Challenge+20-20+at+Bucketworks

As a follow up to the 2010-2011 Challenge 20/20 Competition project conducted by Gymnasium am breiten Teich and University School of Milwaukee, we arranged for a public forum for the students to present their work and receive feedback from area experts on the issue of water use in post industrial areas. The public forum was held in the morning and the students followed up with a tour of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District central laboratory in the afternoon. The students were accompanied by members of the USM Science Department and English Department Chair Kate Gay, whose interests include water use and availability as a focus for the Compass 9 interdisciplinary program at University School.

The students highlighted the value of the process involved in carrying out a research program via Web 2.0 technologies (skype sessions, use of wikis and social networking technology) between participants who reside over 5000 miles and 7 time zones distant. The public forum was a great learning experience in its own right by bringing these virtual collaborators face-to-face and allowing them the opportunity to present and receive feedback from experts in water use. 21st century global learning indeed!