Distinguished panel reviewing best and brightest apps, platforms, products and people in the edtech world.

Thought leaders, journalists, educators, entrepreneurs, technology coordinators and forward-thinking change agents are among those evaluating entries in the annual EdTech Digest Awards Recognition Program. The prestigious awards program celebrates the best and brightest apps, platforms, products and people in the education and technology (“edtech”) world. The distinguished panel of judges represents a wide variety of backgrounds and are all esteemed leaders in their various areas. Judges include:

Mark Weston. Mark has spent nearly four decades working to enhance education for all students through key positions at Dell, Apple, Education Commission of the States, at the Department of Education, and with key congressional leaders, state legislatures, governors and school leaders. He has contributed to groundbreaking initiatives in more than half a dozen states. He retired as Associate Dean, Learning Systems at Georgia Tech Professional Education and continues writing.

Judy Faust Hartnett. Judy is a contributing editor to EdTech Digest. She was editor-in-chief of District Administration magazine for nearly six years. Passionate about education technology, she is a recognized leader in education journalism. Previously, she was the managing editor of the venerable ConsumerReports.org with more paid subscribers than any other publication-based website in the world.

Mark Gura. Mark taught at New York City public schools in East Harlem for two decades. He spent five years as a curriculum developer for the central office and was eventually tapped to be the New York City Department of Education’s director of the Office of Instructional Technology, assisting over 1,700 schools serving 1.1 million students in America’s largest school system.

Ted Fujimoto. Ted is an experienced entrepreneur and consultant in organizational performance, development, scaling and business planning. He has helped develop business strategies representing more than $150 million in funding. He has helped design one of the most highly regarded school networks in the country and has been a grant manager for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Carnegie Foundation.

Eliot Levinson. Eliot is Founder and CEO of the BLEgroup, one of the nation’s preeminent networks of education decision makers with deep practical knowledge in education technology. The group represents over 180 working CIOs, superintendents, business administrators and heads of instruction from State Education Departments, large, intermediate and leading-edge technology districts. Eliot has a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Policy Science, an M.S. degree in Applied Medical Anthropology, an M.A. in Education from Stanford, and a B.A. in History from Middlebury College.

Mitch Weisburgh. Mitch has overseen development of systems, content, curriculum, and courses across the spectrum of K-12, postsecondary, corporate training, and job readiness and helped many organizations expand in both K-12 and Higher Education. Mitch co-authored the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) guide to the Postsecondary Market and is a national speaker at conferences on education technology in both K-12 and higher education. He is an expert in edtech growth and business development strategies.

To be considered, request an entry form and program details. Entry is easy and brief. Entrants must not contact the judges directly. The awards program is open to industry solutions providers, educators and others in and around education including K-12, higher education and lifelong learning. The program includes three broad entry categories: the Cool Tool awards, the EdTech Leadership awards, and the Trendsetter awards. Each award, in turn, has numerous subcategories under which to enter, e.g., emerging technology solutions, mobile learning applications; edtech visionary, product or service setting a trend, and so on.

“Our judges this year are giants among us, having influenced millions through their efforts at improving, advancing and modernizing education,” says Victor Rivero, Editor in Chief of EdTech Digest. “They are highly regarded leaders from a variety of experiences but what they all have in common is a keen eye for what works in education and technology.”

As for the awards program, “We’re very happy to help celebrate the best and brightest apps, platforms, products and people in the edtech world,” says Rivero, “But what’s really exciting is the real difference it all makes for our future.”

For details and an entry form, write to: victor@edtechdigest.blog