A student project could win Groton High School a whole lot of technology. The school has been chosen as a finalist in Samsung's "Solve for Tomorrow" contest. Tamara Lindstrom tells us how they did it and what you can do to help them win.

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GROTON, N.Y. -- It started with one teacher's plan to build a better house.

"The house is a totally off the grid structure. It doesn't require any utility bills. It's made of rammed earth into tires as the foundation and the walls are made of bottles and cans. There's passive solar geothermal heating," explained Chad DeVoe, a science teacher at Groton High School.

DeVoe's "Earthship" project soon became a tool to teach Groton students how science, technology, engineering and math can help build a better world, exactly what the Samsung "Solve for Tomorrow" contest was looking for.

"I was excited. It's a good project. And it's the potential to win a lot of money for the school," said tenth grader Aaron Hill.

DeVoe submitted an application and a team of students were awarded a laptop, video camera and software to make a two minute video showcasing the project.

Out of more than 1,500 applicants, the Groton students were named one of the top 12 finalists. Now they stand to win a chunk of more than a million dollars in technology prizes for their school.

"We could win $100,000 in Samsung technology," DeVoe said. "We were really grateful just to get the laptop and the camera. We're a pretty poor school and we don't really have much of that kind of stuff."

"It would be phenomenal to have laptops and tablets that are really up to date and running brand new operating systems," Hill said.

"Being able to have the technology and learning how to use it and feeling more involved in new technology," is what tenth grade participant Michaela Dunham is hoping for.

An online vote could give the school the win.

"We have a pretty small, tight community," DeVoe said. "It's spreading like a virus on Facebook. It's pretty cool. It's something positive that the community can get behind."

"I think it's really cool," said tenth grade student Nicholas Cummings, "to show Groton students can do these kinds of things and show the world we're a small town, but we can do these kinds of things."

Building a better community and helping a struggling school at the same time.

Five winners will be chosen from the twelve finalists. To see the video and vote for a winner,
visit pages.samsung.com.