iDidaContest

What if all you had to do was make an amazing video with your students and you could win a trip to Hawaii?

Well in the year 2000 that’s exactly what happened! Alaska Society for Technology in Education (ASTE) board members, Robin Johnson and Mark Stanley, wanted to showcase the creative students across the state of Alaska, and thus created the iDidaMovie Contest. During the ASTE Conference awards night, winners were drawn from a hat and a lucky group won a trip to Hawaii!

Due to technology limitations the movies needed to be submitted (mailed in On CDs!) several months before the ASTE Conference so each entry could be copied and sent to judges across the state. Many of the winners were chosen by board members moments before they were announced at the evening event.

As technology improved, a website to house media was created so students could upload their videos. Judges were able to review directly through the website. This advancement led to the addition of the iDidaPhoto contest, then the iDidaPodcast for audio tracks. And with that, “iDidaMovie Contest” no longer fit the bill, and was aptly renamed to the all-encompassing iDidaContest.

Over its 21 years the contest has evolved to include digital submissions in movies (Make Us Laugh, Tell Us a Story, Teach Us Something), photos (Alaska Life, Tells a Story, or Digitally Enhanced), podcasts (PSA and Teach Us Something), Alaska themed documentaries, tunes (Entertain Us), books (Amaze Us), apps (Amaze Us), and things (Digital Paintings and Amaze Us).

What is a “thing?” Think STEM education, where students create some ”thing.” This contest has seen everything, from fairy houses to testing the efficiency for long range UAVs.

Students and ASTE Members from across Alaska can enter the contest at aste.submittable.com. Students can enter for free if they have an ASTE Member sponsor them. Anyone can be an ASTE Member, they just need to register at aste.org.

Over the years, ASTE learned that, while a trip to Hawaii was a great prize, it was not wholly realistic. The prizes have changed to include digital cameras, usb microphones, iPod shuffles, and finally: cold hard cash. A first-place award will earn a student or ASTE member $100; People’s Choice, voted on by the ASTE Members attending the awards night, wins $250.

Need more information? Check out iDidaContest.org for categories, rules, deadlines, and past winners, or email sam.mcphetres@aste.org.

So, what will you enter?