Last Tuesday, a team of students from the University of Malta succeeded in winning the East Mediterranean regional contest of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2007 competition. They shall now be representing Malta in the worldwide finals, scheduled to take place next August in Seoul, South Korea, where they shall be competing with teams from countries all over the world. This is the second time that Malta placed first in the regional contest after competing against other finalist teams from the region; namely, Lebanon and Jordan.

 

Kablujen Digerati, as the Maltese team is named, consists of four students reading the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSc IT) honours degree at third-year level, specialising in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (CSAI) stream: Abigail Cauchi, Jennifer Fenech, Karl Fenech, and Luana Micallef.

 

Imagine Cup is an annual competition organised by Microsoft Corporation which brings together young technologists worldwide to help resolve some of the world’s toughest challenges. The software design competition invites teams of up to four students from post-secondary and tertiary educational institutions to submit their ideas in the form of software solutions which address a specified theme. The Imagine Cup competition commenced four years ago, and already more than 100,000 students from over 100 countries have participated. This year, more students than ever will be looking for victory in this prestigious competition.

 

Imagine Cup 2007 is themed “Imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all.” Participants were encouraged to use cutting-edge technologies to come up with creative and innovative solutions for improving educational opportunities for students around the world. This mission is closely aligned with the Education For All (EFA) goals, established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which aim to “universalize primary education and massively reduce illiteracy by the end of the decade.”

 

One of the most difficult challenges is that of balancing educational objectives with technical limitations and harsh financial realities, especially in developing countries such as India. Governments have to deal with the issue of software distribution, as educational packages must be researched, purchased, possibly customised, delivered to all schools, installed, and then updated continuously. One is typically also faced with high student-to-computer ratios, sometimes having ten children using the same computer, out of which only one student (usually the most dominant) would be controlling the mouse. This makes it quite difficult, if not impossible, to keep each student engaged – the process of learning requires that the student is actively involved in the learning activities he/she is participating in. Losing the student’s interest renders the learning process ineffective.

 

A plausible solution to the latter challenge would be the recently-introduced Windows MultiPoint, a powerful technology enabling multiple users to simultaneously and interactively share a single computer using multiple mice and cursors identifiable by their colour. MultiPoint helps shift the student from passive to active learning, and the collaborative environment adds a whole new layer of value to the computer in the classroom.

 

The solution put forth by the Maltese team is a fully-integrated MultiPoint system which is easy to use, extensible, and most importantly, promotes a constructive pedagogy and an intuitive way for teachers to make their lessons more interactive, interesting and collaborative. Through the system, students may be assessed whilst engaging in educational software activities, enhancing their motivation. State-commissioned or commercial developers may upload new applications which would be seamlessly incorporated into the system and immediately available within all classrooms.

 

The system was devised following extensive research on learning paradigms, including collaboration and the use of games within the educational context, and is meant as a key – a motivational prototype – for eventual deployment in real-life scenarios. Seamlessly integrated, it would bind all stakeholders (developers, administration, teachers, and students) in their respective roles, amplifying the dissemination of knowledge and providing enhanced educational opportunities for all, irrespective of age and financial conditions. The system also enables an innovative edge, giving unbounded opportunities for the development of applications to best meet the local demands. All this is captured in the title chosen for the project: KIKI, a Key to the Integration of Knowledge and Innovation.

 

The team tested the system with the help of a primary state school using a class of thirty students. The setup consisted of eight computers for the students, each having three to four mice connected, and the teacher’s computer. The competitive aspect brought about by this fresh pedagogy was very successful at keeping the students engaged in a typical lesson. The students were absorbed throughout the lesson, with a constant display of enthusiasm towards the new system. Meanwhile, the teacher found it easier to control her class and, with the help of the real-time progress-monitoring system, had more control on the performance of each student.

 

The team commented, “This competition helps us University students to become more concerned about real-life global problems and come up with effective solutions which address them. Apart from the prospect of getting the chance to compete in the finals (and enjoy a free dinner with the very charming Maltese panel), we are also motivated by the goal of the competition, that of improving education in the world. We find this experience to be very fulfilling, giving us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to immerse ourselves in a competition of such a global scale, meeting several individuals from the academia and the industry. Seeing the project being deployed in its intended scenario was also very rewarding in that it served to consolidate our confidence in the applicability of the system.”

 

The team is grateful towards the various individuals and entities that offered their invaluable support throughout the entire project, including their academic supervisor Dr. John Abela, Ms. Maria Elizabeth Schembri from the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology (MIIIT), and the Maltese judges.

 

It is aspired that the system would help to make education affordable for developing countries, as well as shift the learning approach from teacher-centric to one promoting competition and collaboration, which is especially relevant in today’s industrial world where teamwork is a skill of ever-increasing importance. Following the team’s success in the national and regional contests, the next step is to promote the project and demonstrate its true potential during the worldwide finals in South Korea in hope of getting the idea across to the world.