FOR the first time the school Talent Search, which last year attracted nearly 40 000 entries, will be available online. Schools are invited to enter and participation is free.
The Talent Search, to the disappointment of many, does not involve song and dance. It is an aptitude test to indicate computational proficiency. When the annual test was introduced in 2003 the intention was to indicate an aptitude for IT. There were 11 000 entries that year. From the word go, schools used the results to advise pupils to take the subjects IT or CAT at school. Many schools also started using the Talent Search results to advise pupils to take (or avoid) mathematics and science.
The ‘traditional’ pen-and-paper Talent Search will remain available as most schools do not have the connectivity required for an online test. Peter Waker, the manager of the South African Computer Olympiad explained: “An online test allows for so many more possibilities than a pen-and-paper test. Drag-and-drop, cut-and-paste etc. are just not practical on paper, but easy online.”
The pen-and-paper test is set by local education experts, using local and international sources, but the online test is set entirely by an international panel which includes a number of professors from European universities.
What do South African schools prefer? “About half our schools opt for the traditional pen-and-paper test while the other half will take the test online. Unfortunately not all schools have the infrastructure to test online yet,” Waker added.
Schools are requested to enter by 1 March. More information about the Talent Search, the Applications Olympiad and the Programming Olympiad can be found at www.olympiad.org.za
About Talent Search
ACCORDING TO the Computer Olympiad website at www.olympiad.org.za, the South African Computer Olympiad is one of the oldest in the world. It started in 1984 when a group of teachers approached Old Mutual for sponsorship. It became a project of the Institute of IT Professionals South Africa, funded by Old Mutual for the next 20 years.
For the first two years, participation was less than 100, but when a two-round format was introduced in 1986, participation went over 1 000 immediately. By 1990 the Olympiad had 2 000 participants per year and was the biggest event of its kind in the world. By 2003 participation had grown to more than 3 000, but very few from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.
To cater for a wider audience, a new round, an aptitude test, was introduced and participation again increased; to more than 11 000 in 2003, 13 000 in 2004 and 15 000 in 2005.
Concerned that many pupils waited to Grade 11 or 12 before taking part in the Computer Olympiad, when it would be too late to make the right subject choices, recognition for lower grades was introduced in 2006. This round is now known as the Talent Search and still attracts large numbers of participants.
To cater for the increasing number of learners who take Computer Application Technology or Computer Literacy at schools, an additional competition was introduced in 2010. This is known as the Computer Applications Olympiad to distinguish this olympiad from the Computer Programming Olympiad.
Currently the South African Computer Olympiad is still one of the biggest events of its kind in the world. It is the only programming competition and the only application competition for school-age pupils offered nationally.
