Get Started

Basic Navigation

The tabs along the top of each page are the primary way to navigate within ThinkQuest, once logged in:
  • Messages (ThinkQuest Projects): Click this tab, which is marked with a megaphone icon, to view messages from other members.
  • My Home (ThinkQuest Projects): This tab houses your personal website within ThinkQuest Projects. Go here to create personal web pages (learn more) and to view lists of your projects and messages.
  • My School (ThinkQuest Projects): View people and projects in your school (learn more). Schools Administrators and teachers can also create accounts, access school settings, create student lists, and review student content.
  • World (ThinkQuest Projects): View people and projects outside your school, and discover opportunities for global collaboration (learn more).
  • Competition: Access the ThinkQuest Competition space.
  • Library: Visit the ThinkQuest Library, the world's largest online repository of student-developed learning projects (learn more).
  • Help: Access support information and the Support Forums (learn more).

Located above the tabs, the My Account link allows you to manage your account information and change your password (learn more).

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First Steps

There are many ways to use ThinkQuest as a learning tool in your school. Here are some steps to get you started:

Step 1: Enroll your School

A school employee should enroll the school (students and parents are not permitted to apply).

Step 2: Explore the School Settings

Once you have enrolled and set up your school, spend some time exploring the school settings:
  • Ensure that your school information is accurate and up-to-date (learn more).
  • Set school vacation dates so that students don't have access when school is not in session (learn more).

Note that teachers and students can see the school settings, but only the School Administrator (staff member who originally enrolled and set up the school) can edit them.

Step 3: Create Accounts

Once you are satisfied with your school settings, create accounts for your school:
  • The School Administrator can create teacher accounts (learn more). The School Administrator can also upgrade teacher accounts to create additional School Administrators.
  • Teachers can then create student accounts (learn more).

It may be easier to manage the introduction of ThinkQuest into your school if you start by creating accounts for just one grade level or class, and then add levels or classes as teachers become more experienced.

Step 4: Create a Student List

Once student accounts have been created, create a Student List to represent each group of students that you manage (learn more). For example, you could create a separate Student List for "1st Period Math," "2nd Period Math," "Science Club," and so on.

Creating Student Lists allows you to easily navigate to and review content created by your students. In addition, you can send a message to an entire Student List.

Step 5: Students' First Personal Page

Introduce ThinkQuest Projects to students by leading them through the process of creating their first personal page (learn more). If your students are new to the internet, you may also wish to use the Safety Tips and Safety Lesson to prepare them for positive and safe online interactions.

Don't be overly ambitious on this first foray; have students spend just a short amount of time creating and adding simple content to a page, and then give them time to explore their classmates' pages.

Here are some ideas for a simple first page:
  • About Me: Have students use the Text tool to write a short autobiography, the List tool to create a list of favorite things, and the Ask Me tool to invite visitors to ask questions. (learn more)
  • Holiday Report: Have students use the Text tool to write a short summary of what they did over a holiday, the Pictures tool to add photos from the holiday, and the Message Board tool to invite visitors to share their comments. (learn more)
  • Book Report: Have students use the Text tool to write a short review of a book, the List tool to add a list of related websites, and the Message Board or Debate tool to invite visitors to share their opinion of the book. (learn more)

As students become more experienced with these tools, allow them to become more self-directed in their use of ThinkQuest and engage them in more complex activities (see the Classroom Units for some ideas).

Step 6: Simple Project

Once students have experience with creating pages and content, engage them in collaborating on a simple learning project (learn more).

For a first project, it's best to start with a project that is narrow in scope, aims to achieve just one or two learning goals, and involves only the students in your local classroom. An example of a good first project would be a school newspaper, in which different students create web pages containing articles and photographs about interesting people and events in the school. View the Best Practices & Examples section for additional tips and ideas.

As experience grows, embark on projects that are broader in scope, have more learning goals, and involve members from other classrooms or countries.

Step 7: Monitor Student Content

Use the Review Content tools to regularly monitor content created by your students (learn more). Also, be sure to review your school's Bad Language list to ensure that you have blocked all the terms that you don't want students to use (learn more). This is an important part of maintaining ThinkQuest as a safe and appropriate community for all students.

Step 8: ThinkQuest Competition

Once your students are comfortable with collaborating in ThinkQuest Projects, take their learning to the next level by participating in the ThinkQuest International Competition (learn more).