Posted by Scott Pendergrast on November 01, 1997 at 00:17:00:
Hello all. I wanted to let you know about a project I am working on -- ChessWise University. The main goal of ChessWise
is to bring chess into the schools via the Internet. IM Maurice Ashley is our "Dean of Chess" and GM Michael Rohde is a Professor.
There is both a School Program and a General Public Program. Both groups can earn "Degrees in Chess" or "Team Certificates of
Accomplishments." Students start by taking an Assessment Test, which will then evaluate their skill level and recommend courses
for them to take (this feature may not be ready to January though). Students take courses and then, if they pass an instantly graded, interactive quiz, earn credits
toward their degree (there are 6 levels of degrees, from a ChessWise Pawn to a ChessWise King; as they reach each level a diploma is mailed to them). We have a java-based chessboard tool
that diagrams every move, so students don't have to set up a board next to the computer. Students and/or teams can play Dean Ashley
a game of chess -- each week, they vote on a move and the move with the most votes is made. Then Maurice replies. We think this will be
a great way for a chess teacher in a school to start a chess lesson - to get the whole group excited about playing Maurice. Schools can also challenge other schools in a similar fashion. We're using RealAudio and video
on the site to add some personality to it. In our Q&A section, where members can submit questions to IM Ashley and GM Rohde, they will
reply sometimes in writing and sometimes through video. Each student or School will get their own virtual home room to check their progress. We're looking for corporations to sponsors schools (hopefully multiple schools) and
small businesses or individuals to sponsor local schools (kind of how little league is sponsored by the local pizza parlor!). We launch around December 8th,
but we invite all of you to check out the site now (http://www.chesswise.com). This is really just a shell site (and it will "go down" many
times over the next few weeks as we add more content). Courses start going in early November -- and content is now our biggest challenge. Go to the Tour section to start -- Maurice will give you a description
of the site (you'll need to download RealPlayer -- a free software). Please feel free to comment to me on ANYTHING (from the web design to how to accomplish our goals). One final thing,
we're in negotiations with a nonprofit organization that would allow sponsors to get a tax break. Thank you. Scott
Post a Reply