Introduction

E-learning tools are software applications that provide learning opportunities or facilitate teaching and learning. They can be stand-alone programs running on a personal computer, online services or web-based applications hosted on a server computer, or any combination of the above.

Thanks to the abundant availability of software development tools and e-learning authoring tools, nowadays, many people are able to design and create their own e-learning tools for specific teaching and learning needs.

Theme

The theme of this year’s competition is: Independent Learning.

Aims

The aims of the competition are to:

promote the innovative use of learning technologies in secondary schools;
help students develop their sense of independent learning;
offer students the experiences needed to become self-motivated and life-long learners; and
arouse the interest of local schools in computing and Internet technologies.

The competition

The competition is open to students and teachers of Hong Kong secondary schools, and challenges entrants to design and submit original e-learning tools.

Teachers and students may enter into the competition if they have the following:

an innovative idea to enhance teaching and learning in your school based on e-learning;
a design to turn the idea into an e-learning tool;
a presentation to showcase the design and the idea (the presentation may be in the form of a multimedia show, slides or other media).

The competition focuses on the educational value of the e-learning tool, its innovativeness and its effective use of technology. An e-learning tool can be anything from standalone software, an online service or a web-based application, to a tool as simple as an Excel table or PowerPoint presentation that facilitates teaching and learning. They may be in any form or shape. An e-learning tool that is innovative, user-friendly and which enhances teaching and learning would be considered successful. For example, an unusual way of using an existing software tool is also acceptable.