Tech-Savvy Students? Think Environment and Win

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Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 6/16/2008 1:36:00 PM

For students with an eye toward the environment, as well as some computer capabilities, Samsung’s Hope for Education could give their schools a digital edge.

The annual contest, now in its fifth year, asks K–12 students to craft a 100-word essay on “How has technology educated you on helping the environment and how or why has it changed your behavior to be more environmentally friendly?”

Prizes, including $200,000 worth of Samsung technology, Microsoft software, and cash grants from Direct TV, could go to a student’s school, with a Mobile PC delivered to the student herself.

Perhaps high school science students crafted a blog that showcased the effects of global warming on their neighborhood. Or an elementary school class kept up a wiki where they tagged their recycling efforts and compared them with a partner school in another country.

In their essays, students are also invited to address new technology products they’d like to see developed that could be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. 

With the deadline set for August 31, 2008, students should most likely think of this as a summer project. Although, teachers may be able to persuade students already stricken with summer fever to knock out one last assignment before they’re left to roam free.