Collaboration
The creation of this site has been primarily due to the work and collaboration between the team members and the coaches. Both Shakeeb and Ajay, who were classmates at the time, became interested in entering the Thinkquest contest in the spring of 2004 after recognizing the opportunity to use individual talents to create a wonderful and educational site.
Ajay initially developed the idea of focusing the site on string theory after watching the NOVA documentary on Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe and exploring the topic a bit more through books and the Internet. Although Ajay believed that the topic might be too esoteric, both Shakeeb and Ajay agreed that the topic was novel and worth presenting to an audience.
During the first month of work, Ajay and Shakeeb looked for teammates that could potentially create interactive programs and multimedia. Because Ajay had learnt about the subject extensively and Shakeeb was talented in web site design, a third person with programming talent would complete the team. After about one month of persistent searching through numerous graphic design boards, the team found Wieland, who was a student in Germany. He joined the project because he was also very interested in string theory and had amazing skills in multimedia creation.
During the next two months, each individual worked on parts of the site that were associated with his talents. Ajay wrote the majority of the content, Wieland critiqued Ajay’s content and created images and other media that would be pertinent to the content, and Shakeeb created and designed the website. In order to communicate effectively without constantly sending e-mails back and forth, Shakeeb used his knowledge and experience with web design to construct a forum that allowed each team member to post their progress, ideas, and constructive criticism.
Throughout the process, Shakeeb and Ajay also discussed the project through Instant Messaging. Each of these instant message discussions, which took place close to every day for two months, seemed to last at least thirty minutes because they were extremely passionate about creating the most complete, attractive, and user-friendly site. The team constantly pondered about what we would like to view as visitor to the site. In addition to posting on the forum and Instant Messaging between Shakeeb and Ajay, the entire team also held periodic chats, which were difficult to coordinate due to the six-hour disparity between the time zones. These important, hour-long chats were held about twice a week during the month leading up to the deadline.
Although each individual certainly worked on the aspect of the site that related to his specific skills and talents, the constant communication between everyone allowed for the site to become one complete and comprehensive entity. The team members often offered comments on each other’s work and motivated each other because the team wanted to ensure that the site would be completed by the deadline. The team was also responsive to the constructive criticism and opinions of our coaches, Mr. Harrison and Mrs. Camper, as well as other people who were exposed to the site prior to completion.
The team is very glad to have completed this project together by communicating and using our own specific expertise to create this site, despite the use of the Internet as the sole means of communication, the differences in time zones, and a myriad of other problems attempted to impede our progress.
Team Members
Ajay
Contribution: organizing team, writing majority of the content, conducting interviews, compiling glossary, resources, and links.One day this year, I was just scanning over the programs on television and noticed the NOVA series running on PBS. After watching the program for just a couple of minutes, I became fascinated with Brian Greene’s description of this world of strings and the search for the ultimate theoretical description of the universe. Having been interested in science and the individuals behind the development of the great scientific ideas, I immediately realized that the three-hour documentary was both captivating and promising. Could this generation be responsible for creating the Theory of Everything? I have also been interested in the Thinkquest program since about seventh grade. After realizing that I (along with the future potential teammates) could create a comprehensive site on an interesting subject, I began to organize a team. Soon, the process of creating this site began.
I am truly an academic, who loves participating in numerous academic competitions. I have participated in academic competitions, Science Bowl, Fed Challenge, and WorldQuest. I have also tried to take advantage of the opportunities presented in school by enrolling in the IB program and taking AP exams. I also try to serve community as the president of Youth Leaders in Action, which is a service-based organization that participates in many activities, such as an educational annual lock-in that is held for at-risk youth. I hope to have an exciting senior year and attend college in the fall of next year.
Shakeeb
Contribution: searching for partners, organizing team forums and chats, designing and coding website layout, all technical aspects of the websiteOne day in computer science, Ajay mentioned the ThinkQuest competition and told me what a great opportunity it was. After informing me about the project and that he was looking for partners for this endeavor, I quickly joined in. I was appointed the job of managing all technical aspects of the website including designing, creating, and troubleshooting the website. Although I was not very much familiar with the string theory, I have always had an interest in the latest scientific and technological developments. I understood that this would be the best opportunity to utilize the full extent of my talent and that it will help boost my career future.
I am a person who likes to think ahead and learn about the real world. What ever I can do to become sucessful in the future, I will certainly try to do it. I am an experienced web designer and I have designed websites for various clients. I have also had the pleasure of winning the first prize in web design in the Great Computer Challenge 2004.
I look forward to my last year in high school and then to college by fall of next year.
Wieland
Contribution: Creating images and animations, critiquing content, translating site into GermanOne day, as I was searching the Internet for information on a creating a three-dimensional effect, I happened to come across a well-known forum on the subject. As I glanced through the forum’s content, I discovered the section on group work. Because I am always interested in new and challenging opportunities, I was eager to read about the possible group projects presented. There, I found an article that said that a team was looking for a 2/3D modeler. Due to my experience with 3D modeling and website creation of web pages with my friends and individually, I thought that it would be great to assist others in their endeavors. Why shouldn’t I use my talents to help others? Moreover, the topic of the site was “string theory,” a subject that I found to be completely amazing after reading a book on the topic (hyperspace and string theory) only a few weeks prior to reading the post. Not only did the requirements of this team member fit my talents (the production of animations and pictures), but also I loved the theme of the site, as well. This would be a perfect chance to enhance my knowledge, my English, and my skills. Ten minutes after reading the article, I replied to the post, and I became a member of this team the next day.
I'm somebody who loves all that has to do with mathematics and physics, which will be hopefully the field I will be studying in college next year. I participate in academic competitions and read about fields of physics and math that are not taught in school. Also, I am interested in almost everything (from web design and digital arts to music theory and Greek and European history).
Coaches
Coach: Mr. John Harrison
Contribution: constructive criticism, team organizationMr. Harrison truly made this site possible through his constant outpouring of effort throughout the long and often arduous process. The team first approached Mr. Harrison prior to the summer vacations, and he said that he would be glad to support the team. Mr. Harrison has taken care of the majority of the paperwork and administrative priorities. Additionally, he has provided us with valuable criticism and insight from his personal experience with computers, science, and the field of technology. We hope that any success that the team achieves in the future will serve as a form of appreciation and gratitude for his enthusiasm and commitment to students and their dreams.
Assistant Coach: Mrs. Beth Camper
Contribution: general criticism, proofreading contentAlthough Mrs. Camper became involved at a rather late stage in the process of creating of the site, she was nonetheless an invaluable asset to the team. Through her background and experience as an English teacher, Mrs. Camper was able to offer suggestions about writing style and grammar. Also, Mrs. Camper was supportive of our purpose and offered any assistance that she could. Mrs. Camper’s critical, yet constructive comments from a viewer’s perspective facilitated the creation of a site that would appeal to the general public, who typically would not have been exposed to string theory and this particular field of physics. The team also hopes that any success that the team achieves in the future will serve as a form of appreciation for her kindness and commitment to her students, their strengths, and their dreams.
Contact Information
You may contact our team coach, Mr. John Harrison at his email:
