Journal Article 6
Global Challenge:
Save the World on Your Way to College

By David Gibson
And Susan Hull Grasso
Learning and Leading with Tecnology
November 2007

As the world becomes more technology advanced, students are given the opportunity to work with and compete against students from other countries. Thru programs like Skype and eFolio they are able to have meetings online, talk to each other and create an asynchronous collaborative artifact.
One organization that encourages global student participation is The Global Challenge; it receives funds from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program. The Global Challenge brings students from around the world together; they form teams, and work on some aspect of global warming or the energy crisis.
Students that are interested in the program usually will find another student in their country that is interested in the program, and an adult to over-see their project. They will then form a team for their country. They can then find another team from any other country they would like to work with and form an international team. Together they decide on a project involving the use of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, to solve a portion of the problem of global warming or find future energy sources. Each team member takes responsibility for a section of the project and works independently. Together through on line meetings they can develop their project.
The Global Challenge Business Plan is judged by a comprehensive rubric. The team uses the rubric to determine if they are meeting all of the sections of the business plan. They can judge their own work or have it judged by their peers and their advisor thru eFolio. The team must use solid evidence and detailed written information to convince each other and later the judges that their business plan will work.
Teams form between September and the beginning of December. By the end of April the teams must have a business plan, for their idea. In May the team is scored in three areas; Global teamwork, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Exploration, and their Global Business Plan. Winners are announced in June, the average award to the individual students is a $1,000. Scholarship. In 2007, 34 students won more than $60,000. in scholarships. Also nine of the top ten teams were able to send a representative (all expenses paid), to a summer program the Governor’s Institute of Vermont on Engineering at the University of Vermont.
This use of technology is amazing. It brings students from different backgrounds and ideas together to work on some important ideas. It is worth looking into for any high school teacher or the parent of a high school student.

How do students find out about the program?
Currently the program is offered to the students through their teachers. Usually their math or science teacher, Or through educational media, such as this magazine Learning and Leading with Technology.

What happens if two teams have the same idea for their project?
A project can only be used by one team per year. The first team to register their business plan get the project. A team can use a project of theirs or others from a previous year, but will have to have some fresh ideas to impress the judges.