Desire2Learn Kicks Off Edge Challenge

Ontario-based Desire2Learn is inviting students and professional developers to come up with new educational apps through the Edge Challenge 2012 competition.

The winning team will receive $25,000 the opportunity for two team members and a mentor to attend Fusion 2012, Desire2Learn's annual user conference, in San Diego, CA, where they will get to show off their prototype during the course of a one-hour demo and question and answer session.

The theme of the competition is "Create and Collaborate," and the challenge calls for teams of five individuals or fewer to create a working software solution to illustrate an innovative approach to creating or collaborating within an active learning experience.

The contest is open to individuals, teams of individuals, and business entities worldwide.

Submissions, which must be created using a mobile Web platform and entered by April 30, should include the app itself along with a short video that demonstrates the app in use.

Preliminary finalists will be decided by May 12. A panel of eLearning professionals will then select a grand prize winner by June 1, 2012.

The competition is also offering a Learners' Choice Prize that includes airfare and a hotel stay in San Diego for two team members and a mentor to attend the conference, demo, and question and answer period.

"Education is at its best when learners pool their collective talents to reach a common goal," said John Baker, president and CEO of Desire2Learn. "We envision the Desire2Learn Edge Challenge acting as an outlet for developers' unlimited creativity and innovation. It is also an opportunity for educators to gain access to even more transformative tools that will make their jobs easier on a daily basis. This is really about 'building something that matters' to students and instructors."

For more information, or to register for the contest, visit desire2learn.com/edgechallenge. Further information is also available via email at [email protected].

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