Hi everyone,

It always amazes me that when I ask teachers to please share their great innovative, engaging activities .... I get a blank look and a reply, "Me? This?"  Their everyday "over the top" lessons seem just that to them .... everyday and not spectacular.  Have you found that to be true?

Last year I observed a teacher using PBwiki to post his assignments and to generate discussions in a fifth grade class. The students then learned how to upload their projects such as Voki, Blabberize, and word cloud apps. Student groups were anonymously paired from other classrooms so that they were forced to use the wiki to communicate, collaborate, and share. The lessons were extended outside the classroom with home computers, library computers, and iPods. Each project was eagerly awaited by the students and the resulting activities were viewed over and over by everyone.

When I told Michael Price about the SIGOL Award for online aactivities, he gave me that blank look and that same reply, "Me? This?" Michael entered the contest and won honorable mention. He is still smiling!

So be on the look-out for teachers who are using online learning to reach those students in new and unusual ways. They may not know that what they do is spectacular and a perfect match for this recognition!  The details for the contest are here:

ISTE's SIGOL "Online Learning Award" - http://sigol.iste.wikispaces.net/Online+Learning+Awards

"This award recognizes innovative educators worldwide, for their leadership and creativity in providing e-learning opportunities for elementary through university aged students."

Cheers!

Jill