From paper notebooks to laptops: A technology advance for the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB®)

The NOSB is a nationally recognized and highly acclaimed academic competition for high school students designed to generate interest and excitement about the marine sciences. Its mission is to enrich science teaching and learning across the United States through a national competition that increases student knowledge, enhances public understanding, and promotes stewardship of the ocean. NOSB is highlighting marine technology as the theme for its national 2010 Finals Competition. Not only will the questions featured in the competition be technology-focused, but the NOSB will also be incorporating a new technology component to the program to create a more sustainable competition. The current model for the competition demands a large amount of resources each year. With 25 regional sites participating, the competition question books require at least two reams of paper per competition room; or rather a total of 500 reams of paper across the entire country. One regional site at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed software that will replace the traditional hardcopy NOSB notebook with an electronic version, also known as the electronic NOSB, or eNOSB. There are many advantages to using this software over the paper notebooks; the eNOSB is virtually paperless and eliminates printing costs, it is accessible and easy for competition officials to use, it has enhanced security features, and maintains the integrity of the competition. By harnessing a new technology to build a sustainable program, the NOSB will be pioneering a new era of academic competitions.