SIGTel Online Learning Award Winners Announced
by Joel Weiler
The 2006 SIGTel Online Learning Awards demonstrated once again just how valuable the project program is in advancing educators’ use of technology and their students’ quality of education. The award program was established in 1991 to recognize teachers engaged in pioneering use of telecommunication networks to provide innovative learning opportunities for students grades K-16.
According to awards chair Yvonne Marie Andrés, this year’s projects showcase teachers’ use of technology to cultivate solid research, writing, and other important skills that students need to succeed.
“It’s about good writing practices, good research practices, and teaching students the intricacies of communication and collaboration,” says Andrés. “Those aspects have been in place for decades, but now people are beginning to realize the importance of those skills in a globally connected world.”
The development can clearly be seen in the first place award-winning project “Calgary Stampede and Treaty 7 First Nations: A Historical Perspective,” a project featuring the rich history of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, an annual rodeo with ties to the Treaty 7 First Nations native tribes in Alberta, Canada.
The project was headed by Jodi Prazak, a fourth grade teacher at Piitaoyis Family School, and Jennifer George, a first and second grade teacher at nearby Prince of Wales Elementary School, both in Calgary, Alberta.
Students from Prazak and George’s classes visited the Calgary Stampede Indian Village multiple times and collaborated with experts through e-mail to gain perspectives on the history of the native community. The project Web site features digital photos, student artwork, writing projects, and video interviews with First Nations elders conducted over a six-month period.
“This unique learning experience took my students from a space of notions into a new space of knowing,” writes George on the project’s Web site. “Through this inquiry they have developed new habits of mind that they will carry with them forever, and they feel empowered to be able to share their knowledge with others in such a profound and meaningful way.”
The second place prize-winning project “Web Pen Pals”, facilitated by teachers Susan Groenke and Joellen Maples, allowed students at South Doyle Middle School in Knoxville, Tennessee, to critique reading assignments in collaboration with English majors at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville via instant messenger technology.
The third place winner “TechnoSpuds Projects”, created by teacher Jennifer Wagner of the Crossroads Christian Schools of Corona, California, is a Web site that offers teachers various online collaborative projects in which students nationwide can participate.
Eight other nominees received a “Highly Commended” honor. Andrés says that all the projects are innovative and that choosing the winners was no easy task.
“It’s really difficult to pick the best of the best,” says Andres. ”Under ideal circumstances we would reward everyone.”
Judges score the projects based on criteria that include the online learning opportunities inherent in the project, how the project connects with regular classroom curriculum, ease of replication for other teachers, and ability to meet learning objectives.
Andrés encourages educators, as well as all ISTE members, to explore the projects, noting that, “The purpose of these awards is to shine a spotlight on people that are doing exceptional work and are creating models that others can follow.”
In July, the 2006 winners will share their projects during poster sessions at ISTE’s annual conference (NECC). Information on all winning and highly commended projects can be found at http://www.iste.org/sigtel.
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