If you think that Elluminate Live! is just for virtual schools. Think again!

Over the past 15 months, traditional classrooms across three continents have come together, using Elluminate Live! software, to brainstorm, present, and implement projects that help address critical social issues in local areas, such as climate change and poverty reduction. The program is called Fire and Ice , and it was recently profiled on CNN.com (“Children Plan for Planet’s Future”).

Using a simple computer, projector, webcam, speakers and microphone, traditional classrooms in Canada and remote locations in Brazil and Africa, were given a “window to the world” to showcase their creative projects to combat climate change. Projects included organic gardens, litter prevention programs, and campaigns to control CO2 emissions from idling vehicles parked in front of schools.

The interative classroom series also featured remote guest speakers, such as social entrepreneur Dave Irvine Halliday, co-founder of the Light up the World Foundation and a scientist from world reknowed Suzuki Foundation, who inspired the students that individuals can make a difference in driving social change.

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And yes, Elluminate Live! really does work on slower Internet connections. A school from the tiny village of Massambara, in a remote, rural area of Brazil, was able to collaborate effectively with the equivalent of only a 50 kbps dialup connection. “Elluminate built a bridge for us,” said Massambara teacher Janice Gloria Terra Passos, “to take our project out of the school, to the community, to the country…to the world.”

- Stace Wills, Elluminate Director of Corporate Development