Competition Stats

There's just about 60 days left of the competition and I thought that you would like to know what kind of participation we've had with the competition this year.

Currently we have close to 100 teams representing almost 25 countries worldwide. We've been really excited with the momentum that this competition has had this year.

Almost 470,000 points have been generated in this competition so far and they keep coming in. Keep up the hard work!

PATHWAYS: The Day After

Yes, it's over ... and we're feeling just a little drained. It should be illegal to use your brain on Sundays, anyway; so it's been a struggle to communicate more than ... four words at a ... time.

Sunny, Scott, Amy, Anita, and I boarded the Disney Magical Express en route to the Orlando Airport only to hear Disney Muzak like "Whistle While You Work." Let's just say our group was a little grumpy (sleep deprivation does that to you, scientists say). We asked the bus driver to turn the music down.

I guess there are people that suffer worse fates. Take the bus driver, for instance: He stoically announced he had listened to the same Disney soundtrack since February 2005 (some dates are worth remembering ... others are just burned into our psyche). Now that's perseverance.

Hi-ho!

- Doug

The Crescendo

As we have been preparing for Pathways '07, I've noticed that David Saedi has referred to the Gala event as "The Crescendo" so I felt that that would be the most appropriate title of my blog entry today.

My brain is somewhat foggy because I didn't get to bed until after 1 am and for some reason I wasn't able to sleep in. However...

The Gala was fantastic. It was so exciting to see the Microsoft Office student participants on stage and see the suspense as the winners were announced.

We had some great speakers from our own staff, Julia Fallon and President Shirley. I also loved seeing the Champions of Digital Literacy get on stage as they got their awards.

Here are some photos from last night.

Mariylnn King- Johnson (CDL), First Lady Mrs. Shirley and Ernest Franklin Jr (CDL).

Our friends from New Zealand, Graham Duncan and Judy Speight (CDL) with David.

Mohammed "Mo" Bakar (CDL), Rodrigo Castro (CDL), Edgardo Vargas (IC3 World Cup Winner) with David and the Costa Rica crew.

Me with Rodrigo Castro (CDL), Mohammed Bakar (CDL) and Pris Hagebusch (CDL).

All the Champions of Digital Literacy on stage.

Table P6 with Mona Bickham (IEAB), Julia Fallon (IEAB), Edgardo Vargas (IC3 World Cup Winner) and the Vergos' (IC3 World Cup Winner).

I think that we all had a great time. Today I fly back to Utah. I'm looking forward to the dry weather and not wearing high heels anymore.

- Sunny

Lights, Camera ... It's Showtime!

I love mixing common phrases.

The PATHWAYS 2007 event was a smorgasbord of cultural and digital goodness. Here are some of the highlights (in images ... hey, it's late ... brain shutting off):

The student winners of the Worldwide Competition were in a partying mood after the announcement of the World Champions. And party they did.

Marie Taylor was radiant in her evening gown.

Heather Lampo receives her award as a Champion of Digital Literacy from Certiport EVP of the Americas Lee Peters and from Certiport VP of Corporate Development Michelle Scott.

The ever-radiant Ms. Julia Fallon eloquently introduces the Champions of Digital Literacy.

This is a behind-the-scenes shot of one of the support staff working the visual presentation of the gala. After this shot, I think I actually heard him mutter, "I should take a picture of you where you work." Sure. Ever been to American Fork, Utah?

Dashing Drew was dressed in his MC best.

President Joe Shirley, Jr. was the keynote speaker for the Gala event.

Julie Allen looks on in her black evening dress. She actually handed me a Tic-Tac during the night's proceedings. From where, I know not.

The dazzling and exuberant Kiwi Judith Speate makes her way to the stage to accept her award as a Champion of Digital Literacy. I'm also happy to report that no members of the audience (or animals) were harmed during the making of these presentations ... so all in all, we did a pretty bang-up job.

- Doug

Production Time Again

I always forget how massive the preparation for the PATHWAYS Gala event is ... until I'm knee deep in it, that is. This year is no different. We have a team furiously working to make this year's event a spectacular one.

Marie is busy making final edits and additions to her speech tonight.

David is in the midst of practicing his address.

Drew is overseeing the preparations.

And John Pilmer and I are posting the world's flags in the hall. Yes, I always get the glamorous jobs ... the ones that make me stop and think, "Why are there so many countries in the world, anyway?" (You only think about these things when you have to do something like post 128 flags.) I have new rule I think nations should adopt: You can only have a new or different country when a large body of water separates you and another piece of land. Let's pare countries down to something say ... like 10. Is that do-able before next PATHWAYS?

- Doug

Day Two

Day two of Pathways has just ended (at least for me--I think that there are still several Pathwayers that are out and about).

This morning I got to meet most of the Champions of Digital Literacy in person. I was amazed at how quickly this group bonded. Although they were all from different countries and backgrounds within 15 minutes they were all talking and laughing like they were long lost friends.

The IEAB joined several sessions with the rest of the Pathways group as they attended a presentation by Microsoft and Adobe. In the afternoon Frances Bradburn presented on a pilot program that North Carolina is currently running to help encourage schools and teachers to integrate technology in the classroom. The results have been phenomenal and I really believe that they are on to something. They're providing the tools, training and encouraging collaboration and that's making all the difference on how the teachers are using technology to teach math, science, reading, etc. I look forward to the updates that she'll be providing us on her project.

At lunch I had the pleasure of awarding the IC3 World Cup winners their trophies. Our winning regional teams were Costa Rica, Taiwan and Greece. Here's a photo of me with Edgardo Vargas from Costa Rica.

Later that evening the IEAB, IC3 Cup winners and the Champions of Digital Literacy headed out to Pleasure Island for dinner at Portobello Yatch. We had a fantastic time as we all got time to bond and get to know each other. Here are some pictures of the group.

Before we headed back to the hotel we had to make a stop at the Disney store and get some souvenirs for our families. The store was right next to the Lego store. Mohammed Abu Bakar and Amy Hamblin joined me for the shopping spree. Here they are in front of the Lego dragon.

One more day left. I'm looking forward to the Gala event.

-Sunny

p.s. The lady at the front desk finally told me to "have a magical day".

Students Prep and Champion People

The Worldwide Competition is now going full boar. Students---like this one brushing up before hitting the lab---seem to have their game faces on. If I were a betting man, (which I'm not; you have to understand: The most I've ponied up in poker games are M&Ms), it would be all too easy to put my money on Singapore. They've dominated the Competition with some surprising frequency, winning last year and two years before that.

But the word on the street is that there are no clear-cut favorites this year because the test seems to be quite challenging for most of the students.

On another topic: The Champions of Digital Literacy (CDLs) this year are just outstanding people. In the short amount of time I've spent with them already, they have astounded me with their kindness and spirit. One of them, Rodrigo Castro Palma (below, left) from my madre tierra Costa Rica, was also named as the winner of the IC³ Cup. !Eso, Tico!

- Doug