Sprout e-course – idea growth

FAQ

Program

What is Sprout?

Sprout is an e-course that seeks to empower young leaders from around the world by providing them with the necessary skills to become effective agents of change. Using TakingITGlobal's online educational platform, the e-course provides an innovative technology-driven approach to engaging young people and building their capacity to develop, implement, and evaluate projects. This e-course is a highly collaborative learning experience that gives participants access to a variety of technology-based materials, as well as interactive sessions with e-mentors and other e-course participants. In addition, this e-course stresses the importance of digital literacy by enabling participants to reinforce their fluency with information and communication technologies (ICTs) and social networking while engaging collaboratively with other young leaders around the globe. Our ultimate goal is to increase the effectiveness and impact of youth-led social and environmental initiatives worldwide.

What is an e-course?

Unlike traditional courses where learning takes place primarily in person, an e-course is accessible from any part of the world to anyone who has access to an internet ready technological device (e.g. computer, mobile phone, etc.). Although most of the learning will happen online over great distances, no one will be learning alone!

What is special about this e-course?

Sprout is designed specifically to help aspiring social innovators and environmental entrepreneurs who have ideas for a social and/or environmental projects that they want to develop in the hopes of making a positive impact in their communities. This course is unique in that it utilizes that accessibility and reach of e-learning, which describes any form of learning that utilizes technology as a platform to facilitate the learning process.

How does Sprout do this?

Sprout guides its participants through a uniquely designed project lifecycle that focuses on strengthening the key areas of effective project design such that, by the end of the project lifecycle, participants will be equipped with a complete project e-portfolio that they can use to begin implementing their idea.

Who is this course for?

This e-course is designed to reach socially engaged young leaders (or aspiring leaders) between the ages of 16 and 30. Youth who are interested in becoming social innovators or environmental entrepreneurs and have a well thought-out, specific, and practical idea for starting a socially and/or environmentally focused project that will help create real and effective change in their communities. TakingITGlobal prides itself on reaching and inspiring youth leaders from every part of the world, and that is why we at the Sprout e-course welcome international applicants to apply.

Who can be a mentor?

A Sprout e-mentor is applicants who have previous experience being a mentor and who are seeking a new opportunity to support and motivate emerging young leaders online while sharing their expertise and gaining professional experience.

How can I apply to participate?

Visit the official Sprout e-course website, and on the homepage click on the "apply here" tab to begin filling out your application. Remember, you will need to attach or paste your project proposal to your application when applying.

How can I apply to mentor?

Visit the official Sprout e-course website, and on the homepage click on the "apply here" tab to begin filling out your application.

Who is eligible to participate?

Applicants are required to be:

• Passionate about creating positive social and/or environmental change.
• Between the ages of 16 and 30 as of the start of the program.
• Proficient in an intermediate level of English.
• Access to regular and reliable [broadband] internet service.
• Familiar and comfortable with Information and Communication Technologies (for example: blogs, email, discussion forums, Internet research).
• Able to spend up to 10 hours a week on the completion of project assignments
• Be a TakingITGlobal member with a completed profile (at 100%).

What is the selection criteria?

We at Sprout are committed to selecting skilled, diverse, and passionate young leaders from around the world.

In addition we are seeking:

• Applicants with a 100% complete TakingITGlobal (TIG) profile (as indicated on your TIG profile page).
• Applicants must demonstrate a serious commitment to their project idea and its future implementation. Previous experience in managing and/or participating in social and/or environmental projects is an asset.
• Applicants must clearly describe their social/environmental project with concern to the degree of creativity, innovation, and uniqueness that distinguishes your project from existing social/environmental projects of similar design and aim.
• Preference will be given to those who have experience in leadership roles and working in teams, such as student groups, grassroots organizing, event or project planning, or peer-to-peer education. Please describe your leadership and teamwork skills in your application.

What is the selection process?

The Sprout recruitment process includes the review of your online application and a live chat interview via MSN or Skype.

How many people will be chosen to participate?

We will recruit approximately 50 participants per e-course term.

What will my role and responsibilities be?

Active and engaged participation in the e-course, with peers and with mentors is both necessary and expected by all participants. All e-course related activities and resources are expected to be completed in full and on time. E-learning requires a high degree of self-direction, self-motivation and autonomy, thus applicants who already demonstrate these characteristics will likely be successful in this e-course.

Additional responsibilities include:

• Maintaining regular and meaningful contact with your mentor.
• Scheduling 1 hour per week online meetings with your mentor via a real-time online communication tool (e.g. MSN messenger, Skype, etc.), including preparing discussion questions and comments related to course work beforehand.
• Being as open and honest as possible with your mentor about your thoughts, successes and challenges.
• Having access to regular and reliable [broadband] internet, and a headset, microphone, or webcam.
• Providing regular and meaningful feedback on your peers' projects, blogs, class discussion comments, etc.
• Respecting the time and effort of others by honouring mandatory time commitments when completing assignments; and keeping regular contact with e-mentors and e-course peers.
• Contacting the appropriate e-course contact person when you are in need of assistance or support of any kind.
• Completing regular evaluation feedback surveys on time and with care, while ensuring to provide feedback on the quality of your participation and on the effectiveness of the e-course overall.

How much does the e-course cost?

The e-course has a small programming fee of $250 CAD, which covers:

• The construction and maintenance of the e-course learning platform website,
• Round the clock technical and logistical support,
• Personalized e-classroom facilitation and,
• General operating costs.

For the applicants eligible to receive financial assistance, the programming fee of $250 CAD will be waived. At Sprout, we are committed to ensuring that education is made available to all and thus eligibility for financial assistance will be determined on a case-by-case basis. With the generous support of our Program Sponsor, the Pearson Foundation, we have developed the Sprout e-course in whereby we can offer a high quality e-learning experience without passing the full costs onto our members.

What is the Pearson Foundation?

The Pearson Foundation extends Pearson’s existing commitment to making education more accessible by partnering with leading nonprofit, civic, and business-oriented organizations to provide financial, organizational, and publishing assistance around the world. The Pearson Foundation aims to make a difference in the global community by sponsoring innovative educational programs and by extending their educational expertise to help further the capacity of classrooms within local communities. More information on the Pearson Foundation can be found on their website.

Who is eligible for financial assistance?

Applicants in need of financial assistance will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, which will take into account the level of financial need expressed, the applicant’s current financial commitments, and any and all supporting documentation describing the applicant’s specific financial concerns. You may download an appication for financial assistance here. Be sure to include this form with your online application.

What does financial assistance include?

Those applicants chosen to receive financial assistance will have their programming fees waived (paid in full) by the generous sponsors of the Sprout e-course.

What if I do not have Internet access?

The Sprout e-course relies almost exclusively on the internet knowledge and availability of its participants and e-mentors, thus perspective participants who do not have access to regular or reliable internet access will not be considered for participation in this e-course.

What if I do not speak English?

The operational language of the Sprout e-course is English. Course materials, instructions, discussions, mentor meeting, live chats, and team meetings will only be conducted in English.

Therefore any participants who do not have a working command of the English language (e.g. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) will not be accepted to participate in this e-course.

What if I do not have a project idea?

The Sprout e-course seeks to help young leaders all over the world grow their project ideas. Applicants who do not have a project idea when applying for the e-course will not be accepted into the program until they have developed one well thought-out, specific, and practical idea that they can submit within a proposal package along with their application.

Key Terms

What is a project?

The Sprout e-course defines a project as one well thought-out, specific, and practical idea that encapsulates exactly how you would like to initiate social and/or environmental change in your community. For the purposes of the e-course, applicants are only required to have an idea of their project when they first apply to the Sprout e-course. By the end of the e-course, Sprout's unique project lifecycle will have developed each participant's one well thought-out, specific, and practical project idea to the extent that it is ready to be implemented in the community and receive funding.

What is a project idea?

At Sprout we seek to grow great ideas with the aim of creating social and environmental change at the local, community level, and perhaps globally as well. Thus, this e-course seeks to encourage prospective young leaders to brainstorm about the many ways they would like to create social or environmental change, and then narrow down these thoughts into one well thought-out, specific, and practical idea about a project they would like to use to impact their communities.

What is a social innovator?

A social innovator is a person who can identify an issue of great social concern in their community and then begin to develop new and creative ways of addressing it with the ambitious goal of impacting that specific area of social concern in such a way that positively initiates long-term social change in the community.

What is an environmental entrepreneur?

An environmental entrepreneur is a community leader who adheres to, and advocates for, sound environmental policies and practice. People who identify with this role seek to impact their community by encouraging and supporting their community's efforts to initiate and uphold sound practices and interactions with the environment now and in the future.

What is a civic identity?

Civic identity describes the roles and responsibilities often attributed to members of civil society (members of the [global] society who carry out non-government directed actions of pressing importance to widespread social concerns), which include exercising human rights, protecting the common good, taking a vested interest in the social welfare of others, etc.

What is community-based action?

Community-based action involves the collaborative efforts of community members, policy-makers, relevant professionals, and grassroots organizers to identify and commit to practical and sustainable solutions to community issues with the aim of producing long-term effective social change.

What are ICTs?

Information and communication technologies describe the different technological applications designed to facilitate the transfer of information over greater distances, at greater speeds, and in larger amounts through technology. Examples of ICTs are: digital cameras, blogs, websites, discussion boards, e-games, podcasts, mobile phones, internet ready computers, etc.

What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 describes the second generation of web development and design that targets increased communication and interactivity through the use of the internet. Examples include: web-based communities, social networking sites, wikis, blogs, video- & image-sharing sites, blogs, applications, folksonomy (tagging), internet hosting services, etc.

What is project management?

Project management describes the means by which projects (business, social, environmental, etc.) become organized, planned, and managed (led by a single person or team of individuals) with the goal of producing beneficial change. Successful project management strikes a balance between managing project goals and objectives with project challenges and constraints.

What is a project lifecycle?

Sprout's unique Project Lifecycle helps participants plant their project idea firmly while connecting them with the right tools, resources, and mentorship to grow their project from the initial project proposal to the completed e-portfolio. This lifecycle follows 4 basic steps designed to maximize each participant's project goals and impact now and into the future.

What is an e-portfolio?

An e-portfolio is a comprehensive collection of all the project materials participants will be able to use in order to implement their project and secure funding. Some of these materials include: a project budget, needs assessment, a Gantt chart, funders database, and much more.

What is self-directed learning?

Individual initiate their pace and learning objectives by managing the time they devote to completing assignments, choosing a location that maximizes their learning experience, and finding unique ways to stay self-motivated to continue on their learning journeys.

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. We attached a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada Licence to this work. This allows individuals to:

• Share - to copy, distribute and transmit the work.
• Attribute - need to attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
• Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
• No Derivative Works. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

For more details, please view the Creative Commons license.