As part of my work at ISTE, I’ve been helping to judge the Sylvia Charp award for District Innovation in Technology since it started in 2004. The award submission process does involve some paperwork, but has its own reward.

Review your district’s vision and implementation plans to help capture what you’ve already done. Document where you are with the NETS essential conditions (PDF) and you’ll see better what your next steps ought to be.

Reflecting on your work this way leads to fine-tuning and new ideas.

Many school districts embark on multiple-year plans, usually three to five years.  If you enter the contest after the first year, you may be not far enough along to have significant results, but each year you can add your gains and submit again. As you review your progress, you may recharge your own batteries in the process!

Anita McAnear
Sylvia Charp Award Judge
ISTE Conference Chair and Acquisitions Editor

I would strongly recommend participating in the process of judging award nominations for ISTE. In addition to contributing to the good of the ISTE community and to the education of children around the world, I feel there are several tangible benefits to the individual involved in the process.

These include (but of course are not limited to):
• Networking with others. Judging the awards gives one the opportunity to virtually connect with other folks with similar interests around the world.
• Seeing what leaders in educational technology are doing in their classrooms and libraries. It is inspiring and uplifting to see some of the creative and caring things going on in so many places. As a judge, one gets to see not only the projects of the final award winners, but also of other nominees as well.
• Getting new ideas for your own work. Becoming aware of good ideas and projects through this process gives one many new ideas, both for new projects to use with one’s  students and teachers, but also of how one might restructure or manage existing projects. 

Tim Staal
SIGMS Technology Innovation Award Judge
Executive Director, MAME (The Michigan Association for Media in Education)

I’ve been serving as a judge for the Outstanding Young Educator Award since it launched in 2010, and it’s one of my favorite responsibilities. Seeing the amazing work of educators in the field—particularly those who are new to the field—is inspiring and really helps identify educators and projects to highlight to the rest of ISTE membership. Some of these educators are right out of school and have new ideas that they’re excited to implement. Others have been in their job for a few years and already have tried and true teaching practices for creating engaging lessons.

It’s through this process that I first encountered Adam Bellow (the 2011 Outstanding Young Educator) and his EduTecher website (an incredible collection of resources, videos, and guides for the connected teacher). It’s also through the OYEA that I first met Mary Beth Hertz, a remarkable technology teacher in Philadelphia who helped start and continues to help organize #edchat, one of our favorite social media resources for teachers. It’s how I met Josh Stumpenhorst, this year’s Illinois Teacher of the Year, and Caroline Haebig, an inspiring teacher in Wisconsin who uses film and video projects to help learning come alive for her students. I could go on and on about the amazing young educators we encounter each year through this process.

Right away, it became clear to us that we couldn’t pick just one, and so we expanded the circle to include a cohort of Emerging Leaders each year. These 3-5 educators provide ISTE with input, help bring a young educator perspective to our magazine and programming, and act as a planning group for many of the young educator network initiatives and events year round and at ISTE’s annual conference.

If you know of a young educator who’s doing great things and whose work would enlighten and inspire the community, consider making a nomination!

Jennifer Ragan-Fore
Outstanding Young Educator Award Judge
ISTE Director of New Media and Member Communities

Consider nominating yourself, a colleague or your district for an ISTE award or sign up to volunteer as an award judge. Nominations close March 1, 2012.