Olongapo's Webbies win int'l prize for web dev't

By Ansbert Joaquin, Allan

FOUR Filipino students from Olongapo City have attained international recognition for the Philippines for winning a worldwide competition showcasing the "best of the brightest of tomorrow's technology leaders."

Calling their team "The Webbies," Jose Capistrano IV Jr., Maribel Joy Panes, Ma. Theresa Arigo and Hannibal Felerino placed third in the website development category in the 2005 Imagine Cup Web Development Invitational, beating 97 other entries from 40 countries.
The competition, which was held recently, was sponsored by Microsoft Corp.

According to its official website http://www.thespoke.net, the teams from Romania, Hong Kong and the Philippines emerged as the top winners.

The Webbies of Agiles Philippines Technology Center at the Subic Bay Freeport won $3,000 for their entry called "Assyst" (Assessment System), a web application built in asp.net that seeks to interpret a student's learning style with his or her input coming from his or her answers to a series of questions.

Capistrano said the team did not expect the prize as its members barely had enough time conceptualizing and submitting a website structure and project abstract to meet the contest's registration deadline in April.

"We were hesitant at first to join the competition because of limited resources and lack of time to prepare, but we did it anyway after several encouragement and help from some friends and mentors," he said.

When "Assyst" landed among the top 30 finalists, it was then that the team felt determined to "achieve something," he said.

"Realizing what could be in store for us after advancing to the final round, our team immediately devoted time for research and project development, bringing about a now internationally recognized endeavor, the Assyst website," Felerino said.

The team's website, http://www.aphiltech-center.edu.ph/assyst, features a method of interpreting a user's concept formation process, an online community with messaging system, and tests that gauge proficiency in different areas of learning.