Kentucky educators who excel at using technology and digital media to support student learning are encouraged to enter the 2017 PBS Digital Innovators Program. KET and PBS have announced a call for entries to the 5th annual program, in which tech-savvy PreK-12 educators are recognized for their creative use of technology and digital media to spark excitement and drive learning in their classrooms.

Now through Feb. 13, 2017, Kentucky educators can apply to the PBS Digital Innovators program by submitting a 60- to 180-second “mini-presentation” video to show how they’re using resources from PBS LearningMedia along with other digital technology and tools to enhance their teaching and inspire a love of learning in their students. Entrants will also be asked to complete a profile and answer a short essay question. The application is available online at www.pbs.org/education/digitalinnovators.

PBS LearningMedia, provided in Kentucky as a KET and KDE partnership, offers digital tools on-demand for educators, including more than 3,000 resources produced by KET as a leading national producer. KET and PBS LearningMedia deliver research-based, classroom-ready digital learning experiences to engage students in exploring curriculum concepts. All resources are aligned with Kentucky’s State Standards. In Kentucky, more than 92,100 teachers, parents, students and educators have viewed more than 3.9 million resources since 2013.

“KET is a dedicated and active partner in K-12 education, providing engaging media resources for every Kentucky classroom,” said Shae Hopkins, KET executive director and CEO. “We’re proud to recognize and partner with innovative educators who are using digital media in order to improve student achievement.”

A panel of judges will select one educator from each state throughout the U.S., its territories and the District of Columbia as PBS Digital Innovators. The Digital Innovators will receive a three-day, all-expense paid trip to San Antonio, Texas, on June 24-26 to participate in the 2017 PBS Digital Innovators Summit and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference.

Digital Innovators will also be rewarded with year-long professional development opportunities. These include virtual trainings on digital best practices, access to exclusive resources from PBS LearningMedia, invitations to special events, a free PBS TeacherLine professional development course, networking opportunities and ongoing support from KET’s education consultants, who provide hands-on digital media training to teachers statewide.

Earlier this year, James Wampler, a teacher at Shelby County High School in Shelbyville, was named the 2016 PBS LearningMedia Lead Digital Innovator for Kentucky. “Digital innovation is important in today’s classrooms because students need exposure to proper utilization of technology to connect them in relevant, engaging and information-rich ways to the real world that they live in,” Wampler said at the time of his award announcement.

Winners of the 2017 PBS Digital Innovators Program will be announced on March 15, 2017. For more information on KET’s PBS LearningMedia service in Kentucky, visit www.ket.pbslearningmedia.org.

KET is Kentucky’s largest classroom, serving more than one million people each week via television, online and mobile. Learn more about Kentucky’s preeminent public media organization on Twitter @KET and facebook.com/KET and at KET.org.

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