FLVS Receives Better Government Competition Award

A third item from NACOL this morning.

FLVS Receives Better Government Competition Award

Pioneer Institute Applauds Online Program for Effective and
Innovative Education Practices

Orlando, FL (June 25, 2008) – Florida Virtual School’s (FLVS) commitment to improving K-12 education won the school the Better Government Competition (BGC) Award from the Pioneer Institute, an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization. The online program was recognized because of its focus to create equitable access to instructional excellence for students throughout Florida for more than decade.

“We are pleased to recognize FLVS as the winner of the 2008 Better Government Competition Award. For the past ten years, they have worked tirelessly to create a student-centered learning environment. As a result, more students have access to an excellent education, regardless of where they live or their socio-economic standing,” said Jim Stergios, executive director of Pioneer Institute. “The leaders at FLVS are part of a new generation of educators who are closing the achievement gap by transforming the public education system. We applaud them for their hard work, innovation and passion.”

Now in its 17th year, Pioneer Institute’s annual BGC Award showcases innovative ideas and programs to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government. Florida Virtual School’s unique apporach to learning has changed the role of the classroom experience, made achievement the constant and time the variable. Among the FLVS accomplishments highlighted by Pioneer Institute were the school’s completion rate of between 80 and 90 percent and course selection, which includes advanced placement and honors courses offered to students who might not otherwise have access to these educational options.

“Being recognized as an institution that is transforming education is truly an honor. Working one-on-one with students, our teachers strive to personalize the learning experience for each of their students and engage them in activities where they will gain knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the global economy,” said FLVS President and CEO Julie Young. “As partner with districts across the state, our goal is to support schools by helping their students thrive acadmically.”

The 2008 BGC winner was chosen from over 140 entries, submitted by businesses, government officials, and citizens from across the United States. A panel of distinguished judges chose the best submissions from the entries.

Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to change the intellectual climate in the Commonwealth by supporting scholarship that challenges the “conventional wisdom” on Massachusetts public policy issues.

ISTE Announces Winners of 2008 SIGTel Online Learning Awards

Congrats to all involved!!!

ISTE Announces Winners of 2008 SIGTel Online Learning Awards
Eugene, OR  97401-3003		May 5 2008
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE(r)) has named the winners of the 2008 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 telecommunications networks to provide innovative learning opportunities for students in grades K-16. The awards will be presented at the National Education Computing Conference, to be held June 29 through July 2 in San Antonio, Texas. 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 assessed projects on the quality of the online learning activity from planning through evaluation, specifically the degree to which the project enhanced regular classroom activity, its achievement of goals and objectives, and the entrant’s reflections about the project. The 2008 SIGTel Online Learning Award winners are the following: * First place: Monica Cougan, Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration, Indianapolis, Ind., United States, with Tammy Parks, Lynne Sueoka, Debora Birdsong, and Christie Rickert for the “KC3 Project.” * Second place: Lisa Parisi, Denton Avenue Elementary School, New Hyde Park, N.Y., United States, with Christine Southerd, Brian Crosby, and Martha Thornburgh for the “Mysteries of Harris Burdick Collaborative Writing Project.” * Third place: Anne Lambert, John Muir School, San Diego, Calif., United States, with Harry Konnor Tetteh, Isaac Immanuel Opuni Frimpong, Julius Selasi Komla Adjor, and Gideon Sarpong for the project “Doors to Diplomacy: Jazz.” * The following projects were highly commended: *Kelly Cua, Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, for the “Hawai’I Nei” project. *Wendy Drexler, Shorecrest Preparatory School, St. Petersburg, Fla., United States, for the “Many Voices for Darfur” project. *Kelly Dukelow, Kamehameha Schools Virtual Strategies and Distance Learning, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, for the “Ku’u Kupuna Profile Project.” *Leaunda Hemphill, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Ill., United States, for the project “Looking at Technology Integration Issues in the K12 Classroom: A Cross-Cultural Collaboration.” *Margaret Lloyd, School of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia, for the “Land Yachts” project. *Jody Meacher, Global Learning Institute, Eastern Townships School Board, Magog, Quebec, Canada, for the project “Dragons: Good or Evil?” 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), the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET), 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. ISTE is the registered trademark of International Society for Technology in Education.
Marlene Nesary (mnesary@iste.org) Media Contact The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 175 West Broadway, Suite 300 Eugene, OR   97401-3003 Phone : 541-302-3789

NMC Announces $100,000 in Virtual Learning Prizes

This came across my old doctoral listserve at UGA.  Might be an interesting opportunity for some virtual school folks.

—– Forwarded Message —-
From: Larry Johnson <johnson@NMC.ORG>
To: NMCSubscribers@Princeton.EDU
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 4:02:16 PM
Subject: NMC Announces $100,000 in Virtual Learning Prizes

Dear NMCers,

The New Media Consortium (NMC) today announced the call for proposals for the NMC Virtual Learning Prize, a $100,000 competitive program of awards intended to create a collection of innovative open-source learning experiences that make use of the unique attributes of a virtual learning environment. (The full press release is attached.)

The NMC is committed to pushing the boundaries of how we collectively view teaching and learning in virtual space. The NMC Virtual Learning Prize is envisioned as a way to surface and realize creative ideas for how to make optimal use of a virtual setting, using a process that provides recognition, financial incentives, professional development services, and a return for education as a whole.

As many as 20 NMC Virtual Learning Prizes will be awarded in 2008. Each of the US$5,000 awards will provide a cash incentive paid to the awardee of $500 as well as $4,500 in expert development assistance from the NMC Virtual Worlds team to create the learning experience. The range of inworld services available to awardees to actualize the proposed ideas includes professional building, scripting, design, animation, avatar design, and/or related services.

Projects funded under the NMC Virtual Learning Prize program will be those that make learning fresh or novel, or that illustrate concepts that are usually very difficult to teach. Immersive learning experiences in particular are sought, as well as tools that support the craft of teaching. For the 2008-9 award year, funded ideas will be limited to those that can be implemented in the virtual worlds of Second Life or Project Wonderland. In future years, the program may be expanded to other virtual world platforms.

As a requirement of funding, all materials and content produced as part of the program will be licensed for broad use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Proposal authors will retain full copyright to finished products, and all funded materials will be made available to educators and educational institutions at no cost.

Review of proposals will begin on June 16, 2008, and proposals will continue to be accepted until all funds have been expended.

For further information, or to download a proposal submission form, please see the Virtual Learning Prize website at http://www.nmc.org/virtual-learning-prize.

Questions related to the criteria or the submission of an application should be directed to virtual-learning@nmc.org.

Larry Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
___________________________
The New Media Consortium
sparking innovative learning and creativity

6101 West Courtyard Drive
Building One, Suite 100
Austin, TX 78730

tel 512 445-4200
fax 512 445-4205

email johnson@nmc.org
web www.nmc.org

Online Learning Activity Award

This was just posted in one of the NACOL forums. The deadline is kind of tight for this year, but I know that I’ll be submitting something with a colleague of mine for next year.

Have you and your students been involved or are you involved in an original, online learning activity? If so, we encourage you to enter the 2008 SIGTel Online Learning Award competition.

Since 1991, ISTE’s Telelearning Special Interest Group (SIGTel), has recognized creative teachers for their pioneering use of telecommunication networks to provide innovative learning opportunities for school-age students K-16. Read about past recipients.

Entry Information:

• Entries need to describe innovative telecomputing learning activities that will have been completed between 1 February 2007 and 1 June 2008.
• Submission process officially opens January 15, 2008. An online entry form will be posted here on the open date. Deadline to submit is March 31 2008.
• Applicants must provide the names and contact information for two referees who are willing to support the application and are willing to be contacted during the submission and review process.

Award:

1. Awardees will be announced in April 2008.
2. All awardees will receive an invitation to present their project during a web poster session at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Antonio, Texas. June 2008. Awardees will need to provide project information and photos for online and/or conference publications; deadlines to be provided when awardees are announced. Project contributors or partners are welcome to participate in the NECC poster session but only the author will receive an award. All expenses relating to registration and travel to NECC are the responsibility of the honoree, contributors, or partners planning to attend.
3. Awardees will be given a one-year standard membership in ISTE and concurrent membership in ISTE’s Telelearning Special Interest Group.
4. SIGTel will publish the winning entries, and the respective authors’ reflections in its online publication, SIGTel Bulletin, and archive the work as exemplary projects on the SIGTel Web area. All awardees will be required to supply a reflection about their project when contacted by the SIGTel Bulletin editors.
5. SIGTel will provide press release information and photo opportunities at NECC 2008 for winners to publicize their award via their local media.

Criteria for Assessment:

Entries will be evaluated using a rubric based on the following attributes (weightings are shown as a percentage of final score):

• Detailed description of the online learning activity from initial planning to the final evaluation (40%)
• Description of how the online aspect of the learning activity enhanced the regular classroom program (15%)
• Description of how the online learning activity was evaluated and the extent to which original aims and objectives were met (20%)
• Consideration of what the entrant learned from the online learning activity in their classroom with comments and recommendations for development and involvement in future similar activities (25%)

Descriptions should be sufficiently detailed to allow another educator to follow the same process, modifying it to meet the requirements of their own classrooms.

For more information, please contact SIGTel Online Learning Award Chair, Dr. Yvonne Marie Andrés at yvonne@globalschoolnet.org