As 2020 went on, and the pandemic raged, it felt odd to post things about events, engagements, and the like. My last post was in August, as the team I was leading to rebuild our online first-year-composition course wrapped up its work and we created a webinar/vodcast kind of thing for my Making the Jump series. After that I headed into sabbatical, trying to be productive but also still trying to navigate the realities of life via the Zoom box. Though the pandemic is still in full force, there is light on the horizon and 2021 is going to a big year — it has already started with a bang, as I learned at the end of January that I am the 2021 recipient of IU’s President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Technology.

This award honors faculty who have made significant contributions to enhancing the classroom experience with new technologies, who continually adapt and integrate technology into their teaching methods and assignments, and who adopt technologies and pedagogies designed to encourage student learning, motivation, and creativity. Recipients are recognized for their use of technology to change their classroom experience and to influence the way teaching can be done throughout the university.

While I was just honored to be nominated, being selected as the recipient is as much a testament to the amazing people I work with at IU, at Adobe, and at Hypothesis, as it to any of own efforts. These individuals–too many to name in full, though an incomplete list is below–have made it possible for me to succeed, to try out different ideas and practices, to engage in a range of new experiences, and to be innovative even in the face of a pandemic. And for that, I can’t think all of those folks enough. It may be an individual recognition, but it is absolutely a collective that made it possible.

Special thanks to Miranda Rodak for the nomination and to Jill Gray (Adobe) and Julie Johnston (IU) for support letters. Additionally, my sincerest appreciations go out to Katie Pierce, Kevin Bryant, Patrick Hoy, Todd Taylor, Lisa Deakes, Sebastian Distefano, Karen Steele, and Jon Hammond at Adobe; to Dana Anderson, Laura Rosche, Sarah Fischer, Mary Helen Truglia, Chris Andrews, Alex Penn, Adam Maksl, Anna Lynch, Maggie Ricci, and Julie Johnston at IU; to Jeremy Dean at Hypothesis and Remi Kalir of UC Denver (Scholar in Residence at Hypothesis); and to all my Clemson family, especially to Jan Holmevik, Cynthia Haynes, Shauna Chung, April O’Brien, and Victor Vitanza.

And finally, I need to express my deepest gratitude to my wife, Nicole, and children, Gavin and Ryan, who continue to support/tolerate my thinking and conversational musings about technology, learning, digital creativity, digital literacy, and the like.