2009 SIGMS Award Winners
2009 Elementary School Award Winner
 Karen Kliegman, Library Media Specialist and Noel Forte, Teacher from Searington Elementary School, Albertson, NY
Meet the Candidates, a fifth-grade project focused on the 2008 presidential election, was the perfect catalyst to utilize Web 2.0 technology tools in order to create a dynamic, collaborative learning community that included the librarian, computer teacher, two fifth grade teachers from our school, and over 50 other educators across the country. In a true 21st century learning environment, the walls that separate the library, the classroom, and the community are erased when learning is authentic, research-driven, collaborative, and technology-infused, allowing both teachers and students to become co-learners. Meet the Candidates, a non-funded project,was the vehicle that supported this environment, allowing students to learn by doing and by interacting as they scrutinized content and engaged with the world. The activities of the project incorporated the NETSfor both students ANDteachers, the new AASL standards, and core social studies and language arts standards.
Meet the Candidates Project Website
Meet the Candidates Searingtown Students Wiki (Student work located in this wiki)
Meet the Candidates Collaborating Teacher Wiki
Honorable Mention Elementary School: Lisa Paine & Mary Carole Strother Fanny Finch Elementary, McKinney, TX; Project: Finch Caldecott Kids
2009 Middle School Winner
 Lindsay Cesari, Library Media Specialist and Patrick Donahue, Science Teacher from Durgee Jr. High School, Baldwinsville, NY
Digital Commercials for a Scientific Element ultimate objective was to use digital storytelling to produce commercials selling an element, and then use the commercials to pitch their product in an "Apprentice-like" environment. An additional objective was to demonstrate successful collaboration between a library media specialist and an 8th grade physical science teacher on a technology based project.
Along the way, students were expected to meet a number of other objectives. They were asked to extensively research an element of their choice, important for meeting the 8th grade science benchmark requiring students to learn about the periodic table. After developing a pool of information, students were to highlight the benefits of their product, develop applications for the element, and determine a selling price and a company name.
Project examples are located in the Student Showcase. On this site, six examples of student work are provided. Click the link to view each project. They are listed under the section that begins "Mr. Donahue’s Class. . ."
Honorable Mention Middle School: Nathan Keith & Karen Gartner, Westlane Middle School, Indianapolis, IN; Project: Algebra Podcast
Username: pcastuser
Password: apple
2009 High School Winner
 Belinda O'Brien, Media School Specialist, Cindy Rubenstein, teacher of Gifted and Talented, and Susan Casement, English Teacher from Minerva Deland School, Fairport, NY
The research project, A Person Who Changed His/Her World, is a great example of how a media center has greatly enhanced instruction. The students were required to research the person, cite sources and credit others. The students also were expected to encompass their research from a variety of sources. The librarian placed in the library web link a style sheet to support the students in citing their sources using the correct format.
The project concludes with the students making a formal presentation to their peers the person they selected and they are required to describe how they feel their subject was responsible for changing the world. The presentations are video taped and submitted for review by the teacher.
Once the assignment objective was developed the technology component was introduced to allow students to utilize Library 2.0. Students were exposed and became adept at using:
Honorable Mention High School: Carol Johns & Elizabeth Hoffman, Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Highlands, NJ; Project: Graphic Novel
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