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Oracle Thailand, in cooperation with the Bureau of Information and Communications Technology and the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ministry of Education, has launched Think Camp. Think Camp is designed to grow the Oracle Education Foundation’s Think.com online learning community in Thailand and to help students across the country develop 21st century skills.
“Think.com offers students the opportunity to use technology to collaborate, share knowledge, and work on learning projects together,” said Dr. Rangsun Wiboonuppatum, Head of e-Learning Section, Bureau of Information and Communication Technology, Ministry of Education. “The Think Camp initiative engages students and teachers together to discuss the best way to integrate Think.com into the classroom. The project-learning experiences that Think.com provides will help our youth develop the skills they’ll need to eventually become effective, interdependent citizens.”
Think Camp consists of a series of workshops designed for students and teachers. The initiative kicked off at Chiang Mai Technical College and Patai Udom Suksa School in Bangkok and includes more than 120 students and 20 teachers from across the country.
While attending the camp, the students and teachers take part in activities that promote a deeper understanding of Think.com’s benefits -- including ways to successfully integrate the online projects and the Think community into the classroom environment. Camp attendees also gain hands-on experience in hosting discussion forums, reviewing case studies, and sharing best practices all within Think.com.
In addition, Think Camp showcases entries by Thai students participating in ThinkQuest 2007, an international project-learning competition sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation, and demonstrates how Think.com facilitates collaboration with teammates from around the world.
Natasak Rodjanapiches, Regional Managing Director, Oracle ASEAN, and Managing Director, Oracle Thailand, said the Thai education environment fits well with Think.com as the government has pledged to promote IT in the classroom and support the necessary infrastructure.
“We greatly appreciate the Ministry of Education -- particularly the Bureau of Information and Communications Technology and the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Education -- who has dedicated time and effort to promote Think.com and Think Camp as a way to improve ICT knowledge and 21st century skills for Thai children,” said Natasak.
Thailand was the first country in Southeast Asia to use Think.com. Think.com Thailand now serves nearly 17,000 active students and teachers who are able to build knowledge, collaborate on projects, and share educational content with the 300,000 students and teachers from 50 countries who are already members of the protected online learning community.
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