Regional Qualifiers
An Introduction to Regionals
Held at eight different locations around Kentucky, the STLP Regionals are the first of the Big 3 STLP Events. Students, K-12, present projects to judges (Level 1) with hopes of qualifying for State (Level 2 and – potentially – Level 3).
Candidates interested in serving on one of several Service Teams at State will interview at Regionals.
Project Based Learning At It’s Best
Since the beginning of STLP, the concept of project based learning has been at the core of the program. Showcase Projects offer an opportunity for STLP students to observe a need in their school or community and utilize technology to develop and implement a solution. This journey is based on the vision of the students and, with the guidance of the STLP Coordinator/Teacher, active, authentic, cooperative and inquiry-based learning will occur throughout the process.
Top 14 “Need to Knows” (click + to expand)
Several big updates have been released for STLP Projects and Service Categories
For the 2018-2019 STLP season, the Project Rubric has been replaced with an updated Project Scoring Guide. Likewise, the Project Planner has been renamed the Team Reflection document. The updated Scoring Guides for Project Levels 1, 2, 3 and the updated Team Reflections for Levels 1 and 2 can be found on the Regionals Rubric page here: https://stlp.education.ky.gov/regionals/regionals-rubrics/
Some changes to STLP Service Category Teams have been made as well for the 2018-2019 season. Scratch Ambassadors have been removed from the Regionals interview schedule; although, Scratch Ambassadors may have a new home as part of the DPOJ process. Stay tuned for updates.
Also, the categories of Live Reporter and Production Company have been consolidated into one new, refreshed category: Live Production Team. The Live Production Team will be K-8 only and will engage students who excel behind and/or in front of the camera. The Live Production team will work with our STLP Partners from Kentucky Education Television at the STLP State Championship. Look for an updated rubric for the Live Production Team interviews soon!
Although all STLP events are free, each school is required to provide one person to act as a judge in order to participate in the day of competition.
A lot of effort goes into making Regionals a great experience for everyone — and the judges play a super-important role in make the day a success. Judges comments alone, can help a team better prepare for the next level of competition — or help a team better understand why they don’t qualify for State. Judges will receive on-site training the morning of the event regarding how to score project, what to look for in a good presentation, and how to gauge a team’s preparedness to thoughtfully discuss their project plans and intended impact. Judges are the last to leave because they will be busy recording final scores and comments. If a school does not provide a judge, the entire school is ineligible for advancing to the Semifinals at State Championship.
Regional Qualifier (Level 1) judging is an opportunity for teams to convince judges that their project idea and development plan is strong enough to get invited back to Semifinal (Level 2) judging at the State Championship. Be ready to discuss how your project will grow if judges give you the additional 4 months to work on it before State.
Spend time reviewing and becoming familiar with the Level 1 Project Scoring Guides.
Each level builds up on the STLP/ISTE Technology Standards, but each level judges will be looking for specific items. A score of 85 out of 100 is required for a project to be invited from Regionals to compete at State. Remember: the scoring guide is not just for the judges — it’s your team’s ticket to knowing exactly how to prepare for your presentation at Regionals.
Starting with the 2018-2019 STLP Project cycle, teams can select a new, 4th project type: Entrepreneurial
Entrepreneurial project types have a “start up” business-model component offering an original product/service. Remember, multiple project types can be selected by each team as of 2018.
At the Regional Level, Project Categories are flexible!
New for 2018-2019, project categories have expanded to include a fourth category: Entrepreneurial. It’s important to remember that the type of category identified at the Regional Level 1 judging has zero impact on how your project is judged. So, go ahead, select any of the project categories that you think might be reflected in your team’s project.
Spend time reviewing and preparing the Level 1 Team Reflection.
The Level 1 Team Reflection document requires self reflection and asks for specific information. Take the time to complete the Reflection and be prepared to answer questions about your it with the judges. Be certain to display one copy of your completed and printed Team Reflection at your presentation area. Likewise, be certain to hand additional copies of your completed Team Reflection to judges, as well. (Easy points you don’t want to miss out on!)
Each project is being scored against the scoring guides. They are NOT being scored against other projects from other schools or other grade levels.
Judges could possibly move from scoring a 9-12 level technical project directly to a K-5 service project — it doesn’t matter because each project has an equal chance to reach the 85 (or more) score to qualify for State
Plan a solid presentation experience for judges.
The Presentation Experience is not the single most important piece of your Showcase Project. Having a great looking, well organized and informative presentation space (often referred to as “the board”) is an important part, but it’s still only part of what judges are looking for. Show that you care and put thought into your presentation space and the overall experience for judges.
Each team will have an empty table space to set up your project presentation. In some cases, we ask that schools share a table in the event of limited table availability. You are free to decorate your presentation space as you wish…but please don’t infringe on the other projects around you. Be considerate of your neighbors. 🙂
You can see what some presentation spaces looked like at previous Regional events (previously called Fall Showcases) [icon name=”icon-external-link”]HERE.
STLP utilized the ISTE Student Technology Standards
The project arc (from Level 1 to Level 3) relies heavily on the ISTE Student Technology Standards to guide our scoring process. At Level 1 and Level 2, teams will need to reflect on their project and identify indicators that are addressed in their project. Then, if they reach Level 3 (the FINALS!), the ISTE Student Technology Standards are the main criteria for judging. So, it’s worth making them part of the project presentation preparation for every team.
PRO TIP: the ISTE Student Technology Standards are written in “teacher speak”…meaning, they aren’t differentiated for all student levels. Visit www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students and take advantage of their easy explanation for yourself.
Power is provided near tables — but bring your own extensions and power strips.
Power in each location is limited, so please refrain from unnecessarily using power to charge personal devices not associated with your project. Note: Tables at Regionals are not a standard size, but generally are 5′ to 6′ in length. In some circumstances, table space may be shared with another project team.
Wireless connectivity is available at each location – but occasionally, those networks can become overwhelmed and cause the network to drop or give intermittent connections. Many times, this is caused by people cluttering the network with their personal devices not associated with projects. Bottom line: be prepared to present without an internet connection. We will continue to work with Regional hosts to strengthen connectivity, but be ready with a back up plan!
Practice with real adults before coming to Regionals.
The secret formula to success at Regionals is to hold a school wide or district wide pre/practice event. Statistics support the notion that teams which have had an opportunity to present their projects locally tend to qualify for State Semifinal (Level 2) judging more often. In fact, most of our Best in State project over the past 3 years come from schools or districts that give teams a pre-Regional presentation opportunity.
PRO TIP: Practice your presentations in the school cafeteria during lunch time… or in a corner of the gymnasium during PE class. The extra noise will help mimic the conditions likely to occur at the Regional (and State) event. Let the team practice presenting in voices loud enough to overcome the ruckus before getting to Regionals!
Remember, your team consists of the (only up to) 4 most experienced experts regarding your project plan. So, relax. You got this. Just know that the judges are not looking to “get you” on a technicality, or to make you uncomfortable. They are there to help you give the best presentation ever — to help you have a confident, informed, conversation about your project. Whether you are in the development or deployment stage of your project, keep in mind that judges want to help you succeed.
4 Types of Projects
New for 2018: Select any combo of project types!
Instructional
Instructional
Projects that impact classroom instruction and help in student or adult learningService
Service
Projects that extend outside the classroom to help the school and communityTechnical
Technical
Projects that demonstrate mastery in use of advanced technology or original inventions
Entrepreneurial
Entrepreneurial
Projects with a “start up” business aspect offering an original product/service
STLP Regionals in Action
Common Elements of Great Projects
- Products and new ideas are often generated from development of the project
- Students design, create, develop, and implement the project over time
- Students must be able to discuss the project in depth (Age appropriate)
- The project is tied to many human and technology resources
- Project makes a measurable impact on other persons, the school and/or community
What does the Schedule look like?
| 8:30--9:00 | Judges arrive and check in |
| 9:00--10:00 | Judges receive training and set up for judging |
| 9:00--9:50 | Project teams enter to set up project spaces. |
| 9:15--9:50 | Service Category candidates sign up for interview time. |
| 10:00--12:00 | Welcome and Judging of all categories (Project & Service Categories) |
| 10:00--12:00 | Showcase is open to public for visitors; teams remain at their table |
| About 12:00 | Once judging is complete, announcement made to pack up |
| 12:00--1:00 | Judge teams discuss & submit comments/scores |
Don’t forget to claim your “Regional Qualifier” Level Up badge. Every STLP that attends Regionals earns this badge!
…schools that invite their own technology director, principal, administrators, superintendents or local legislators often find increased support for their STLP…
STLP = Opportunity
Regionals and the STLP Coordinator
STLP Coordinators that attend a Regional event connect with other coordinators to discuss project, product or service ideas. First time coordinators find the fall Regionals as a time to discover what a project really looks like and how the event leads to state.
Not bringing students your first year? Great…volunteer to judge. There’s no better way to gain an understanding of Regionals than to see it as a judge.
Often judges that help at Regionals for the first time can return to home and help the school with other STLP events. Hearing about the great things STLP can do is one thing, but given an opportunity to see STLP in action can be a tremendously impactful experience for your district and community leadership.
2018 Regionals Dates
| Oct 21 | Registration Deadline |
| Nov 08 | Murray State University |
| Nov 13 | Morehead State University |
| Nov 15 | University of Louisville |
| Nov 19 | Northern Kentucky University |
| Dec 04 | Western Kentucky University |
| Dec 06 | University of Kentucky |
| Dec 11 | East Kentucky Expo |
| Dec 13 | Center for Rural Development |
Frequently Asked Questions
- Media Arts Service: one student presents a resume and is interviewed to join the team that will record and produce media that highlight the events occurring at the State Championship. Their content will be shown during the Awards Ceremony and posted to the STLP website (Division Levels 6-8, 9-12 Only)
- Engineer Service: one student presents a resume, references, and is interviewed for technical positions. Engineers are considered the pinnacle of STLP and will have responsibilities that include representing STLP at state and national levels (Division Level 9-12 Only)
- Live Reporting Service: UPDATED for 2018-2019
one student presents a resume and is interviewed for a position with the Live Reporting Team at the State Championship. Live reports from around the State event are broadcast throughout the day - Production Company Service: UPDATED for 2018-2019
one student presents a resume and is interviewed for a position on the production team that operates (among other things) as the camera crew during the State Championship and to live broadcast the Award Ceremony (Division Levels 6-8, 9-12 Only) - Scratch Ambassadors: REMOVED for 2018-2019
One students demonstrates for a panel of judges their skills using Scratch programming tools. Students with active ability to utilize and share the benefits of Scratch may be invited to help host the “Scratch Programming” booth at STLP State Championship. At State, Scratch Ambassadors promote computer science and programming skills by teaching hands-on activities using Scratch to students, teachers and visitors at the State Championship event. - Level 1 Project Presentation: One to four students create and present the project for Level 1 Judges. Selected Projects will be invited to State Semifinals (Level 2) judging at the State Championship, with the goal of making it to Level 2 judging and possibly being named “Best Showcase in Kentucky”.
- Social Media Service: one student presents a resume and is interviewed for a position to help share stories, event updates, and scoring results at State (Division Levels 6-8, 9-12 only)
UPDATES FOR 2018-2019
Scratch Ambassadors may be relocated to a DPOJ category ahead of State. However, there will be no Scratch Ambassador interviews at Regionals. Watch for updated regarding the future to Scratch Ambassadors.
Live Reporters and Production Company have been consolidated into one new Service Category: Live Production. If selected to the Live Production Team, students will help present the STLP State Championship in various production roles (both behind the camera and in front of the camera) in partnership with KET. Watch for the updated interview rubric soon!
All Regionals related Rubrics can be access at: https://stlp.education.ky.gov/regionals-rubrics/
Schools must register online by Oct. 21, 2018. There is no cost to register or attend.
Click here to Register: https://stlp.education.ky.gov/regionals/regionals-registration/
Join the KYSTLP Listerv for direct communications (http://www.uky.edu/Education/kylists.html)
Follow @stlpkentucky on Twitter for up to the minute STLP news and updates
Did you know that you can get tweets delivered straight to your smart phone via text message? All you need to do is text “Follow @STLPKentucky” to 40404. That’s it — then you’ll get all of our updates directly via SMS. You’ll never miss an announcement again!
Make sure all competing students read and understand the rubric and are prepared for any interviews.
The most successful STLP groups hold a pre-Showcase/School Showcase/District Showcase to provide students with practical experience presenting to adults prior to the Regional Showcase.
At the Regional event, know that all service categories and showcases will need to provide their own devices during presentations/interviews. For example, if you want to show judges a video, instead of arriving with a DVD copy only, plan to bring a laptop or have it preloaded on a mobile device. Judges will not have devices.
Although internet is available, be prepared with a back up plan to present in an offline mode or via a secondary, personal hot-spot connection.
New STLP schools, new coordinators and beginning STLP students are welcome to attend for the learning experience…even if you choose not to submit a project for judging.
Also, a great way to demonstrate the value of STLP, STEM, and educational technology is to invite your principal, superintendent and state legislators to see a Regional Qualifier event. Generally, everyone who see’s students in action through STLP will be impressed and gain an understanding of the immeasurable value behind technology enhanced learning.
Food for purchase is at most sites. Schools may also bring in a sack lunch at every site. Coolers for food and drinks are allowed.
Many of the college campuses have student centers in which your students may eat. We consider this an educational experience since students will be interacting with others on campus.
Some schools like to eat at a food establishment while on the way back to school.
Keep in mind that project can be “in development” at the time of the regional event. Teams will need to impress upon judges that they have a solid development plan and will work to convince judges that their project plan is strong enough to deserve an invitation to Level 2 at State.
Deadline to register to attend a 2018 Regional Qualifier is Oct. 21, 2018 by 11:59 pm CST (just before midnight).
*To gain a table and set up at time to be judged, a school must register online and provide a judge. Due to large numbers that register, a late school could be turned away from their first choice showcase site.
Once the students begin work, see which area they are focused upon and how they can explain what they are doing: are they mostly teaching others; have they reached out to others; are they developing a new start-up type business model for an original product or service, or is much of the work been on mastering the project’s hardware or software?
New for 2018: Multiple Project Categories can be selected!
For example: A regular news program can be any of the three categories. The project where students are making newscasts so others can learn or enjoy the content in the newscast is community service. If the project is about teaching others how to set up a newscast each week, with all the processes of getting features done, then could be instructional. If the students are explaining the how of the editing software and cameras, this can be technical. If all of these processes are happening in conjunction, then select all three of the categories!
IMPORTANT: Recognize that project categories are mainly used for guiding project planning. They have zero impact on judging or scoring at Level 1. Do not stress over selecting project categories! 🙂
Community Service Projects examples
- Assist non-profit agencies in technology needs
- Host open houses with tech demonstrations
- Publish written and virtual work
- Produce school items for a purpose
- Collaborate with others to solve a problem
- Collaborate with another school, district, state, nation
Instructional Projects examples
- Offer technology classes on topics
- Teach parents, senior citizens, and fellow classmates
- Form buddy partners with lower grades, peers, and staff
Technical Expertise Projects examples
- Support highly specialized topics in STEM topics
- Offer technical support as a help desk service
- Make patch cables, salvage parts from inoperable computers check and clean computers
- Work with the school and district technology departments to support technology in schools or district
- Seek industry standard technology certifications
- Utilize technical skills with software and hardware
- Deploy software upgrades or install new software
- Troubleshoot video production issues; hook up hardware
- Learn new software well to teach others
The STLP Kentucky logo has been released under a creative common license model. This model allows your STLP group to use the logo on your materials with full permissions from the original owner, the Kentucky Department of Education. These permissions also allow your STLP to customize the logo to your needs.
All STLP projects are expected to proudly display some version of the STLP logo.
STLP Logo Original Photoshop File
This file can be utilized with professional digital editing software, Adobe Photoshop. It contains the official color profiles, etc. Often, professional print services will require a .PSD file to create the version necessary to create t-shirts or other promotional materials. Also attached is a download link to the “Open Sans Condensed” Google font used for most STLP designs.
Both files are condensed into .ZIP files.
STLP Logo Photoshop original
Open-Sans Condensed font
Links to STLP Logo:
These versions of the STLP logo can be downloaded and used as standard image files.
STLP Logo 2933×1010
STLP Logo 1200×413
STLP Logo 800×275
STLP Logo 400×138
STLP Logo 150×52
STLP Logo with Kentucky border/background:
A new version for 2016 is the STLP Kentucky logo. Download high quality version below:
STLP Kentucky full color
STLP Kentucky white outline
STLP Logo in Outline Format:
STLP Logo Red Outline
STLP Logo Blue Outline
STLP Logo Orange Outline
STLP Logo Green Outline
STLP Logo Black Outline
STLP Logo White Outline
(Remember, when you click the White version it will open in a new window on a white background — so it will look like a blank page loaded)
STLP Logo Outline Original Photoshop File
Links to traditional STLP Logo:
(Thanks to Leanna Prater, and FCPS, for creating and hosting this high res version)
Why You Should Be At Regionals
How to promote success!
Attending and interviewing at Regionals can be a “big deal” in the life of some of our STLP students, as noted in stories from students, teachers and parents. This event gives a real audience to their learning, a real purpose in creating resumes and sharpening 21st Century Skills. These students’ skills will impact Kentucky’s future economy. The students will be able to compete globally. Leadership skills will bloom.
The events are designed to support and extend authentic learning.
Students Demonstrate Skills
- Implement, market and design the project or presentation for various purposes, audiences and situations
- Build leadership skills
- Utilize research, critical thinking skills to inquiry/problem-solve and make informed decisions for learning
- Create ideas, products, and presentations that are innovative and creative
- Communicate and collaborate with school and community persons
- Communicate and interview with adults, outside the school building, in a professional manner
- Practice and engage in legal, safe and ethical use of technology
- Plan for post-secondary education and/or careers