language) and will focus on specific questions (over the course of the year) across the entire school's mathematics curriculum. They will do with the iTest what they need to do to help their students.
Just another example of the iTest reaching out and serving educational needs, even if they're not here at home.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
iTest Video Contest - Q&A
This post will be for answering 2007 iTest Video Contest questions that are posed to me by students, educators, or parents leading up to the contest deadline.
Q. Is there a place where I can download "Typical" by Mute Math for free?
A. Not that we're aware of. We strongly encourage purchasing the song through a secure online vendor, such as iTunes, where the song can routinely be purchased for $.99. The song may be available on the band's MySpace page or website, but we have not confirmed this. The iTest is not responsible for reimbursement of any costs associated with producing contest video submissions.
Q. In the 2007 iTest video contest rules and requirements, rule number five says that the first verse and chorus of the song ("Typical" by Mute Math) are required to be used in each video submission.Which part of the song is the "first verse" and the which part is the "chorus?"
A. In the 'radio single' version of the song, the first verse begins around 30 seconds into the song and lasts until about 50 seconds into the song, while the chorus begins around 50 seconds into the track and lasts until about a minute and 15 seconds into the song. The album version of the song will add about 15 seconds to these times.
The first verse consists of these lyrics:
Come on can’t I dream for one day
There’s nothing that can’t be done
But how long should it take somebody
Before they can be someone
The chorus consists of these lyrics:
Cause I know there’s got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I’m feeling like it’s now or never
Can I break the spell of the typical
Q. Is there a place where I can download "Typical" by Mute Math for free?
A. Not that we're aware of. We strongly encourage purchasing the song through a secure online vendor, such as iTunes, where the song can routinely be purchased for $.99. The song may be available on the band's MySpace page or website, but we have not confirmed this. The iTest is not responsible for reimbursement of any costs associated with producing contest video submissions.
Q. In the 2007 iTest video contest rules and requirements, rule number five says that the first verse and chorus of the song ("Typical" by Mute Math) are required to be used in each video submission.Which part of the song is the "first verse" and the which part is the "chorus?"
A. In the 'radio single' version of the song, the first verse begins around 30 seconds into the song and lasts until about 50 seconds into the song, while the chorus begins around 50 seconds into the track and lasts until about a minute and 15 seconds into the song. The album version of the song will add about 15 seconds to these times.
The first verse consists of these lyrics:
Come on can’t I dream for one day
There’s nothing that can’t be done
But how long should it take somebody
Before they can be someone
The chorus consists of these lyrics:
Cause I know there’s got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I’m feeling like it’s now or never
Can I break the spell of the typical
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Marketing and Promotion
I'm looking forward to the day when the iTest can market and promote itself and its competitions to the level that Fortune 500 companies do leading up to a major product launch.
Take a quick look at everything Microsoft is doing to ensure the success of its vaunted Halo 3 launch, occurring in September just like the 2007 iTest (courtesy of Microsoft promotion blog/marketing vehicle Gamerscore):
- Mountain Dew will unveil the first beverage co-branded with a video game, Mountain Dew Game Fuel. Game Fuel has the same great taste of Mountain Dew with an invigorating blast of citrus cherry flavor and added caffeine for maximum intensity. Game Fuel will come in 20-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce cans and will be available nationwide for a limited time starting Aug. 13, 2007.
- In a few select markets, Mountain Dew will offer a special-edition aluminum bottle of Mountain Dew Game Fuel with an exclusive design created by Bungie Studios, the developers of Halo 3. This bottle will be available in very limited quantities, making it a highly sought-after collector’s item.
- 7-Eleven today confirmed its plans to support the launch of Halo 3 through a variety of in-store promotions, including three Halo 3-branded collectible Slurpee cups. In addition,7-Eleven will run a Halo 3 promotion with Mountain Dew Game Fuel and Doritos, with thousands of Halo 3-themed prizes, including, as grand prize, a chance to win a minor role as a voice actor in the upcoming Xbox 360 video game, Halo Wars, by Ensemble Studios.
- Pontiac will host Pontiac Gamers Garage events in select locations, providing consumers with a chance to play the game for the first time before its release. In addition, in support of the launch of its upcoming high-performance G6 GXP Street, Pontiac is offering 1,000 consumers a chance to win a copy of the game; one lucky gamer will win a limited-edition Halo 3 G6 GXP Street car.
- Burger King Corp. will continue its sponsorship of Xbox 360 with national, in-restaurant support from Sept. 24 through Oct. 22. Halo 3-themed packaging will offer customers access to exclusive content by logging on to http://www.bk.com/halo3 beginning Sept. 23. Graphics will be featured on select packaging, including the 42-ounce cup and King FRYPOD.
- Comcast has also joined the Halo 3 campaign and will host exclusive video content, including user-generated movies and machinima, on its Web sites http://gameinvasion.net and http://www.ziddio.com. Comcast will also feature standard- and high-definition Halo 3 videos on its signature ON DEMAND service.
- Halo 3 is also the official sponsor of the Projekt Revolution tour this summer, which includes bands Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance. Exclusive Halo 3 VIP events will take place in select cities on the tour, where attendees will receive Halo 3-themed merchandise and have an opportunity to meet the members of Linkin Park.
This is the standard of excellence the iTest needs to emulate. Doesn't matter that we're a non-profit and Microsoft is a massive very-much-for-profit. They do good work and their product tie-ins and marketing ploys are good stuff.
Wouldn't it be a huge success, in and of itself, if marketing tools were used to get more and more high school students to participate in math? Or academic competitions in general?
Take a quick look at everything Microsoft is doing to ensure the success of its vaunted Halo 3 launch, occurring in September just like the 2007 iTest (courtesy of Microsoft promotion blog/marketing vehicle Gamerscore):
- Mountain Dew will unveil the first beverage co-branded with a video game, Mountain Dew Game Fuel. Game Fuel has the same great taste of Mountain Dew with an invigorating blast of citrus cherry flavor and added caffeine for maximum intensity. Game Fuel will come in 20-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce cans and will be available nationwide for a limited time starting Aug. 13, 2007.
- In a few select markets, Mountain Dew will offer a special-edition aluminum bottle of Mountain Dew Game Fuel with an exclusive design created by Bungie Studios, the developers of Halo 3. This bottle will be available in very limited quantities, making it a highly sought-after collector’s item.
- 7-Eleven today confirmed its plans to support the launch of Halo 3 through a variety of in-store promotions, including three Halo 3-branded collectible Slurpee cups. In addition,7-Eleven will run a Halo 3 promotion with Mountain Dew Game Fuel and Doritos, with thousands of Halo 3-themed prizes, including, as grand prize, a chance to win a minor role as a voice actor in the upcoming Xbox 360 video game, Halo Wars, by Ensemble Studios.
- Pontiac will host Pontiac Gamers Garage events in select locations, providing consumers with a chance to play the game for the first time before its release. In addition, in support of the launch of its upcoming high-performance G6 GXP Street, Pontiac is offering 1,000 consumers a chance to win a copy of the game; one lucky gamer will win a limited-edition Halo 3 G6 GXP Street car.
- Burger King Corp. will continue its sponsorship of Xbox 360 with national, in-restaurant support from Sept. 24 through Oct. 22. Halo 3-themed packaging will offer customers access to exclusive content by logging on to http://www.bk.com/halo3 beginning Sept. 23. Graphics will be featured on select packaging, including the 42-ounce cup and King FRYPOD.
- Comcast has also joined the Halo 3 campaign and will host exclusive video content, including user-generated movies and machinima, on its Web sites http://gameinvasion.net and http://www.ziddio.com. Comcast will also feature standard- and high-definition Halo 3 videos on its signature ON DEMAND service.
- Halo 3 is also the official sponsor of the Projekt Revolution tour this summer, which includes bands Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance. Exclusive Halo 3 VIP events will take place in select cities on the tour, where attendees will receive Halo 3-themed merchandise and have an opportunity to meet the members of Linkin Park.
This is the standard of excellence the iTest needs to emulate. Doesn't matter that we're a non-profit and Microsoft is a massive very-much-for-profit. They do good work and their product tie-ins and marketing ploys are good stuff.
Wouldn't it be a huge success, in and of itself, if marketing tools were used to get more and more high school students to participate in math? Or academic competitions in general?
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
2007 iTest Video Contest
The 2007 iTest will feature a video contest as the main side contest to this year's event.
Prize? $200 gift card to Best Buy for the winning student or student team.
The 2007 iTest Video Contest is open to any high school student attending a school where students are participating in the 2007 iTest. Students participating in the Video Contest do not have to be 2007 iTest participants themselves, although we encourage Video Contest entrants to also participate in the iTest itself.
Students can work alone or with other students (no restrictions on how many students can work together on a team) to create a video highlighting student participation in the 2007 iTest. Students working together to solve problems, meeting after school to delegate responsibilities and allocate team resources to be used in trying to attain the best team score, students hustling to get problems solved prior to the submission deadline ... all of these things would make for compelling video footage as part of a 2007 iTest Video Contest submission.
There are some rules of the game, though:
2007 iTest Video Contest Rules and Requirements
1) Each participating student/student team in the Video Contest may only submit one video entry.
2) Each video entry must be between 60 and 90 seconds in length.
3) Each video entry must be submitted to bradleymetrock@theitest.com in AVI or MPEG format by no later than 11:59 PM Central time on Friday, September 21. This additional time beyond the submission deadline for the 2007 iTest is designed to allow participating iTest students time after the math exam is complete to get in their video submissions.
4) Each video entry must display the 2007 iTest logo (any color is fine) for at least 3 seconds at the beginning of the video as part of an introductory/title screen. How this is done is up to participating students, and the size of the logo on screen can vary as necessary, but it needs to be clearly visible up front.
5) Each video entry must incorporate the song "Typical" by Mute Math into the submission. Particularly, the first verse and chorus of the song are REQUIRED to be used in each video submission. Beyond that, students/student teams are welcome to be creative in splicing other parts of the song, looping parts of the song, etc. ONLY this song should be used, and no other, in creating the video (although parts of the video can have ambient audio, if desired).
6) Each video entry should conclude with a "credits" section. This section does not have to count toward the time length requirement of 60-90 seconds.
7) Each video entry should be posted on YouTube with appropriate search keywords and text description at the time of submission to the iTest staff.
8) There are no restrictions on type of camera or film that may be used in this contest.
9) Among all submissions, 3-5 finalists will be selected and made available for download on the iTest website sometime in October. The winning video will be chosen from among these finalists by no later than November 1, 2007. All video submissions are property of the iTest. Decisions made by the iTest in determining finalists and the winning video are final. Decisions will be based on creativity, adherence to the above guidelines, overall clarity of what is going on in the video, and ability of the iTest staff to re-use the video in marketing the competition in subsequent years.
10) Please direct any questions regarding this video side contest that are not answered above to Bradley Metrock, President, the iTest at bradleymetrock@theitest.com. Check back on this blog for any additional information regarding this contest!
Thanks, and good luck.
Prize? $200 gift card to Best Buy for the winning student or student team.
The 2007 iTest Video Contest is open to any high school student attending a school where students are participating in the 2007 iTest. Students participating in the Video Contest do not have to be 2007 iTest participants themselves, although we encourage Video Contest entrants to also participate in the iTest itself.
Students can work alone or with other students (no restrictions on how many students can work together on a team) to create a video highlighting student participation in the 2007 iTest. Students working together to solve problems, meeting after school to delegate responsibilities and allocate team resources to be used in trying to attain the best team score, students hustling to get problems solved prior to the submission deadline ... all of these things would make for compelling video footage as part of a 2007 iTest Video Contest submission.
There are some rules of the game, though:
2007 iTest Video Contest Rules and Requirements
1) Each participating student/student team in the Video Contest may only submit one video entry.
2) Each video entry must be between 60 and 90 seconds in length.
3) Each video entry must be submitted to bradleymetrock@theitest.com in AVI or MPEG format by no later than 11:59 PM Central time on Friday, September 21. This additional time beyond the submission deadline for the 2007 iTest is designed to allow participating iTest students time after the math exam is complete to get in their video submissions.
4) Each video entry must display the 2007 iTest logo (any color is fine) for at least 3 seconds at the beginning of the video as part of an introductory/title screen. How this is done is up to participating students, and the size of the logo on screen can vary as necessary, but it needs to be clearly visible up front.
5) Each video entry must incorporate the song "Typical" by Mute Math into the submission. Particularly, the first verse and chorus of the song are REQUIRED to be used in each video submission. Beyond that, students/student teams are welcome to be creative in splicing other parts of the song, looping parts of the song, etc. ONLY this song should be used, and no other, in creating the video (although parts of the video can have ambient audio, if desired).
6) Each video entry should conclude with a "credits" section. This section does not have to count toward the time length requirement of 60-90 seconds.
7) Each video entry should be posted on YouTube with appropriate search keywords and text description at the time of submission to the iTest staff.
8) There are no restrictions on type of camera or film that may be used in this contest.
9) Among all submissions, 3-5 finalists will be selected and made available for download on the iTest website sometime in October. The winning video will be chosen from among these finalists by no later than November 1, 2007. All video submissions are property of the iTest. Decisions made by the iTest in determining finalists and the winning video are final. Decisions will be based on creativity, adherence to the above guidelines, overall clarity of what is going on in the video, and ability of the iTest staff to re-use the video in marketing the competition in subsequent years.
10) Please direct any questions regarding this video side contest that are not answered above to Bradley Metrock, President, the iTest at bradleymetrock@theitest.com. Check back on this blog for any additional information regarding this contest!
Thanks, and good luck.
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