CNIE-RCIÉ Awards Festival

The CNIE-RCIÉ Awards Festival recognizes excellence in innovative educational practices in the use of technology to support and advance learning at a regional, national or international level in distance; open education/distributed learning; and blended or traditional settings.

This recognition focuses on two areas. The first is technology in educational practices includes partnerships or collaborations, student services and instructional design. The second is technology for learning and teaching and covers the creation of educational media. This competition is adjudicated by a committee of professional peers from across Canada.

Major Sponsor AWARD

Chosen by the judging committee from among the award winners, the Major Sponsor Award is presented to the ‘best overall” submission in recognition of the outstanding educational entry in the Festival.

1. Technology in Educational Practices

Awards in this area include:

1. Award for Excellence and Innovation in Partnership/Collaboration

   This award is presented to a project that is relevant and contributes to the support of open and distance education within both the K-12 and the post-secondary sectors. The purpose is to award a project that has demonstrated best practices and innovation in partnership collaboration. To be eligible for the award at least one of the parties is a CNIE member. The partnership organization(s) can be from inside and/or outside of Canada.

2. Award for Excellence and Innovation in Student Services

   This award is presented to a project that is relevant and contributes to the support of open and distance education within both the K-12 and the post-secondary sectors, government, commercial and/or industrial sectors. The purpose is to award a project that has demonstrated best practices and innovation in student services.

3. Award for Excellence and Innovation in Instructional Design

   This award is presented to a project that is relevant and contributes to the support of open and distance education within the K-12 and post-secondary sectors, government, commercial and/or industrial sectors. The purpose is to award a project that has demonstrated best practices in instructional design, typically with a special focus on innovative uses of educational media or technology.

2. Technology for Learning and Teaching

Awards in this area include:

1. Award for Excellence and Innovation in Overall Use of Technology for Learning and Teaching

   This Award is for demonstrating unique and innovative use of learning technologies to change learning systems in the future for the future.
   This Award will be presented to an individual, team, enterprise that has responsibility for developing and/or implementing a unique and innovative learning product or service using existing technology in a new way or using a new form of technology application.

2. Award for Excellence and Innovation in Video

   This award recognizes film and video productions that are instructional and/or informational projects. These productions may be designed for broadcast, DVD, CD and webcast or video streaming. Videos will be judged on creativity, style, engagement, technical quality and educational effectiveness.

3. Award for Excellence and Innovation in Audio: podcasts, radio

   This award recognizes projects produced for radio broadcast, CD distribution, audio streaming and podcasts. Audio submissions will be judged on creativity, style, engagement, technical quality and effectiveness.

4. Award for Excellence and Innovation in Graphic Design: digital and print

   This award recognizes graphics for web sites, DVDs, print and other presentations. Graphic design submissions will be judge on artistic merit, creativity, engagement, layout, effectiveness, technical quality and accessibility.

5. Award for Excellence and Innovation in Web Design

   This award recognizes web-based technologies that support learning. Web design submissions will be judge on clarity, engagement, interactivity, layout, technical quality, effectiveness and accessibility.

6. Award for Excellence and Innovation in Animation: traditional or computer

   This award recognizes traditional and computer projects produced for broadcast, DVD and video streaming. Audio submissions will be judged on creativity, style, engagement, technical quality and effectiveness.

All entries in the technology for learning and teaching will be judged within four classifications:

• K-12 School System,
• Post-Secondary Institution,
• Government/Commercial/Industry and
• Student Productions. (within the Student Production classification, entries will be grouped into either K-12 or Post-Secondary productions so entrants are judged against their peers").

Video entries, although mastered on various formats, must be submitted on DVD or via a link to the resource online. Any multimedia/interactive/web-based productions must be fully functional and entrants must list any special plug-ins or codes needed to view/use them. These submissions must be able to run without the purchase of additional software.

All entries should be submitted in a format that can be viewed or played easily. Entrants are responsible for providing to the judging committee all correct IP addresses and any usernames or passwords required to access internet web sites. Entries submitted on DVD need to provide 5 copies.

Judging and Festival Awards

One “Award of Excellence" may be given in each classification/category within each award: K-12 School System, Post-Secondary Institution, Government/Commercial/ Industry and Student Productions. Judges may also grant an "Award of Merit" for deserving high quality entries. Either award or no award may be given in any classification.

Award of Excellence:

An Award Of Excellence may be presented to an entry that shows superior innovative ideas combined with high technology standards and style using existing technology in a creative new ways or using new forms of technology in a creative manner to support learning.

Award of Merit:

An Award of Merit may be presented to an entry for its creative use of technology and high technology standards and style, which are combined to support learning.

Eligibility

Entries in the Awards Festival must have been completed between January and December 2009. NOTE: All entries must have at least one partner individual/organization which is a current CNIE-RCIÉ member to be eligible to submit.

Copyright waiver

Payment of the entry fee will be used as your agreement that all materials used in your production, (script, music, visual etc.) have been released and copyright has been obtained. Entry to the Awards Festival constitutes permission from the copyright holder for CNIE-RICÉ to use short clips (usually 30 seconds or less) from the entry during the Festival, and in promotion of CNIE-RCIÉ award programs or conferences. In addition, the entrant releases his/her production for viewing on demand by conference attendees during the annual CNIE-RCIÉ conference.

Conditions of Entry

An entry form must accompany each submission. There is a $50 plus GST/HST entry fee per entry. Qualified parties may submit as many as entries as they wish.

Entries are requested in the following formats:

• Preferred format for all entries: URL (if password protected, provide password)
• Alternate format for video and/or audio: DVD/CD, media file (e.g. video – Quicktime, Windows Media; audio – mp3, wmv) – if on DVD or CD – 5 copies are required.

To join CNIE-RCIÉ, go to: MyCNIE.

The deadline for entries to the 2010 CNIE-RCIÉ. Awards Festival is 25 February 2010. The entry form is available online on the CNIE-RCIÉ website at: http://www.cnie-rcie.ca/ under the Awards heading. Entry is not completed until payment is received. You will receive a confirmation of your entry when payment is processed.

Please login to the CNIE-RCIÉ Web site ( www.cnie-rcie.ca/?q=/user/login). If you have not created an user account you will need to do this first ( www.cnie-rcie.ca/?q=/user/register). Next, please click on Create Content (on the right-hand side of the page), then please click on Awards. On the subsequent screen please complete the fields and include the necessary attachments.