Annual ICT Year Award – Best e-Teacher

• October 20, 2023
• Andrew

The ‘platinum mouse’ award for Latvia’s ICT year has been awarded since 2007. It aims to identify the most successful digital solutions created in Latvia, to assess the top project creators and developers, and to raise awareness of the meaningful use of technology in society, business, administration and education.

Objectives of the Latvian ICT Prize

• Identify the best digital solutions created in Latvia – society, business, administration and education.
• Evaluate and reward the most outstanding projects.
• Contribute to the development of digitalisation in Latvia.
• Assess and reward the most outstanding digital skills and literacy promoters in Latvia.
• Promote the success of the solutions created in Latvia, thus raising awareness of the importance of digitalisation for the growth of Latvian society and economy.

One of the award categories is “Best e-Teacher”

The ‘best e-teacher’ category can apply for formal education educators who effectively exploit the opportunities of digital content, digital solutions and artificial intelligence in learning. The winners of the prizes included not only computer or IT teachers, but teachers from different subjects who are able to use digital tools to enrich their teaching. The ‘Best e-Teacher’ category is developed in cooperation with industry –Tilde& IT Training Foundation start(it) – and applicants are assessed according to the following criteria:

• Candidate’s personal experience story – Application of AI solutions and digital tools in the educational process: the contribution of the educator to the creation and/or use of a solution (artificial intelligence tools or other digital materials, tools, applications, technologies, solutions, etc.) directly for learning purposes. The most significant benefits for the pupil and educator.
• The influence of the candidate on the education community, the involvement of other teachers and participants in the use and accessibility of this digital solution, sharing good practices.
• Feedback from students, others involved on the impact of the solution on learning process and learning. If the solution is not yet widely applied, the vision of future potential of students or other teachers

Category applications are evaluated by a jury composed of representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, LIKTA, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tilde and Start(IT). A prize money will be awarded to the ‘Best E-Teacher’ category, who will be recognised as the winner by the jury. The premium fund is EUR 1000 (including taxes). The aim of the prize is to motivate and use digital learning tools and to create excellent examples in the use of ICT opportunities to achieve educational objectives. The educational establishment, represented by the beneficiary applicant, also receives an annual subscription to the knowledge resource letonics.lv and the Tilde Office’s annual subscription to the language support tool.

The winners of the prize are announced annually at the annual conference organised by the Latvian Information and Communications Technology Association at the end of the year.

The ‘Best e-Teacher’ award has already been awarded for more than 10 years and three finalists are selected each year, among which the winner is selected. In total, more than 300 teachers from all over Latvia have applied for the prize.