Teaching and Learning with Technology Impact Award

Annually celebrating the work and accomplishments of Penn State faculty members whose work transforms education through technology.

Application and Submission Process

All full-time Penn State undergraduate faculty instructors, regardless of tenure or term status, are encouraged to apply. Of particular interest are full-time faculty who have developed projects, courses, collaborations or scholarship with innovative educational or instructional technology that have the potential to significantly improve teaching, learning and scholarship at Penn State and beyond. Self-nominations are welcomed and encouraged. Finalists and the winner will be selected by a committee of three to four faculty members, and at least one member from Teaching and Learning with Technology and the Penn State Libraries.

The award will be made at the discretion of the faculty review committee, which may choose to grant one award, no award, or multiple awards in any year.

Crystal Ramsay presents the TLT Impact Award to Anna Divinsky in 2024
Closeup of a person writing in a journal.

Two-Phased Application Process

Nomination
Faculty, students, staff, and administrators may submit a nomination by completing a brief nomination form. Self-nominations are welcomed and encouraged.

Finalist Submission
Finalists who have been selected from the nominations will be invited to submit a packet of material to the selection committee. Finalists will be notified and will be asked to submit an application packet by January 8, 2025. Applications submitted by finalists will be evaluated using set criteria (please see below).

Nominations for the Teaching and Learning with Technology Impact Award are currently open!

Submit a Nomination

Finalist Materials

The award committee asks the selected faculty finalists to submit an application packet of the following items in early 2025.

Two letters of recommendation, submitted independently to tltaward@psu.edu:

A letter of recommendation solicited from the Dean, Department Head, DAA, or Chancellor with whom the faculty member has primary membership.
A letter of recommendation from a colleague, internal or external peer, and/or staff member familiar with the impact of the faculty member’s work.
In addition, submit the following items in one self-contained PDF file:
Two pages or less describing your teaching history and philosophy.
A page describing your philosophy of technology usage in education.
Two pages or less describing how you have used technology (technologies) in innovative ways to transform teaching and learning over a period of time. Be sure to include an example, with a short description of the purpose, goal, and expected outcome of the technology used.
A paragraph explaining the impact technology has had on your teaching, your students’ learning, or your scholarship focus. Please include any evidence, such as a publication or anecdote, of the impact.
Submission materials should be single spaced, 12-point font. Please send all requested materials directly to tltaward@psu.edu with the subject heading being the finalist’s last name and the name of the award (for example, “Smith TLT Impact”.)

Evaluation Criteria

The selection process considers work that:

  • improves higher education through the use of technology;
  • incorporates technology appropriately;
  • provides greater insight into the effectiveness of teaching, learning, learning spaces, and scholarship;
  • is innovative and original;
  • represents evidence of impact over time; and
  • contains implications beyond one specific academic area.
People sitting in room viewing PowerPoint presentation at 2019 Symposium.
Nittany Lion

Funding Source

The award will be funded from administrative area 4970, cost center 4970410016, internal order 400001005607, TLT’s unrestricted gift fund, and will adhere to the University’s policy FNG04 Employee Reward and Recognition Programs. This award may be subject to taxation, which would be the responsibility of the award recipient.