Among the educational technology teams honored as part of the CODiE Awards 2024 Last week is an organization that does not lead in technical specifications, speeds, feeds or even literacy scores. “Our intent as a company and our mission is to prevent student trauma,” says CEO Terry Thoren. wonderful meanswhose Storymaker software won the award for Best Solution for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at the SIIA innovation showcasewhich recognizes innovators and startups with revenues of less than 1 million in revenue.
In this insightful conversation, Terry explains that Story Maker is a project-based learning program where students work in teams to create animated stories, encouraging diversity and collaboration. The tool emphasizes intentionality, connectivity, and other elements to promote happiness and mental health among students. It highlights the importance of creation over consumption in education and addresses the challenges posed by the use of technology among students. He also points out several examples of real-world Story Maker implementation at the district and classroom levels and its potential to engage students in various subjects, including history and language learning. Have a listen:
More about Wonder Media and its solutions:
Terry Thoren's acceptance speech
More about CODIE:
Innovation showcase
The SIIA Innovation Showcase, the springboard to the CODiE Awards, is a dynamic platform that unites entrepreneurs with industry leaders, experts and visionaries. SIIA values the importance of the Innovation Showcase, a time-honored tradition of providing a clear path to the education industry's premier awards – the CODiEs. We celebrate innovators/startups >1 million a year who have made a positive impact, demonstrated achievements, conducted groundbreaking research, and shown exemplary leadership within the specialty education industry.
The 2024 CODiE Awards honored 40 edtech products across 35 categories and eight additional companies received recognition in edtech leadership categories. “The 2024 CODiE Educational technology Awards winners represent the pinnacle of creativity and excellence in providing products and services that connect diverse learners with educational resources and instructors,” said SIIA President Chris Mohr. “We are delighted to honor this year’s winners – the elite in their field – who offer solutions to crucial challenges in education today, ranging from accessibility and equity to personalized and adaptive learning experiences. Congratulations to all of this year's winners.”
Recognized as the industry's only peer-reviewed awards program, the SIIA CODiE Awards recruit educators and administrators to serve as judges in the initial round of evaluations of all nominees. Their meticulous scoring determines the finalists for the SIIA CODiE awards, which account for 80 percent of the overall evaluation. SIIA members then cast their votes on the finalist products, and the scores from both rounds were meticulously tallied to determine the final winners.
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