Microsoft 2011 Global Forum Educator Awards

Doreen McHale, who also recently completed her MEd with the Digital Learning team at St Patrick's College and a teacher at St Philomena’s Primary School in Bray, Co Wicklow, has won second place in the Microsoft 2011 Global Forum Educator Awards’ ‘Extending Learning Beyond the Classroom’ category for her Web 2.0 classroom project.

Doreen’s project took second place in the Extending Learning Beyond the Classroom' category. Her 'Birds of Bray' project was designed to develop her fourth class students' non-fiction report writing skills. Within the context of a collaborative, local, wild bird study, Doreen's students used Web 2.0 tools to collaborate with others on shared research and report writing projects. Students also participated in online collaborative writing, and published and provided feedback on their class blog.

The Microsoft Global Forum Educator Awards were held at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in Washington, DC, last week. This year's winners were selected from more than 115 projects, narrowed from more than 200,000 applicants, who competed at national and regional events during the year to qualify for the worldwide competition. The award ceremony was attended by more than 700 teachers, school leaders and education leaders, as well as government officials from more than 70 countries.

The teachers were presented with their awards by Anthony Salcito, vice president, Worldwide Education for Microsoft who stated  that “Education is critical to the social and economic development of every nation and to the ability of individuals everywhere to reach their full potential. …. We are honored to recognize these amazing professionals for the work they do every day to enrich the educational experiences of children around the world.”

Participants were judged by an international panel of 50 education experts on a number of criteria. Through virtual classroom tours and onsite interviews by judges, the judges looked at how teachers demonstrated innovative teaching practice, giving their students critical 21st-century skills, such as collaboration, critical thinking and social responsibility, by leveraging technology resources.

Deirdre Butler and Margaret Leahy (Education Department, St Patrick's College) also attended the Global Forum in Washington acting as facilitators for the professional development input for the teachers who attended. 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: Tuesday November 22 2011