Celebrating excellent research and practice in Learning Technology
The ALT Learning Technologist of the Year Awards celebrate and reward excellent research and practice and outstanding achievement in Learning Technology. Established in 2007, the Awards have established a benchmark for outstanding achievement in Learning Technology on a national scale and attract competitive entries from the UK and internationally. All entries are reviewed by an independent judging panel chaired by the President of ALT. We gratefully acknowledge the support from our sponsors Catalyst, open source technologists, for supporting the Awards this year.
About the Awards
Award categories
You can enter for the following award categories:
- Learning Technologist of the Year (individual)
- Learning Technologist of the Year (team)
- Learning Technology Research Project of the Year
Judging panel
The expert panel of judges is chaired by Martin Weller, President of ALT. The panel represents expertise from different sectors and countries, bringing together a wealth of experience in Learning Technology. The 2018 judges are:
- Sarah-Jane Crowson, Scholarship development manager, Hereford College of Arts
- Dr Louise Drumm, Researcher
- Farzana Latif, Technology Enhanced Learning Manager, University of Sheffield
- Dr Kulari Lokuge, Associate Director eLearning, Monash College
- Alex Moseley, Head of Curriculum Enhancement, Leicester Learning Institute, University of Leicester
- Joey Murison - General Manager, Catalyst IT - Open Source Technologists
- Dr Chrissi Nerantzi, Principal Lecturer in Academic CPD, Manchester Metropolitan University
- Dr James Pickering, Associate Professor in Anatomy, Leeds Institute of Medical Education
- Prof John Traxler, Professor of Digital Learning, University of Wolverhampton
- Prof Martin Weller, Professor of Educational Technology, Open University
Community Choice Award
All short-listed entries will be asked to supply a short video and supporting information for the public vote deciding the Community Choice Award. Voting takes place online during August. If you are looking for inspiration, have a look at the entries from last year's finalists.
Award Ceremony
The Awards will be presented at the Gala Dinner of the ALT Annual Conference in September 2018 at the University of Manchester, UK. The judging panel usually makes the following awards: First, second and third prize as follows: 1st prize £1000; 2nd prize £500; 3rd prize £250. The Community Choice, voted for openly, will also be awarded at the Gala Dinner. Finalists (up to two for teams) are invited to attend the ALT Conference Gala Dinner to receive their Awards. Additional places are available to purchase.
Winners of the Awards
You can find out more about the winners of the Awards from previous years here.
How to enter
The awards are free to enter and are open to individuals and teams based anywhere in the world.
Entry form
You need to complete all sections of the appropriate online entry form. Entries will be judged on the basis of the information you provide and the evidence you refer to. We acknowledge all entries via email. The closing date for entries is Monday, 18th June 2018 for all categoeries.
- Entry Form A: Learning Technologist of the Year (indivdiual or teams)
- Entry Form B: Learning Technology Research Project of the Year
Short-list
The judging panel reviews all entries and the highest scoring entries in each category are short-listed. All entries will be notified whether they have been short-listed or not.
Interviews for short-listed entries
All short-listed entries will be invited for an interview, either in person or online. Interviews usually take place 9-10 July. Interviews will be 25 min long, and you will be asked to give a 10 min presentation followed by questions from the judging panel.
Finalists
Following the interviews all short-listed entries will be notified and Finalists invited to the Award Ceremony. Finalists will be asked to supply a short video and supporting information for the public vote deciding the Community Choice Award. The public vote takes place in August.
Judging criteria
Entries are judged (from the completed entry form, and, if short-listed, at interview) in answer to the following criteria and questions:
| Learning Technologist of the Year |
Learning Technology Research Project of the Year |
The judging criteria are informed by the CMALT principles. We include these here for information: |
|---|---|---|
|
What makes your work THIS YEAR an outstanding achievement in Learning Technology? ('this year' refers to the 12 months prior to submitting your entry) |
What makes this research project THIS YEAR an outstanding achievement in Learning Technology? ('this year' refers to the 12 months prior to submitting your entry) |
|
| What makes your/your team's work excellent? | What makes this research project excellent? | A commitment to exploring and understanding the interplay between technology and learning |
| How did you develop and support this achievement? | A clear, credible statement of what methodological approach was taken and which, if any, ethical implications were considered | A commitment to keep up to date with new technologies |
| Strong evidence that your work has made a significant impact on practices within the your or your team's organisation, community, or sphere of influence | Strong evidence that the project made a significant contribution to Learning Technology, including evidence of its impact | A commitment to communicate and disseminate effective practice |
| Clear explanation of how others may learn from your work and what have you done to enable others to do so |
Clear explanation of how others may learn from this research project and what have you done to enable others to do so |
An empathy with and willingness to learn from colleagues from different backgrounds and specialism |
Proudly supported by
Catalyst IT Europe Ltd
Twitter @Catalyst_IT_EU
Catalyst are a global team of learning technology specialists. We unleash the power of Open Source solutions such as Moodle LMS to deliver enterprise grade systems for university, public and not-for-profit customers. Catalyst empower our clients with the freedom to innovate. This means:
- the freedom to define your own VLE road map;
- the freedom to add community or custom developed plug-ins to your VLE platform;
- the freedom to scale and extend your VLE to reach users across the world.
Whether in the cloud or on your own premises, our managed hosting service will take your VLE performance to new heights, safely. With our comprehensive service level guarantees, you can leave the technical challenges and distractions to us. Freeing you to focus on pedagogy and content – the things that truly add value to your users.