ITC Awards for Excellence in eLearning

The Instructional Technology Council would like to give you the opportunity to recognize your staff for their tremendous hard work, excellent service to your students, and quality eLearning courses. 

Nominees can include ITC member college administrators, faculty members, or individuals from other agencies that have supported eLearning initiatives at a community college or other higher education organization.

Awards nominations for 2024 have closed. 

AI Innovation in eLearning- The AI Innovation in eLearning award recognizes the integration of artificial intelligence to enhance eLearning environments. This technology leverages AI to personalize learning experiences, automate administrative tasks, and/or provide data-driven insights into student performance. 

Required Information:

Access & Overview: Provide a link to the nominated eLearning technology along with any necessary login details. Briefly describe its primary innovations and its role in enhancing the eLearning experience. (500 word maximum)

1. Innovation & User Experience: (200 word maximum)

• Explain why this unit or individual is a standout contender for the ITC award, focusing on the unique and innovative features of the eLearning technology.

• Detail its user-friendly design and how it offers an optimized learning experience for faculty and students. 

2. Benefits & Impact with a Focus on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging): (200 word maximum)

• Describe the transformative impact of the technology in teaching and learning.

• Provide evidence or statistics showcasing its effectiveness. Emphasize how it champions diversity, ensures equity, fosters inclusion, and promotes a sense of belonging among diverse student populations.

3. Evaluation & Forward-Thinking: (200 word maximum)

• Share insights on how the eLearning technology has been evaluated. Highlight any upcoming enhancements or features, particularly those that further reinforce the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Innovative eLearning Technology - Institutions of higher education may nominate an organizational unit or person that has demonstrated the outstanding use of a new technology tool or delivery system to accomplish a new method of student delivery or learning. The students may be located on or off campus, and may be taking a face-to-face, blended learning, or fully distance course. The application must include how the efforts of the organizational unit or individual are new, innovative, unique and replicable. 

Required Information:

Access & Overview: Provide a link to the nominated eLearning technology along with any necessary login details. Briefly describe its primary innovations and its role in enhancing the eLearning experience. (500 word maximum)

1. Innovation & User Experience: (200 word maximum)

• Explain why this unit or individual is a standout contender for the ITC award, focusing on the unique and innovative features of the eLearning technology.

• Detail its user-friendly design and how it offers an optimized learning experience for faculty and students. 

2. Benefits & Impact with a Focus on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging): (200 word maximum)

• Describe the transformative impact of the technology in teaching and learning.

• Provide evidence or statistics showcasing its effectiveness. Emphasize how it champions diversity, ensures equity, fosters inclusion, and promotes a sense of belonging among diverse student populations.

3. Evaluation & Forward-Thinking: (200 word maximum)

• Share insights on how the eLearning technology has been evaluated. Highlight any upcoming enhancements or features, particularly those that further reinforce the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Outstanding eLearning Support for Faculty or Students - Institutions of higher education may nominate an organizational unit that has built a solid reputation for outstanding support and service for their faculty or students. Nominations should only include one organizational unit focused on either student or faculty support. The application must include how this unit’s efforts are replicable and innovative. 

Required Information:

1. Access & Overview: Provide a link to the nominated technical support and services. Include necessary login details to allow the panel a thorough examination while ensuring security.

2. Unit Distinction & Impact: (500 word maximum)

• Describe why this organizational unit is noteworthy for the ITC award, emphasizing its exemplary eLearning faculty or student support services.

3. Effectiveness & Outcomes: (200 word maximum)

• Discuss how the unit's efforts have made a positive impact on student retention and faculty satisfaction.

• Back up claims with evidence or evaluation results to showcase the effectiveness of their support services.

4. Evaluation & Enhancement: (200 word maximum)

• Detail the methodologies used by the unit to appraise and refine its services.

• Share specific instances where feedback led to improvements or innovations in their support framework.

Outstanding eCourse Designer or Design Team - Institutions are invited to nominate one eCourse designer or design team to receive this award.  An eCourse is defined as one where fifty percent or more of the instruction and activities take place at a distance.  Only courses developed in-house at a post-secondary institution will be considered. The course must be designed with a high level of interactivity, multimedia, communication, and variety of instructional and course management strategies. These strategies must be replicable and assist an instructor to facilitate more effectively; continuously evaluate student performance and course quality; and provide an outstanding educational experience for the students. Information about the course will be gathered from the application and access to the course for verification and review will be used for the evaluation.  

Required Information:

• Access & Overview: Share a link to the nominated eCourse. Provide any necessary login details ensuring student privacy is maintained. Mention the name of the fully-online course.

• Course Distinction & Design: (500 word maximum)

• Describe why this eCourse stands out and merits the ITC award.

• Highlight its instructional design, ease of navigation, and how it ensures mastery learning of course objectives.

• Interactivity & DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging): (200 word maximum)

• Provide examples of communication strategies that foster interaction among students and with the instructor.

• Highlight eCourse design features that promote content accessibility, catering to diverse student needs, including ADA compliance considerations.

• Evaluation & Feedback: (200 word maximum)

• Describe methods to assess student performance and ensure learning objectives are achieved.

• List opportunities for student feedback on eCourse content, and share examples of formal course evaluation methods.

1. Course Access: Share a link to the nominated educator's courses or materials. If login is required, provide the necessary credentials. Ensure student privacy is maintained.

2. Reason for Nomination: Why should this person receive an ITC award? Highlight their contributions as an eLearning champion. Consider their attention to equity and how they address the needs of diverse student populations. (500 word maximum)

3. Teaching Strategies: Share creative and innovative examples of their eLearning strategies. Ensure to highlight: (200 word maximum)

• Creativity

• Attention to equity and diverse student needs

• Use of diverse technologies

• Mastery of course learning objectives

4. Course Interaction, Management, and Collaboration (Choose any to elaborate on): (200 word maximum)

• Communication & Collaboration: Describe their methods for effective communication and collaboration in eLearning.

• Management & Retention: Discuss strategies they employ for course management and student retention.

• Group Activities: Explain how they incorporate group or collaborative activities with a focus on diverse student needs and equity.

Outstanding eLearning Student -  ITC will recognize every online student who is nominated for this award as a distinguished eLearner, chosen by his or her institution as an exemplary member of his or her community. There is a limit of one nominee per institution. ITC judges will choose ONE or TWO exemplary students to receive ITC's 2023 Outstanding eLearning Student award from this pool of distinguished online learners. (500 word maximum)