The site, All about AIDS, is a collaboration between six students from two schools located in two states. Five members of the team, William, Shaunak, Arturo, and Michael are in 8th grade and one member, Joey, is in 7th grade. They all attend the same school. The sixth member, Peter, also an 8th grader, goes to a school in Princeton New Jersey where he moved in the summer of 2003.
In early November of 2003, Mrs. Schuster, the coach of the team, informer the participants that they had been entered into the Think Quest website design competition, and Peter would be working with them. The team started in late December. As the weeks flew by, member of the team worked feverishly to complete their website entry for submission.
Planning
The planning phase went by quickly. We used Microsoft's Organization Chart to create a map of the site. As our research progressed, we made many changes to the map. It was very useful throughout the construction phase. Click here to see the site map.
We also had difficulty decided which technologies to use. Since server-side technologies were off-limits, we eventually decided to enrich our site through Macromedia Flash, Cascading StyleSheets, and Javascript.
Research
As soon as the plan was complete, we divided the research among the team members. Each person would have their own section to become an expert on. We used all kinds of resources from books and the internet to notes from many personal interviews.
Construction
Peter, the Lead Project Manager, constructed a basic template. Team members made suggestions and alterations to the layout. Team members were also responsible for designing their own section of the website.
The following is the list of the contributors.
Lead Project Manager
Peter, the leader of the team, knows the site very well. His knowledge and his computer expertise made "All About AIDS" possible. He also visited Bristol-Myers Squibb Virology and interviewed HIV/AIDS experts. The Medicine category was his excellent work.
Flash Developer
Shaunak, the Flash-Master, constructed the Physiology web pages. Furthermore, the creative Flash introductory movie was only one example of his amazing technological skills.
Multimedia Manager and Bus Driver
Michael researched, authored, and uploaded the Immune System web page. He also was one of the two Macromedia Flash literate team members. He designed the animations, the tour bus, and part of the Flash intro movie.
Educational Content and Learning Specialist
William researched all of the HIV epidemics occurring around the world. He produced informative and insightful content for the Epidemiological Profiles. In addition, all of the Quizzes, in English and Spanish were his handiwork.
Historical Analyst
Joey authored and researched the AIDS history, evolution and discovery. In addition, Joey aided Shaunak in making the Flash movie by writing the script that it followed, and writing the background music.
Chief Translator
Arturo is the translator. Thanks to his bilingual skills, his diligent work, Arturo translated the entire website into Spanish. The end result is stunning.
Lastly, the team's coach.
Mrs. Schuster was wonderful. She aided her team in many ways, including proofreading the material, acting as our advocate, and our guide. When problems arose, she was always there to reassure and get the team back on track as well as relieve the tension among the participants. Nothing was too much for her. She gave up her free-periods, her time after school, and even her weekends to help her ThinkQuest participants achieve their goal. For her actions, the All About AIDS website team members are forever grateful. Thank you, Mrs. Schuster.
Also, thanks goes out to all of the parents who assited in this endeavor by proofreading, editing, driving, and feeding the team. The team could never have done this without them.
Thanks for visiting our website!