Overview of the Challenge and Participation Requirements

Q: What is the On This Day Challenge?

A: The On This Day Challenge helps students learn how to perform online research and write articles about significant historical events.  Students are invited to select an event of interest, with their teacher’s approval.  With our guidance or through classroom lessons on Web research, students will learn how to find and evaluate credible Web sources. They will then write an article about the event and include links to the sources of their research. Teachers can then submit the articles to the Challenge simply by publishing them to their findingEducation account’s On This Day classroom page.

Alternatively, the educator may post the article to any other Web site or blog that is publicly available on the Internet, with a note that the article is an entry in findingEducation’s On This Day Challenge, and a hyperlink to the Challenge Home page, here: http://findingeducation.com/on-this-day-challenge/ as well as to findingDulcinea’s On This Day feature.

Q: Who can participate?

A: Any student may participate with support from a teacher, librarian, homeschooling parent or other educator. The Challenge may generally be most suitable for grades 5 through 10, but we welcome participation from any grade level.  We encourage teachers to tailor our guidelines to their students’ ability levels.

Q: Can teachers outside the U.S. participate?

A:  Any teacher anywhere in the world is welcome to create a findingEducation account, and to ask students to create articles for this project.

Q:  Can a parent create a findingEducation account in order to meet the teacher requirement?

A:  No, unless that parent is a homeschool instructor.

Q: What will students learn from participating in the On This Day Challenge?

A: Students will learn how to search for and evaluate Web resources for credibility and content.  They will learn how to summarize this information and write a research article attributing sources. Students will also gain a thorough understanding of a historical event and its significance.

Q: Are there prizes?

A: Classes that have submitted at least five On This Day articles by the end of the calendar month will be eligible for a drawing that will give away a $50 gift card. At the end of the school year, classes that have submitted a total of at least 25 articles will be eligible for a grand prize drawing for $500, given to the school.

On This Day Challenge Entry

Q: How can I get my classroom involved in the On This Day Challenge?

A: By signing up for a findingEducation account and checking the box that says “I would like to join the On This Day Challenge.”  If you are already signed up for a findingEducation account, go to your “myProfile” page, scroll to the bottom where  you manage your newsletter subscriptions, and select “I would like to participate in the On This Day Challenge.” Alternatively, the educator may post the article to any other Web site or blog that is publicly available on the Internet, with a note that the article is an entry in findingEducation’s On This Day Challenge, and a hyperlink to the Challenge Home page, here: http://findingeducation.com/on-this-day-challenge/ as well as to findingDulcinea’s On This Day feature. If the alternative entry method is chosen, the educator must email to info@DulcineaMedia.com a link to the page where the article is posted.

Submission Guidelines

Q: What are the guidelines for student On This Day articles?

A: Guidance for students writing articles can be found on the How to Write an On This Day Article page. Teachers are welcome to tailor these guidelines to their students needs and abilities, and to visit the Challenge Teaching Aids page for more tips, tools, and lesson plans to help you guide your students through the Challenge.

Q: How do I submit entries to the On This Day Challenge?

A: A teacher (or librarian or other educator) creates an account on findingEducation.  Students then research and write articles with teacher guidance. Once an article is prepared and approved by the teacher, a teacher or student can type the entry into the On This Day submission area of a findingEducation student account (or cut and paste it or import it from an existing word processing document).  When a student enters and submits an On This Day article using the student account, the teacher is notified of the submission. Only the teacher can actually approve the article for publication on his or her findingEducation On This Day Challenge page.  Educators should comply with any school or district policy about posting student work on the Internet; such policies typically mandate that the student’s full name not be used.

Alternatively, the educator may post the article to any other Web site or blog that is publicly available on the Internet, with a note that the article is an entry in findingEducation’s On This Day Challenge, and a hyperlink to the Challenge Home page, here: http://findingeducation.com/on-this-day-challenge/ and to as well as to findingDulcinea’s On This Day feature. If the alternative entry method is chosen, the educator must email to info@DulcineaMedia.com a link to the page where the article is posted.

Selecting Historical Events

Q: How will students choose an event or day in history to write about?

A:  Students may choose any event approved by their teachers.  We expect that many students will choose events from topics they are currently studying in class.

Q: Can a student choose an event that findingDulcinea has already written about?

A:  Yes.  Students may submit any article that is approved by their teachers. Only original work will be accepted, however. If findingDulcinea (or any other Web site) is used as a source, it must be cited.

Internet Research

Q.  How will students learn how to find Web resources ?

In addition to getting guidance from teachers and school librarians, findingEducation will provide supplemental material for students on the How to Research an On This Day Article page and for educators on the findingEducation Digital Teacher’s Lounge. Material will include suggested in-class lessons to coincide with the project, and credible Web sites for students to use during research. Many of these tips will also be included in our e-mail newsletter; sign up for the newsletter at the lower left of your myProfile page.

Q. How will students learn to evaluate credible Web resources?

Educators will receive lesson plan ideas and supplemental materials about teaching students how to determine if a Web resources is credible and trustworthy.  Students may find it helpful to view the How to Evaluate Web Sites for an On This Day Article page to learn how to evaluate whether a site will be a good source for research.

Q. Can students use sources other than those found on the Internet?

Yes, students are welcome to use offline as well as online sources for their articles, so long as all sources are cited.

Q. How will students cite sources in their On This Day article?

All sources used in the Challenge must be cited. Citation guidance for students is available in the How to Cite a Source for an On This Day Article page. The citation and attribution guidelines presented on that page represent minimal guidelines for citation. Educators are welcome to require students to adhere to more strict attribution and citation such as a formal bibliography, footnotes or hyperlinked text.

Timeline

Q: When does the On This Day Challenge start and end?

The Challenge launches on Sept. 1, 2010, and will end May 15, 2011. We expect to renew the Challenge in subsequent school years.

Q: When are entries due?

In order to be eligible for monthly prizes, entries are due at the end of each calendar month during the school year (September-April). To be eligible for the grand prize, entries must be submitted by May 15, 2011.

About Us

Q: Who is behind the On This Day Challenge?

A:  Dulcinea Media, the parent of findingEducation, findingDulcinea, and SweetSearch, is a group of Web-savvy researchers and writers who teach Internet users how to find credible and comprehensive information on the Internet.

Q:  What is findingDulcinea ?

A:  FindingDulcinea’s 700+ Web Guides, many of which were written by active teachers and librarians, point users to the best online information on a specific subject, and add context, insight and research tips for each topic.