LTC Awards
Recognizing people and school districts in Illinois for empowering educational change through technology
Vision Awards
The LTC Vision Award recognizes innovative or exemplary projects that empower the use of technology and/or digital learning within the classroom. These projects demonstrate a clear vision of technology in education, a strong impact within their target populations, and serve as examples for other districts and teams.
Projects may support professional learning and capacity building; student academic or social emotional growth; robust infrastructure and secure systems; digital citizenship and literacy; technology-enhanced curriculum, instruction, and assessment; or student involvement.
Eligibility: Projects led by teams supporting others with the integration and use of technology.
Who Can Nominate?: Peer nominations and self-nominations are accepted.
Nomination Process & Criteria: The LTC Award Committee, comprised of LTC staff and district volunteers, will review all nominations according to the following criteria:
- Impact: The demonstrable, measurable benefit that the program or project has delivered to student learning, as well as how it has addressed higher-level thinking skills.
- Creativity & Innovation: How the initiative helps address an educational need in a unique way that inspires peers to adopt a similar initiative.
- Breakthrough: The novelty of the initiative, especially as it improves on previous approaches or establishes a new paradigm that peers can replicate
- Alignment with LTC Mission : Clear connection between one (1) primary and one or more secondary priority areas: digital learning; professional learning, technology support, equity and access, data privacy and cybersecurity.
- Accessibility & Equity: The ways in which the project incorporates components and activities that promote diversity, equity and inclusion
Benefits: Recipients of the LTC Vision Award receive the following:
- An engraved award acknowledging their achievement
- Recognition at IETC2023
- One complimentary day of in-district professional learning for their district or school provided by the LTC
- Up to four complimentary registrations to the Illinois Education and Technology Conference (IETC2023)
- Recognition in LTC publications and on LTC website
- Opportunities to contribute to the field in partnership with the LTC
Past Vision Winners
Barrington CUSD 220
‘s Elementary Social Global Studies Digital curriculum gained distinction for its innovative incorporation of equity, diversity, and inclusion into a digital K-5 social studies curriculum. Through this curriculum, the district provided its educators with innovative resources and strategies that organically recognize and value students’ cultural backgrounds, experiences, and identities.
The Elementary Social Global Studies Digital curriculum was also selected based on its use of a combination of digital tools, inquiry-based learning, and opportunities for creativity. These tools and strategies equipped students with the skills necessary to navigate an interconnected world, think critically about complex global issues, and become engaged and responsible global citizens.
Approximately 3,200 kindergarten through fifth grade students in northeast Illinois have been impacted by this program.
Will County School District 92‘s Coding with Robotics project saw a group of 4th grade students in the district plan, present, and implement activities that made use of recently-acquired Dash bots.
Will County SD 92’s project was selected based on its unique use of project-based learning to teach students about coding and other STEM concepts. Participants in this project also relied on problem-solving skills and organic engagement, allowing each activity to have a deeper, more memorable impact.