£10,000 first prize up for grabs in BT competition to find schools' tech factor
BT has launched Tech Factor 2017, a competition inviting schools to show how they would use technology to help pupils prepare for the challenges of the evolving jobs market.
The competition is open to schools across the UK and is part of BT’s wider Tech Literacy initiative to inspire young people across Wales and the UK to embrace the role technology plays in their lives.
The idea that most impresses the judges will win £10,000 to spend with BT on the very latest technology for their school or college. There are also two runner-up prizes of £5,000 up for grabs, one for five to 10-year-olds (Key Stage 1 to 2) and the other for 11 to 16-year-olds (Key Stage 3 to 4). The closing date is 26 May 2017 and the money will be available to spend in the BT Business Direct Shop.
Helen Slinger, CEO of BT Business Direct, said: “The Tech Factor team want to get to the heart of how schools would use this prize money for technology to really enhance learning and prepare students for the future. Last year, we had so many great entrants that we found it really difficult to pick the winners.
“This year, we want schools to think about the technology they want but currently can’t afford. We’re taking this approach because we recognise budgets are tightening all the time and schools can’t always make the technological advancements they’d like. We hope the prospect of having £10,000 to spend will make teachers and pupils get their thinking caps on, and come up with some really creative technological ideas.”
This year there’ll be more chances to win with a series of partner-sponsored prizes too. Some of the world-renowned brands that we work with heard about Tech Factor and wanted to show their support as well. So Microsoft, HP, Kyocera, Epson, Fujitsu, Kensington and Brother are all supporting us by donating prizes, giving more schools the chance to win tech. For more details and to enter the competition, schools should visit: http://www.bt.com/PR/Tech-Factor-2017. The closing date is 26 May 2017.
The winner of Tech Factor 2016, Little Heath School in Essex, demonstrated how much they love technology and some of the ways in which they have been using it to enhance their students’ learning. The school plans to spend their prize money on virtual reality (VR) equipment, like the Google Cardboard headset, to enable student to see what the world of work is like and build their careers experience within the school environment.
Find out why the judges thought Little Heath had the ‘tech factor’ by visiting: https://youtu.be/E91Ujb6suNk
BT is also currently delivering the Barefoot Computing Programme with the British Computing Society, offering free teaching-resources and volunteer-led training workshops, designed to help primary school teachers become more confident when teaching computer science and computing skills.
