ANDREW Goff, head of information technology at Kelly College has recently returned from a Gala Award ceremony at the Universal Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles. He and two students from his previous school were there to be presented with the ThinkQuest Internet Challenge GEM Award for designing an internet site called SIGNhear.

The GEM Award is presented to a ThinkQuest Internet Challenge team whose entry in a previous year did not win an award — but which had become widely used through the ThinkQuest Library.

SIGNhear was developed two years ago to assist learners with American Sign Language (ASL).

Since its inclusion in the ThinkQuest Library 11.6 million visitors have visited the site and been able to learn and practice ASL at their convenience.

Marlee Matlin winner of the Academy Award for 'Children of a Lesser God' who presented SIGNhear with the award said: 'I am honoured to bestow this award on the very talented group of young people who are making a difference in the lives of so many people.

'This is an incredible use of the internet. It is really an incredible tool for the hearing impaired and the entire community.'

The fourth annual ThinkQuest Internet Challenge, a philanthropic and educational initiative, invites teams of students and their teachers to work together as they investigate an educational topic of interest and create an interactive web site.

Multi-national teams from around the world collaborate for more than eight months to gather data, conduct research, and leverage the power to the internet as they build educationally rich sites.

Upon completion, each entry becomes a permanent member of the ThinkQuest Library (http://www.thinkquest.org/library">www.thinkquest.org/library).

The Library contains nearly 3,000 award-winning sites that are made available to internet users across the globe.

The awards weekend was supported by a number of sponsors who share ThinkQuest's dedication to equip young people for the next millennium and beyond.

A few of the sponsors for the event include: Dell Computer Corporation, Goldman Sachs, Global Schoolhouse at Lightspan, Nortel Networks, Spencer Trask and Company, among others.

Allan H Weis the founder of ThinkQuest said: 'This has been an amazing experience. I am overwhelmed with the quality and innovation demonstrated by these young people and educators.

'These ThinkQuest participants are learning the skills necessary for success in the new millennium as well as demonstrating the impact the internet has on the learning process today.

'I am continually amazed by the work our kids are capable of doing and the commitment many educators are willing to make to their students.'