Fire and Ice is a series of interactive, international dialogues between students in various countries around the world. The project objective is to translate dialogue into action by inspiring students to develop their own solutions for helping combat climate change in their local areas. Fire and Ice is part of Elluminate's Learning Across Borders, a global initiative that promotes live, real-time knowledge sharing and collaboration between students and teachers in North America and the Developing World.
"Sun is delighted to sponsor the Elluminate "Fire and Ice" series of interactive network events as part of the Learning Across Borders Initiative. Our two companies are both deeply committed to the creation of next-generation immersive virtual classrooms on the net, and to bring students together to discuss the ideas that will shape our collective future." Kevin Roebuck, Community Manager, Immersive Technologies Global Education & Research, Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Fire and Ice I: The inaugural "Fire and Ice" event took place in August 2006. The event featured an interactive dialogue on environmental issues facing Canada and Brazil. The dialogue connected students from a remote school in Brazil's Amazon with participants from Canada, the U.S. and Argentina. Canada's guest speaker was a leading environmentalist from the Suzuki Foundation, who discussed the effects of harmful fishing practices in the deep seas. The Brazilian students gave a thought-provoking presentation on deforestation, waste disposal, and other issues affecting their area.

Fire and Ice II: Fire and Ice II took place on November 23 and December 7, 2006, bringing together over 100 students, teachers and other participants from six schools and 3 countries including Canada, Brazil, and Mozambique. The project challenged each school to brainstorm and implement grass-roots initiatives in 2007 to help combat climate change in their respective local areas.

Fire and Ice West Africa: Fire and Ice West Africa took place on October. 30, 2007 between Les Violettes Primary School in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Belfast Elementary School in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The event was interpreted by a French/English translator. The West African school did not have internet or computer equipment at their school, so they joined the Fire and Ice session from a local internet cafe in the suburbs of Ouagadougou, Burkina's capital city. Students shared powerpoint presentations on "A Day in the Life" in their respective schools. Burkina's event coordinator, Jules Ouedraogo, heralded the event as something "never before completed in Burkina Faso".

Fire and Ice III: Held on November 1, 2007, Fire and Ice III featured four schools Brazil, Canada, and Mozambique, who showcased their exciting projects to a global audience. During the session, students reviewed the results they have achieved to make a meaningful contribution to the environment. One school that took part was located in Massambara, a remote village several hours from Rio. At the school, two computers shared one Internet connection with a capacity of only 100 kbps total (50 kbps per computer), clearly demonstrating the effectiveness of Elluminate technology in the developing world.

"What a great session to show how small contributions can reach a long way and to contrast this world we live in. I also applaud the generosity of the Elluminate staff and LCS with the rewards ... gives us all a good deal of hope as someone mentioned in the chat last night "among all the gloom and doom".

"Thank you very much by heart for everything, indeed. It seems like a dream. I came last two weeks so sick, but with your helpness all was possible. Now, We are together as one, like one family. Thank you for the Leadership Award. The expectation is very high."

Fire and Ice - Live Art: Held in January 2008, the project connected elementary schools in Calgary, Canada and Burkina Faso, West Africa. The students created individual art drawings representing important aspects of their local culture. The schools gathered online via Elluminate Live! to present their art in real time, with the Burkina students webcasting from a local cybercafé on a 128 Kbps connection. Going forward the schools will continue to connect in a variety of asynchronous and synchronous collaboration activities.

Movies and Recordings View the Fire and Ice II Video (high res) View the Elluminate Live! recording of Fire and Ice I View the Elluminate Live! recording of Fire and Ice II View the video of Fire and Ice West Africa View the Elluminate recording of Fire and Ice III View the Fire and Ice III video from the town of Massambara, Brazil View the Tech Museum Awards video on Elluminate View CBC News story View the Massambara, Brazil school presentation from Fire and Ice (Feb 2008) View TV Rio Sul - Apresentação da E. M. Abel J. Machado - F&I III Click here for translation document

»Learn more about this year's award winning schools and their exciting projects. »View the Fire & Ice gallery

Sponsored by The Tech Museum of Innovation, one of the country's premier science and technology museums, and presented by Applied Materials, Inc., The Tech Museum Awards honor individuals who are applying technology to benefit humanity and spark global change. Chosen by a panel of prestigious international judges, the Laureates must demonstrate the use of technology to significantly improve the human condition. Elluminate was selected from hundreds of nominations sent from 68 countries for its groundbreaking Fire and Ice online classroom series.

Fast 50 is Fast Company magazine's annual readers' challenge, a global search for people doing extraordinary things with a goal of reminding the world of all the good that's created when passionate people with big ideas and strong convictions are determined to make a difference. After a nationwide vote, the magazine's readers named Elluminate one of the top 50 favorite companies for its Learning Across Borders initiative.

Recently, CNN reporter Brie Schwartz conducted extensive interviews that culminated in a great story about Elluminate's Fire and Ice program. The article emphasizes how the virtual classroom connects students from around the world, enabling them learn from each other and feel empowered to take action to combat climate change in their individual communities.

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