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Webby Awards 2007: Learning Resources.
21/06/2007
Author :
Graeme Daniel
'I only get five words?...' - David Bowie, upon receiving his Webby Lifetime Achievement Award: one of many 5-word acceptance speeches at the 11th Annual Webby Awards, New York City, June 2007.
The annual Webby Awards have rolled around again, and once more we have identified a selection as possible learning resources. As educational usage is not a primary concern in awarding Webbys, our list is considerably shorter than the original. Quite a few of the websites we considered take a fairly long time to load, and therefore may not always be suitable for classroom use, given the less-than-optimal hardware and bandwidth often available - however, that's one for local judgment. Take a look and see what you think.
About the Webby Awards.
This year's Webby winners were announced last month - see PRWEB's Winners of 11th Annual Webby Awards Announced (May 01, 2007), for lots of background information.
The official site provides the authoritative overview: 'The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996... the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences' - follow header links for details.
Wikipedia's Webby Awards article covers:
- History
- Awards granted
- Awards categories
- Acceptance Speeches
- Criticism
On Evaluating Educational Websites.
These may help when considering how useful a site may be for a particular purpose:
Great Web Sites for Kids Selection Criteria (ALSC Children and Technology Committee, 1997)
Evaluating Websites in 5 Easy Steps (Pamela Dong, 2004)
Critical Evaluation Surveys and Resources (Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators) - a large collection.
Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask (UC Berkeley, 2007)
Winners, Nominees and Honorees.
Webby Awards Nominees & Winners and Honoree Selections are listed separately, though both lists are categorised using identical headings. We have not systematically scoured the Honorees list to identify educational resources, though we did look at the Art and Education sections. From what we found there, we can safely assume that many other high-grade learning resources remain to be discovered among the Webby Honorees.
Selections Organised along Educational Lines.
Websites are identified as W (Winner), N (Nominee), P (People's Voice Winner) or H (Honoree), along with the designated Webby Award category, e.g., 'ART / N' signifies a Nominee in the ART category.
ARTS:
10 ways (Getty Images: ART / N) - interactive exploration of effects of light in determining mood, emotion and dramatic contrast within an image.
Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era (Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt: ART / N) - graphic timeline 1938 - 1971.
Universal Leonardo (University of the Arts, London 2007: ART / N) - reference to European exhibitions, scientific research and web-based resources.
Playing with Shadows: An Introduction to Shadow Puppetry (ARTSEDGE, Kennedy Center: EDUCATION / N)
The 2007 UWA Perth International Arts Festival (University of Western Australia: EVENTS / N) - see especially School Events.
The Dumpster (Tate Online, 2006: NETART / W) - an information visualisation using data from web logs, by Golan Levin with Kamal Nigam and Jonathan. By way of introduction, see the Artist Statement
We Feel Fine (Jonathan Harris & Sepandar Kamvar, 2006: NETART / N) - an exploration of human emotion on a global scale.
Denver Art Museum (ART / H) - features student tours, teacher workshops.
i del Corazon! Latino Voices in American Art (Smithsonian American Art Museum: EDUCATION / H) - photographs, videos, and other resources reveal artists and their works.
SFMOMA ArtThink (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: EDUCATION / H) - curriculum site providing theme-based activities in visual arts, language arts, history and social studies.
Tate Online and Tate - The BT Series are both ART Honorees. See especially the Tate's Schools and Teachers page.
Smithsonian Photography Initiative (CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS / W) - search and view.
CAREER / VOCATIONAL EDUCATION:
Dream It. Do It. (Manufacturing Institute: ASSOCIATIONS / P)
Start Here. Go Places. (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: ASSOCIATIONS / N) - accounting training and career options.
Virtual Quarry Interactive (Quarry Products Association: ASSOCIATIONS / N) - the Teacher’s Desk has resources to help with incorporating this theme into the national curriculum.
Monster Career Advice (Monster.com: EMPLOYMENT / P) - broadly-based site.
LInkedIn (LinkedIn Corporation: EMPLOYMENT / N) - networking.
Simply Hired (EMPLOYMENT / N) - job search tool.
Workplace Fairness (EMPLOYMENT / N) - preserving and promoting employee rights.
DESIGN:
Gallery Online (MoMA: CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS / N) - streaming video tour of the Design display.
COLOURlovers Blog (Lord IV, 2007: ART / N) - dedicated to the appreciation of the element of colour; lots of palettes.
Flickr (BEST VISUAL DESIGN - FUNCTION / W) - premium photo-sharing service.
Design Lab (Electrolux: ART / W) - environmental design competition.
People's Design Award (Cooper-Hewitt: ART / P)
Feeding Desire (Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum: ART / H) - design and tools of the table.
EDUCATION:
Smithsonian Education (Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies: CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS / P) - resources for students, educators and families.
GreatSchools (greatschools.net: FAMILY/PARENTING P) - parents' guide to k-12 schooling.
10 Ways IU is Red Hot (Indiana University, Office of Creative Services: SCHOOL / W) - promotional.
Make Yourself at Home on a Virtual Visit to Trinity University (SCHOOL / P) - promotional.
Hello Staffs! (Staffordshire University: STUDENT / N) - an introduction from the Arts. Media and Design faculty.
BrainPOP Jr. (BrainPOP: EDUCATION / H) - provides educational movies and homework help for K-3 students; free trial.
Cosmeo (Discovery Education: EDUCATION / H) - homework help; free trial.
Full Sail Real World Education (BEST HOME/WELCOME PAGE / N) - media arts college trains for careers in music, film, video games, design, animation.
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES:
TreeHugger.com (BLOG - CULTURE/PERSONAL / N)
FINANCIAL EDUCATION:
Zopa (BANKING/BILL PAYING / W) - marketplace for Social Lending.
Bank of America Online (Bank of America Corporation: BANKING/BILL PAYING / N)
Chase.com Demos (JPMorgan Chase & Co: BANKING/BILL PAYING / N)
Know Your Money (Commonwealth Bank: BANKING/BILL PAYING / N) - everyday money guide; features an interesting solution to download boredom.
The Wall Street Journal Online (Dow Jones Online: FINANCIAL SERVICES / W)
CNNMoney.com (Cable News Network: FINANCIAL SERVICES / P) - online magazine.
GENERAL REFERENCE:
HowStuffWorks (HowStuffWorks, Inc: BEST COPY/WRITING / W)
Yahoo! Answers (Yahoo!, Inc: COMMUNITY / N) - social search.
The LIbrary of Congress (GOVERNMENT / N)
GEOGRAPHY:
My Wonderful World (National Geographic Society: ACTIVISM / N) 'Geography is ... essential to understanding our interconnected world.'
The Gapminder World 2006 (Google: BEST VISUAL DESIGN - FUNCTION / N) - tool displays moving graphs visualising world development.
Discovering Antarctica (Royal Geographical Society, British Antarctic Survey, Foreign and Commonwealth Office: EDUCATION / N)
Discovery Atlas (Discovery.com: TELEVISION / N)
HEALTH:
Escape from Diab (Archimage: YOUTH / N) - a health and nutrition game.
Nothing But Nets (United Nations Foundation: CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS NONPROFIT / P) - antimalaria campaign.
Samaritans of Singapore (CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS NONPROFIT / N) - suicide prevention and support.
WebMD (HEALTH / P) - medical reference.
Teenwire (Planned Parenthood Federation of America: HEALTH / N) - sex education.
Know Menopause (Wyeth Pharmaceuticals: PHARMACEUTICALS / W) - video presentation.
Depression: Real Stories (Cymbalta: PHARMACEUTICALS / P) - videos.
Images of Isolation (National Eczema Association) - photographic essay detailing eczema cases.
HOME ECONOMICS:
Dream Kitchens for Everyone (IKEA: BEST NAVIGATION/STRUCTURE / W)
Seafood Watch (Monterey Bay Aquarium: EDUCATION / N) - much more than food. See especially the Teachers and Kids page.
Epicurious.com (CondéNet: LIFESTYLE / N) - one of the great recipe collections.
FoodNetwork.com (Scripps Networks / LIFESTYLE / N) - food, cooking, nutrition, kitchen.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES:
The major strands of Web 2.0 technologies are well-represented in this year's Webbies - see Paul Glazowski's summary in 11th Annual Webby Awards Winners Announced (Profy: May 01, 2007).
Other notable ICT-related awardees include:
del.icio.us (Yahoo!: BEST PRACTICES / N)
SaveTheInternet.com (ACTIVISM / P) and Wearetheweb.org (POLITICS / N) - Net Neutrality advocacy sites.
Flash Tenth Anniversary (Adobe Systems Incorporated: BEST NAVIGATION/STRUCTURE / N)
Girl Solo In Arabia (Carolyn McIntyre: BLOG - CULTURE/PERSONAL / N)
CNET.com (CNET Networks: GUIDES/RATINGS/REVIEWS / P)
LAW:
LawHelp.org (LAW / W) - helps people find free legal aid programs, answers to questions about their legal rights.
FindLaw (LAW / P) - a broadly-based portal.
Nolo (LAW / N) - a legal reference.
Thomas (Library of Congress: LAW / N) - legislative information.
LITERATURE:
PoetryFoundation (ASSOCIATIONS / W) - articles, poems, news, readings, children's section, more.
MUSIC:
SoundJunction (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music: EDUCATION / N) - listen, explore, discover, create. See also the ABRSM site, with teacher, student and parent sections.
Last.fm (MUSIC / W) - social search and listen.
BBC Electric Proms (EVENTS / N) - bringing together the best new and established live performers.
BBC Radio 1 (RADIO / N)
World Music (National Geographic / MUSIC N} - an international approach to music appreciation.
NEWS, CURRENT AFFAIRS AND ISSUES:
BBC News (NEWS / W)
Reuters (NEWS / N) - the world's largest international multimedia news agency.
Truthdig (NEWS / N) - incisive comment.
These Times Demand The Times (The New York Times: BEST COPY/WRITING / N)
Magazines nominated in the BEST COPY/WRITING category:
New Yorker Magazine
Salon
Slate Magazine
Worldchanging (MAGAZINE / N) - 'the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us.'
NPR.org (RADIO / P) and NPR Podcasts (PODCASTS / W)
GuardianUnlimited Podcasts (Guardian: PODCASTS / N)
PARENTING AND FAMILY:
Sprout (PBS Kids: FAMILY/PARENTING / W)
Curious George (WGBH Boston: YOUTH / N) - games, printables, videoclips, Parents' and Teachers' Area
KidsHealth (FAMILY/PARENTING /N) - parents, kids, teens sites.
Parents Connect (FAMILY/PARENTING /N)
POLITICAL SCIENCE:
Comment Is Free (Guardian Unlimited: BLOG - POLITICAL / N)
MotherJones.com (BLOG - POLITICAL / N)
The Caucus: Political Blogging from The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/caucus (NYTimes.com: BLOG - POLITICAL / N)
FactCheck (Annenberg Public Policy Center: GOVERNMENT / P)
Opensecrets (Center for Responsive Politics: POLITICS / W) - American electoral issues.
Public Agenda Online (POLITICS / N) - easy search for resources on current public issues.
RELIGION:
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (Educational Broadcasting Corporation: RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY / W) - companion to the TV program.
Beliefnet (RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY / N)
SCIENCES:
Denver Zoo (Denver Zoological Foundation: CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS NONPROFIT / N) - see especially Education and Kids sections.
Scientific American Podcasts (PODCASTS / N} - 60-Second Science audio.
HubbleSite (Space Telescope Science Institute: SCIENCE / W) - lots of images, and an Education and Museums section.
Earth Guide (Japan Science and Technology Agency: SCIENCE / N) - graphic presentation of basic planetary science and related data.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (SCIENCE / N) - mostly astronomical.
NOVA scienceNOW (PBS Online: (SCIENCE / N)
Exploratorium (EDUCATION / H) - museum of science, art and human perception.
Interactivate (Computational Science Education Reference Desk: EDUCATION / H) - interactive resources for science and mathematics.
NOAA Ocean Explorer: Tracking Narwhals in Greenland (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: EDUCATION / H)
TOURISM:
Wikitravel (TRAVEL / W) - a project to create a free, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide; comprises 15,396 destination guides and other articles.
TripAdvisor (TRAVEL / P) - travel planning search engine.
Expedia.com and Kayak.com (TRAVEL / N) - planning tools.
The Webby Awards Are Not the Webbie Awards.
Massachusetts Computer Using Educators has launched an annual Webbie Awards program , intended to recognise excellence in school web site design at the Classroom, School and District level. MassCUE's site links to the Webbie Awards Scoring Rubric and to the Honorees for 2007. Winners at each level were:
These are all excellent examples of websites used to enhance K-12 learning environments.
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