Winner of Innovative Teachers & Students competition honoured

The award ceremony for the winners of the Innovative Teachers & Students Competition was held on 15 February at the Galadari Hotel Main Ballroom and was graced by Minister of Education Bandula Gunawardena.
The competition was a joint initiative between the Ministry of Education, the Education for Knowledge Society Project and Microsoft.
The winners of this year’s competition will participate in the Regional Innovative Teachers & Students Competition to be held in New Zealand later this year.  

The Innovative Teachers and Students National Competition has traditionally focused on the usage of basic programmes such as MS Office in the solving of everyday problems. The competition in 2011 encouraged 88,000 entrants to look for solutions outside of the classroom in order to teach and learn more effectively.
This year the competition went a step further, requiring participants to use MS applications such as Visual Basic, Visual Studio, Moviemaker and Songsmith in addition to the usual MS Office applications, testing their IT competence as well as their creativity in the process.
After seven years of successfully carrying out the Innovative Teachers National Competition as part of its Global Partners in Learning initiative, this year’s competition formula has prepared the Sri Lankan entrants to be judged on par with their international compatriots.
The competition is twofold, with winners being judged separately in the Teachers and Students category. The projects were judged by a panel of ICT experts and academics provincially, according to a set of predefined measurement criteria.
The winners of the Student Competition for Grades 1-8 were the team from Sir John Kothelawala Maha Vidyalaya, Kurungegala – M.A. Manodya Prabath Jayarathn, P.V. Akila Mahen Pahalagama, and S.P. Virasha Sandakelum Gunasekera.
Winners of the Grade 9-11 category were the team from Ullinduwa Vidyalaya, Ullinduwa, Kolonna – S. Dhanesh Madushanka Sampath, S.A. Janaka Sarangi and S.A. Piyumi Madhuwanthi.
From the A/L grades, Commerce stream was won by Katukenda Sri Sangabodhi Maha Vidyalaya – J.A.D. Haritha Aseka, W.M. Lahiru Eranga and A.P. Nipuna Chinthanasiri Wijesinghe.  The winning team in the A/L Arts stream came from Medirigiriya National School – A.H.G. Dinesh Sampath Sandaruwan, A.H.G. Pradeep Chandrakumara and M.A. Umayanga Kasun.
The winners from A/L Science stream were K.T. Tharindu Gayan Lakmal Perera, D.L.C. Dayarathna and Sumith Dilan Wijesurendra from Kekirawa Central College, Kekirawa; and the winners of the A/L Maths stream came from Royal Central College, Pollonnaruwa – B.A. Bhagya Chathurangi Swarnasinghe, K.A. Samadara Miuli Sandarekha, W.W. Yashodha Wasukee Gajanayake, E.M. Pamudini Nithasha Ekanayake and P.P.P.A. Udara Dananjaya Rupasinghe.
In the Teachers Competition, the winner for the Grade 1-8 category was D.M.C. Wasantha from Sri Sumangala Central College, Wariyapola; the winner for the grade 9-11 category, K.M.R. Priyakelum from Hingurakaduwa Maha Vidyalaya in Passara and the winner for Grades 12- 13 was B.R. Dhanawathie from Paankaduwa Maha Vidyalaya, Paankaduwa.