10 years of rewarding excellence
Asking for more
As the E-Learning Awards celebrates its 10th season, over the course of 2014 e.learning age plans to look back at the Awards held in each of the years since its inauguration and see what the highlights and the key moments were over the years. This month, we’re going all the way back to 2006…
T
he E-Learning Awards had gripped the imagination of the industry from the off. Phil Green, chair of the judges and acting eLearning Network chairman, noted that there were more companies competing – almost 100 entered – and that each of the individual categories received a high number of submissions and the judges were impressed with the quality and the international flavour of the competition. Green made the comment that the judges wanted to see the Awards used to set standards that all those involved – on the supply side or the consumer side – could use as a benchmark. The idea that the Awards recognise excellence in e-learning and spur
the industry on to even greater heights is now well established and widely acknowledged. And that has happened because of the demanding standards set by the Awards process itself, with the judges asking for more: back in 2006 Green noted that it would be valuable to have more evidence of cusses from stakeholders
SoundJunction
One of the innovative pieces of e-learning to catch the judges’ attention eight years ago was Sound Junction from Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM). The citation noted: “SoundJunction is a free, interactive website aimed at teenagers who want to discover and explore a passion for music. The website provides an interactive forum for teenagers, encouraging them to nurture their creativity and passion for music. The site brings a fresh approach to learning about music and takes advantage of the opportunities that online learning can provide. Rather than use traditional paper-based reading work, the website caters for all abilities and interests with listening, interactive and creative exercises available.
“With an emphasis on interaction, the website offers a wide range of features such as tools for creating music, video, audio, and imagery software, and a focus on contemporary artists and their material. The technology has provided new insights, new dimensions and new horizons.”
16 In internet time eight years is an age so it would come as no surprise to find
that the ABRSM had abandoned SoundJunction, but it is in fact still going strong: type in
www.soundjunction.org and you hear the music before you see the website. The strapline at the top of the website invites you to ‘listen, explore, discover, create’. And it promises that you can take music apart, find out how it works, create, find out how other people make music and how they perform it. It’s as useful today as it was in 2006. It has information on musical instruments and different musical styles. It features 40 hours of audio and video, and over 1,000 specially written articles. At the centre of the site are three inspiring new pieces by composers from different musical traditions (West African, Western classical, and jazz) and a series of specially commissioned remixes that cover a wide range of contemporary styles. The site uses tools and technologies to allow users to create their own music by remixing elements of the three SoundJunction pieces with other ‘sound bites’ from the SoundJunction library.
e.learning age february 2014
as well as comments from learners. It’s something which now does happen almost as a matter of course. The other message from Green was that e-learning had to demonstrate its
purpose. He wrote: “The ability to demonstrate added value is a leitmotif that runs through each and every Award. We can be as creative, innovative and inclusive as we like, but ultimately our purpose is to advance the goal of our customer’s business. We should be looking for both hard and soft measures.” Green also promised a review of the categories to ensure they were contemporary with trends and technology – a process that continues to this day (see page 06). The sponsors have always been a key part of the E-Learning Awards offering
support, knowledge and enthusiasm: sponsors in 2006 were City & Guilds, Becta, Redtray, Academee and Atlantic Link; some of the names on that list prove how in this sector change is a constant.
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