Microsoft, a company always interested in young software developers, likes to encourage them to tackle real-world problems. (They have to use Microsoft products to do so, of course.) That’s the goal of its worldwide student competition, the Imagine Cup, and the U.S. winners were announced earlier this month. The top three places went to teams with students from four different colleges and one high school.
The winner was Team MultiPoint Web, three brothers from Oregon who attend Georgia State University, Portland Community College, and Tigard High School. They built a set of free or inexpensive Web-based learning activities that allow multiple students to use one computer at the same time.
The first runner-up was also the first all-women team to reach the finals in the cup’s seven-year history. From DePauw University, Team MangoBunnies developed software that helps HIV and AIDS patients by sending medication schedules and instructions directly to their smartphones or PDA’s. It also retrieves information about user history.
Second runner-up went to a team from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Team Special Child came up with an application that creates a centralized database to stores information about children in need of a permanent home and potential adoptive parents.
The international finals will be held in July in Cairo, Egypt, where winners in nine categories will share $180,000. —Josh Fischman
Developing online and blended learning programs requires research and collaboration. Learn how top technology companies are partnering with campuses across the country to advance online learning as it becomes an increasingly important aspect of higher education.