Online Learning Innovator Awards

The iNACOL Online Learning Innovator Awards will recognize learning practices, new research and individual achievements in the field. iNACOL will present the five awards at the annual Virtual School Symposium (VSS) on November 14-16, 2010 in Glendale, AZ, USA. Individuals, schools, districts, states, ministries, research teams, non-profits, and corporations are encouraged to submit nominations.

The five awards given will be:

  • Outstanding/Innovative Online Learning Practice for an Individual/Team/Program - Practitioner
  • Outstanding/Innovative Online Learning Practice for a Non-Profit or For-Profit Individual or Team
  • Important Research by an Individual, Team or Organization
  • Important Research by a Student, Team or Educational Institution
  • Outstanding Individual Contribution to K-12 Online Learning

Please read the descriptions, requirements and instructions below to submit your nomination. All submissions must be completed and submitted to awards@inacol.org no later than October 1, 2010. 

Please send any questions to awards@inacol.org. 

Outstanding/Innovative Online Learning Practice for an Individual/Team/Program - Practitioner

Award Description:

The purpose of this award is to recognize an individual, team, or program whose innovative practices or policies serve as a model for K-12 online learning.

The innovative practice or policy resulted in improving the overall effectiveness, efficiency and success of online learning ultimately leading to improved student achievement.

The innovation results in a “break the mold” practice or policy that has not been routinely implemented across the K-12 online learning industry and serves as a model for other online educators and programs.

Requirements:

Nominations will be accepted for individuals, teams, or entire programs. This award is targeted to online learning practitioners, not organizations who delivery technology products in the online learning community.

The nomination submission must describe the innovation in the context of the situation in which innovation was needed; what was the challenge or problem and how did this innovation effectively solve that challenge? The nomination submission should include evidence that the policy or practice was truly innovative. Such evidence could include, but is not limited to, data that supports an increase in effectiveness, achievement, and efficiency; testimonials; and evidence that others can successfully replicate the innovation in the online learning community.

Application Form

Outstanding/Innovative Online Learning Practice for a Non-Profit or For-Profit Individual or Team

Award Description:

The purpose of this award is to recognize a non-profit or for-profit individual or organization whose innovative practices or policies serve as a model for K-12 online learning.

The innovative practice or policy resulted in improving the overall effectiveness, efficiency and success of online learning ultimately leading to improved student achievement.

The innovation results in a “break the mold” practice or policy that has not been routinely implemented across the K-12 online learning industry and serves as a model for other online educators and programs.

Requirements:

Nominations will be accepted for individuals, teams, or organizations. This award is targeted to non-profit or for-profit individuals, teams, or organizations who deliver technology products in the online learning community.

The nomination submission must describe the innovation in the context of the situation in which innovation was needed; what was the challenge or problem and how did this innovation effectively solve that challenge? The nomination submission should include evidence that the policy or practice was truly innovative. Such evidence could include, but is not limited to, data that supports an increase in effectiveness, achievement, and efficiency; testimonials; and evidence that the innovation can be successfully replicated by others in the online learning community.

Application Form

Important Research by an Individual, Team or Organization

Award Description:

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning sponsors an annual competition for dissertation and research that moves the field forward. The purpose of the Dissertation and Research Award program is to recognize researchers whose research and studies in the field support or promote excellence in online learning and teaching.

Eligibility Criteria:

  1. The nominee must be a member of iNACOL.
  2. The nominee should be an individual(s) who may be affiliated with an institution that has or will publish research or a study that significantly impacts online learning.
  3. The nominee’s major research field must be in education, or the research must focus on online education and learning.
  4. The nominee’s research must have been completed between July 2008 and July 2010.
  5. The research study must represent sound scholarship. The knowledge presented and the conclusions drawn must hold promise for the improvement of education. (Entries are not limited to a particular kind of research.)

Submission Requirements – Nominees must submit all of the following: Application form

Research summary

  1. The summary must include an introduction, including educational rationale and practical application of the study; problem statement; design; data collection methods; results; conclusions; and a brief bibliography.
  2. The summary should be 1,000 to 1,500 words in length excluding the bibliography.
  3. The summary must not include identifying information about the author/ researcher or the organization sponsoring the research. Identifying information about subjects or sample populations is permissible.
  4. The bibliography should include only the citations used in the summary.

Application Form

Important Research by a Student, Team or Educational Institution

Award Description:

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning sponsors an annual competition for dissertation research that moves the field forward. The purpose of the Dissertation Research Award program is to recognize student researchers whose dissertation research and studies in the field support or promote excellence in online learning and teaching.

Eligibility Criteria:

  1. The nominee must be a member of iNACOL.
  2. The nominee should be an individual(s) who may be affiliated with an institution that has or will publish research or a study that significantly impacts online learning.
  3. The nominee’s major field must be in education, or the dissertation must focus on online education and learning.
  4. The nominee’s dissertation must have been completed (approved by the doctoral committee and accepted by the graduate school or school of education) between July 2009 and July 2010.
  5. The dissertation or research study must represent sound scholarship. The knowledge presented and the conclusions drawn must hold promise for the improvement of education. (Entries are not limited to a particular kind of research.)

Submission Requirements – Nominees must submit all of the following: Application form

Dissertation/Research summary

  1. The summary must include an introduction, including educational rationale and practical application of the study; problem statement; design; data collection methods; results; conclusions; and a brief bibliography.
  2. The summary should be 1,000 to 1,500 words in length, excluding the bibliography.
  3. The summary must not include identifying information about the author/ researcher or the degree granting institution. Identifying information about subjects or sample populations is permissible.
  4. The bibliography should include only the citations used in the summary.
  5. Letter of endorsement from the chair of the dissertation committee.
  6. Transcript verifying that the institution awarded the doctorate degree.

Application Form

Outstanding Individual Contribution to K-12 Online Learning

Award Description:

The Outstanding Contribution to K-12 Online Learning award is made to an individual whose insight and innovation has significantly increased the credibility of online learning in general and the effectiveness of an approach or series of particular approaches to distance education in particular.

The award should address a body of work, rather than an isolated breakthrough. The body of work should highlight significant involvement in the field of online learning, prior educational or research experience and a variety of contributions to the field of online learning. The individual is recognized as a leader in the field and has contributed significantly through their involvement.

The award is a tribute to contributions of an individual to the advancement of online learning.

Submission Requirements:

The nomination of an individual can be submitted by the individual or by a reference who is able to support the nomination through personal involvement with the nominee. The nomination should include:

  1. A detailed description of the individual’s contributions including a description of how they were developed and implemented, and what outcomes resulted from the contributions. (1-2 pages)
  2. Evidence that the contributions were truly beneficial to the industry. Such evidence could include, but is not limited to:
    1. how stakeholders were positively impacted by the contributions; and
    2. how the contributions were developed and made actionable within the K- 12 online learning community.
  3. Curriculum Vitae for the nominee describing the directions that they see online education heading in the near future and what they see as the next important problem to be solved.

Application Form