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The University of British Columbia
- a place of mind
- The University of British Columbia
- Faculty of Education
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The UBC Global Minds Challenge was launched in September, 2009 by UBC's Faculty of Education as part of the educational mission of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The purpose was to provide a showcase for schools across Canada and around the world to demonstrate how digital technologies are fostering global learning. The competition was open to elementary and secondary schools worldwide.
The five winning entries in the 2010 UBC Global Minds Challenge employed digital technologies in highly creative ways ranging from wikis and blogs to virtual worlds.
"We're very pleased with the results of this year's Challenge," said Tom Sork, Associate Dean, External Program and Learning Technologies, and Chair of the organizing committee. "The quality of the entries was high, and the winners showed great creativity and imagination. We are looking forward to launching next year's 2011 UBC Global Minds Challenge."
We are pleased to announce the following five winners:
(1) Project Title: Les Jeux olympiques/ J'ai la flamme dans le Coeur
School: École Jean-XXIII Québec, QC Project Lead: Marjorie Rancourt
Judges' comments: "This is an excellent classroom-based project...excellent use of technology to inspire students."
(2) Project Title: 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games Collaborative Project
School: Haultain Community School Regina, Saskatchewan, Project Lead: Kimberly Brown
Judges’ comments: “Very good effort to use web tools to foster communication among students globally. Congratulations on a wonderful project involving global collaboration and use of Web 2.0.”
(3) Project Title: The Teen Second Life Grade 8 Culture Project
School: Dr. A. E. Perry Elementary School and MacNeill Elementary School, Regina, Saskatchewan, Project Lead: Erik Van Dusen
Judges’ comments: “A top notch project that engaged students with many different technologies including a virtual world. Interesting and professionally presented summary; wonderful use of TSL to teach the unit on culture.”
(4) Project Title: Adopt-a-Country—Joining Deep Cove to Enkhuizen
School: Seycove Secondary School, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Project Lead: Petra Willemse
Judges’ comments: “A wonderful project; great to see this international collaboration. Good use of technology to foster cross-cultural understanding.”
(5) Project Title: United Nations Connections Club
School: Byrne Creek Secondary School, Burnaby, British Columbia, Project Lead: Deirdre Moore
Judges’ comments: “A fascinating use of technology for global communications. Wonderful example of rich, authentic collaboration.”
An international panel of judges evaluated each entry according to five criteria:
Pierre Gilbert
Pierre Gilbert is Manager, Vancouver 2010 Education Program, at the British Columbia Ministry of Education. He has been involved in education for the last 40 years as a teacher, a school principal and a curriculum specialist and consultant.
Matthew Kearney
Matthew Kearney is Senior Lecturer in Educational Technology, University of Technology, Sydney Australia. He has published widely on the classroom uses of educational technologies including digital video and storytelling, interactive whiteboards, and wikis.
Ron Owston
Ron Owston is Professor of Education and Director of the Institute for Research in Learning Technologies (IRLT) and co-director of the Technology Enhanced Learning Institute (TELi) at York University, Toronto.
