MICROSOFT USES TEACHERS TO TARGET EDUCATION MARKET
By Adnews Staff
U.S.-based Microsoft Corp. introduced a contest last month offering teachers the chance to win a Compaq Presario ES PC, technology grants and Microsoft software for their students. The contest is for elementary and secondary school teachers. Participants must create original lesson plans, projects or programs that use Microsoft 97, Microsoft FrontPage Web site creation and management tool, Microsoft Internet Explorer software, Publisher 97, Internet Information Server and the Windows 95 and Windows NT Server operating systems. Judging criteria includes the role of the teacher, clarity, content and organization of the plan, level of student responsibility, application of the plan to real-world problems, appropriateness of technology and differentiation of instruction. Grand prize winners in each of the four categories will receive an enrollment in an online course, and a Compaq Presario ES PC. First prize winners will receive a $500(CDN) technology grant. Second prize is a $250 technology grant and third prize is a $100 grant. Honorable mention winners will receive a choice of either Microsoft's Encarta 98 Reference suite or Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Library. In the U.S., Microsoft is promoting the contest using magazine ads. In Canada, the software company is relying on spillover advertising from the U.S. It hasn't decided yet whether to run Canadian-specific ads for the contest in Canada. The Communiqué Group handles Canadian advertising for Microsoft, while Hill & Knowlton does PR. Both agencies are based in Toronto.