NetDay Logo

NetDay Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Dr. Rita Oates, Coordinator
EdNET Industry Awards Program
305-669-9090
ritaoates@aol.com

  Emily Garner
The Heller Reports, a QED company
303-209-9421
egarner@qeddata.com

EdNET 2002 Industry Awards Winners Named

NetDay, LearningStation, Riverdeep, CoSN, and Wireless Generation Chosen

Los Angeles, CA, Sept. 25, 2002 -- Five leading education technology and telecommunications companies and non-profit groups NetDay, LearningStation, Riverdeep, CoSN, and Wireless Generation -- were recently named EdNET 2002 Industry Awards winners.

The EdNET Industry Awards are the only educational technology awards that honor companies and non-profit organizations that have made significant contributions to or have the promise to become major players in the educational technology and telecommunications market. The awards, given annually since 1993, are coordinated by EdNET, the Educational Technology and Telecommunications Markets Conference, which is sponsored by The Heller Reports, a QED company.

The five leading companies and organizations in educational technology and telecommunications were honored recently during a luncheon awards banquet at the EdNET 2002 conference in Los Angeles at the Westin Century Plaza Hotel and Spa. The EdNET annual conference brings together hundreds of executives from a wide range of companies focused on educational technology and telecommunications, along with influential educators in the field of technology.

Co-sponsors of the annual awards program hosted by The Heller Reports, a QED company, are Texas Instruments and Words & Numbers. Winners in each category are:
Rookie of the Year - This award honors a small or start-up organization deemed by judges to have created a new product category in education technology and the greatest promise to become a significant player in the technology industry. With 39 nominations, this was the largest group since the award began in 1995.

  • Wireless Generation (www.wgen.net) -- creators of a new generation of highly mobile, easy-to-use tools that support teacher's and school administrator's assessment and management needs and lead to greater accountability.
" We're thrilled to receive this award,, said Larry Berger, CEO of Wireless Generation. "It's great to have others confirm we're on the right track. While we've always maintained an ethos of creating easy-to-use tools that save teachers time and make them more data-driven decision makers, we had no idea how fast the demand would grow for hand-held observational assessment tools like mCLASS:Reading, our flagship reading assessment tool. We're eager to prove that EdNET made the right choice, in the face of stiff competition, in naming Wireless Generation 'Rookie of the Year.'"

HERO Award -- This award is given to organizations having made the most significant positive impact on education through educational technology and telecommunications. A total of 91 companies and organizations were nominated.
For Profit

  • Riverdeep, Inc. (www.riverdeep.com) -- A developer and publisher of educational technology products for the K-12 market. Product lines include mathematics, science, language arts, keyboarding, and assessment tools.
Non-Profit
  • Consortium for School Networking -- CoSN (www.cosn.org) -- A national non-profit organization that promotes the use of information and the Internet in K-12 education to improve learning.
Keith R. Krueger, Executive Director, said of winning the award, "The past year has reminded us how important 'heros' are in society. They provide role models, lay out visions and lead the way. We at CoSN are humbled to receive the designation of this year's EdNET non-profit HERO awardee, especially given that this is our 10th anniversary year. We also want to assure the education technology community that the best is yet to come!"

Pioneer Award -- This award honors organizations contributing most significantly to the growth of the markets for educational technology and telecommunications. A total of 39 companies were nominated.
For Profit

  • Learning Station (www.learningstation.com) -- Provides education with cost-effective academic technology programs through an ASP model of delivery.
Non-Profit
  • NetDay (www.netday.org) -- NetDay began in 1995 as a grassroots volunteer effort by companies, educators, families and communities to wire the nation's K-12 classrooms for Internet access. NetDay has mobilized over 500,000 volunteers to wire more than 75,000 classrooms in states across the country.
" In 1996 when the idea that every classroom should have access to the Internet was just a dream for educators, NetDay provided the 'Pioneer' spirit to make it a reality by facilitating community-based wiring days all across the United States," Julie Evans of NetDay said. "We are very excited to have our work, both the legacy of the NetDay wiring events and the significant value of our current initiatives, recognized by the prestigious EdNET conference as worthy of the Pioneer Award in 2002. For us, there is no finer honor than to be saluted by our peers and colleagues in the ever-dynamic education technology sector."

Individuals familiar with the educational technology and telecommunications industry nominate both for-profit companies and non-profit organizations for the awards. Each year EdNET gathers a panel of education industry experts who subject each nomination to a rigorous judging process.

Additional EdNET 2002 program news is available at http://HellerReports.com/ednet02

####

NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
949.609.4660
info@netday.org