ISTE Announces Winners of 2009 SIGTEL Online Learning Awards

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) has named the winners of the 2009 SIGTel Online Learning Awards.

Sponsored by ISTE’s Special Interest Group for Telelearning (SIGTel), the Online Learning Awards recognize creative educators worldwide for their pioneering use of telecommunication networks to provide innovative learning opportunities for students in grades K-16. The awards will be presented at the National Education Computing Conference (NECC), to be held June 28 through July 1 in Washington, D.C. 

This year's SIGTel Online Learning Award winners have been selected from a field of outstanding international submissions. All projects were evaluated through an online process provided by Global SchoolNet. Judges rated projects on the quality of the online learning activity -- from planning through evaluation. They looked specifically at the degree to which the project enhanced regular classroom activity and considered its achievement of goals and objectives and the entrant’s reflection of the project.

The 2009 SIGTel Online Learning Award winners are:

- First place: Sharon Peters, The Study, Westmount, Q.C., Canada and Marguerite Kling, Nature Coast Technical High School, Brooksville, Flo., United States for Darfur Video Project

- Second place: Roxanne Glaser and Shane Howard, Education Service Center Region 12, Waco, Tex., and Rusty Garrett, KWTX News, 10, Waco, Tex., United States, for Twisted Weather.

- Third place:  Lisa Parisi and Christine Southard, Denton Avenue Elementary School, New Hyde Park, New York, United States, for Poetry Collaboration

The following projects were highly commended:

- Kelli Boklaschuk, Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, for The Crooked Crazy Weather Project.

- Sheila Beck, Mecklenburg County Schools, Boydton, Va., United States, for Business Ethics Collaboration.

- Aaron Doering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., United States, for GoNorth! Nunavut 2009.

- Mike Gras, Bishop Dunne Catholic School, Dallas, Tex., United States for Akoon GED Program.

- Tommie Hamaluba, Gaborone Senior Secondary School, Gaborone, Botswana, for Education and Eradication of Malaria.

- Candace Pauchnick, Patrick Henry High School, San Diego, Calif., United States, for ePal International Blog Exchanges.

For more information about the SIGTel Online Learning Awards, visit www.iste.org/sigtel.

About ISTE
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the trusted source for professional development, knowledge generation, advocacy and leadership for innovation. ISTE is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. Home of the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)and the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), ISTE represents more than 100,000 professionals worldwide. We support our members with information, networking opportunities and guidance as they face the challenge of transforming education.
 
Visit www.iste.org to learn more about ISTE and its new initiatives -- including the next generation of NETS for Students, Teachers and Administrators.
 
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