Teaching with Technology | News
Sakai Foundation Announces Expanded TWSIA Award
The Sakai Foundation has opened the call for submissions for the 2011 annual Teaching with Sakai Innovation Award competition, now in its 4th year. The Award Committee, a part of the Sakai Teaching and Learning group, has responded to the growth of the Sakai Community by making several significant changes to the award this year.
Changes to the Award include newly created categories for submissions including face-to-face/blended courses, distance learning primary/secondary (K-12) courses, and non-traditional/non-course site courses such as projects research or portfolio sites--rather than ranking all entries into first, second and honorable mentions. The committee also revised its definition of innovation and award rubric to focus more on the heart of the award, which is excellence in teaching and student engagement.
“Our community is committed to being more than just about the software; we are about education, supporting teaching and learning, and sharing ideas openly for everyone’s benefit,” explains Rob Coyle, 2011 Award Chair and Instructional Designer at Johns Hopkins University. Coyle adds, “One of the best activities we can do as educators is to continue to be students ourselves, to share our experiences and learn from those who have great success. Key to the intent of the award is for the community as a whole to learn from others. That is part of the reason the award’s home is on openedpractices.com, an open repository of education resources we are hoping to help expand.”
The 2011 TWSIA ward is sponsored by IBM Global Education and supported by rSmart and Wiley Higher Education.
Josh Baron, Chair of the Sakai Foundation Board and Senior Academic Technology Officer at Marist College stated, “This award is one of the showpieces of the Teaching and Learning group, where we have the opportunity to really expose the talents of those using Sakai, not just the software system itself. We are very grateful to the committee and especially to the sponsors for making this award possible once again.”
The application deadline for the 2011 Teaching with Sakai Innovation Award is February 7, 2011 at midnight GMT. For more information or to apply for the award, visit the TWSIA Web site.
About the Author
Mary Grush is Editor and Conference Program Director, Campus Technology.