Two Dunedin institutions have united to enable school teams from across New Zealand to compete in two online quizzes.
The changes to the ODT Extra! Spelling Bee and Current Events quizzes has come about due to Allied Press, publisher of the Otago Daily Times, and Dunedin digital educator Education Perfect (EP) teaming up earlier this year.
This has allowed the competitions to be offered online from EP’s office in Dunedin.
Run by the Otago Daily Times since 2003, the quizzes were previously physically held at a series of age-group competitions across several regions in Otago and South Canterbury.
Since being opened up to the entire country, the number of pupils participating and the level of competitiveness across the quizzes has skyrocketed.
‘‘We are delighted to be the home of the ODT Extra! quizzes this year,’’ EP chief operations officer Emma McAllister said.
‘‘It provides a fantastic opportunity for two local Dunedin businesses to take this much loved quiz to many more schools around New Zealand. It provides an interactive, digital competition extended to those still experiencing the current lockdown, and with over 1000 teams participating we are able to automark and announce the winners on the same day.’’
In early June, nearly 570 primary, intermediate, and junior secondary school teams (about 1700 years 5-10 pupils) competed in the newly established ODT Extra! online Spelling Bee.
Vying for national titles in their age group, they came from as far north as Kerikeri and as far south as Tokanui.
The teams could see each other via a Zoom audiovisual link, and the quiz questions came in the form of a series of audio and visual files which asked pupils to carry out specific tasks.
These included spelling certain words, proof-reading exercises, and answering questions about abbreviations and the origins of words.
And in September more than 1000 teams of three took part in the ODT Extra! Current Events quiz. ODT Extra! Marketing Manager Jeff Paterson said the top 10 teams in each year group would join the top teams from the ODT Extra! Spelling Quiz for the grand final at the Otago Museum this month.
The quiz format is 10 rounds covering questions from local and international geography, history, current events and general knowledge.
Feedback on the quizzes from schools had been ‘‘overwhelmingly supportive,’’ Paterson said.
