Technology & Learning - December 2007 - (Page 13) A Tradition of Excellence When T&L ran its first Awards of Excellence program back in 1982, Seymour Papert’s Logo programming language was all the rage, and Classroom Computer News (this magazine’s birth name) was printing pages of code for those early adopters in schools eager to share learning activities designed for the Apple 11, Radio Shack’s TRS-80, the Commodore PET, the IBM PC, and other groundbreaking computers. That year we recognized Scholastic’s Bank Street Writer, The Learning Company’s Moptown, and McGraw Hill’s Geography Search, among other “best of the best” products. Though the technologies have advanced at a dizzying rate over the past 25 years, this awards program has remained much the same. Educators are still at the core of the judging process (see “Awards of Excellence 2007 Judges,” page 39), with hours of good old-fashioned testdriving conducted in school labs and with detailed writeups provided to our editorial staff. The bottom-line criteria are also the same: Is the program a “best of breed” or a groundbreaker? Is it pedagogically sound? A crucial solution? User-friendly? Innovative? And, as with the judges from the earliest days of the program, today’s evaluators bring to the task a sense of enthusiasm and passion for what they do. At this quarter-century mark in our Awards of Excellence program, we are happy to recognize 54 high-quality offerings for the 21st-century education market. From 120 entries, our 32 educator-judges and editorial team had the tough job of whittling down this broad selection of practical and innovative tools and resources. This year’s two top winners showcase differentiated instruction—a focus on teaching core skills in a selfpaced online environment and a goal of measurably improving student achievement. Additional trends spotted in this year’s crop of products include software solutions for managing and monitoring classroom computers—an essential in this age of increasing laptop and one-to-one programs. Cool tools that encourage innovation in lesson design and assessment are also on the rise, with e-portfolio applications and a whole new palette of creative interactive elements that educators can integrate into the curriculum to engage their “digital native” students. As well, content remains king, with many winners offering deep wells of curriculum resources that can be accessed within secure environments. —Susan McLester Technology & Learning December 2007 | 13
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - December 2007 Technology & Learning - December 2007 Contents Leaders of the Year 2007 Awards of Exellence Portraits of Learning Technology & Learning - December 2007 Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Technology & Learning - December 2007 (Page Cover1) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Technology & Learning - December 2007 (Page Cover2) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Contents (Page 1) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Contents (Page 2) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Leaders of the Year 2007 (Page 3) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Leaders of the Year 2007 (Page 4) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Leaders of the Year 2007 (Page 5) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Leaders of the Year 2007 (Page 6) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Leaders of the Year 2007 (Page 7) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Leaders of the Year 2007 (Page 8) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Leaders of the Year 2007 (Page 9) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Leaders of the Year 2007 (Page 10) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Leaders of the Year 2007 (Page 11) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 12) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 13) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 14) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 15) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 16) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 17) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 18) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 19) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 20) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 21) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 22) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 23) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 24) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 25) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 26) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 27) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 28) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 29) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 30) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 31) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 32) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 33) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 34) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 35) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 36) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 37) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 38) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 39) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Awards of Exellence (Page 40) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page 41) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page 42) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page 43) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page 44) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page 45) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page 46) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page 47) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page 48) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page Cover3) Technology & Learning - December 2007 - Portraits of Learning (Page Cover4)
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