CK-12′s ‘Get-Real’ competition aims to test students use of tech and K-12 concepts in the real world

Education technology company CK-12 has launched a student competition, called “Get-Real“, to see who can come up with the best real-world application of a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concept they’ve learned. The incentive to participate is high as the winning submission will receive not only a prize for themselves, but also for their classrooms as well.

Started by Neeru Khosla and Murugan Pal, CK-12 aims to provide students and teachers with open-source content and technology tools in order to help increase learning opportunities globally. Through free access to high-quality and customizable educational content through various modalities, students can learn as they see fit and that matches their style.

The organization says that “Get-Real” is designed to “stimulate creativity and critical thinking.” It’s centered around having students create real-world applications that can help foster learning and understanding of the world in which we live. Through this competition, students are instructed to create practical examples using STEM K-12 concepts. The goal is to demonstrate how those chosen concepts apply in today’s society.

Essentially, it’s a way to encourage students to use technology and education to help them figure out the world. An example is understanding how the Egyptians built the pyramids made up of perfect congruent triangles or this one about the Pacific Garbage Patch:

The competition spans six weeks and each submission is said to be judged based on several criteria, including its applicability to the real-world, its impact, creativity, and clarity. Students must choose a subject that is academic and educational in content and follow one of CK-12’s concepts. Projects should be submitted in one of many formats, including Prezi, PowerPoint, PDF, MPEG, Keynote, YouTube, or Vimeo.

Of course there’s always the prize that encourages people to participate. With the grand prize, the winning submission will get a device (iPad, Kindle, Nook, or Chromebook). In addition, up to 25 devices will be given to the classroom and belong to the school.

CK-12 says that it is accepting submissions now and the competition ends on March 30.

Photo credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images