Applications for the 2013 Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Program competition will be available online at ExploraVision.org starting September 1st. The deadline for all projects is January 31, 2013.
ExploraVision challenges students to work in a team of two to four to research scientific principles and current technologies as the basis for designing innovative technologies that could exist in 20 years. This year, ExploraVision is unveiling several key changes that align the program more closely with the National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science Education.
Among the changes to this year’s program is a requirement that as students provide an overview of their project idea for a new technology, they must also define a key challenge or limitation of the present technology upon which their idea is based. Additionally, students must describe a research project that would have to be planned and carried out in order to test their ExploraVision project. For the first time, team members must also create a Web page devoted to a depiction of a model or visual representation of the technology that could be used to create a prototype for display.
Prizes include $10,000 and $5,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bonds, or the equivalent Canadian bonds. The eight teams will also receive an expenses-paid trip with their families, mentor and coach to Washington, D.C. for a gala awards weekend in June 2013.
This year, the teacher who submits the most eligible team projects in each grade category will receive a Toshiba tablet, and the school that submits the most eligible projects will receive $1,000 worth of Toshiba technology. Teachers can learn more about ExploraVision and how to use it as a tool in the classroom through a series of Web seminars at The NSTA Learning Center. Join the first Web seminar, “What is ExploraVision and How Can I Use It In My Classroom?” on Wednesday, September 12, 2012.
