Robert Washburn, Journalism Professor at Loyalist College was honoured with the Canadian New Media Educator of the Year award at the seventh annual Canadian New Media Awards (CNMA) which were presented on May 28th. Each year the CNMA receives hundreds of nominations from new media professionals. Finalists are selected by a panel of industry experts in an online collaboration process. This year’s selection committee consisted of 140 judges from the private, public and non-profit sectors and included several finalists and winners from previous years.
Professor Washburn was the first Canadian educator to bring students into a social networking simulation classroom in the virtual world of Second Life, using this environment as an educational tool. Throughout the last semester 20 students from the second-year Print Journalism program met there for class discussion. It was voluntary and had a 95 per cent participation rate.
"The CNMA recognizes great Canadian talent and work in the digital interactive industry," said Adam Froman, Founder and Executive Producer of CNMA and President and CEO of Delvinia (a leading digital agency). "This year 42 finalists from across 14 award categories demonstrate the innovation and creativity driving the success of the Canadian interactive and new media industries."
"The awards night was amazing," commented Professor Robert Washburn. "It was an incredible honour to receive this award and truly a proud moment for me, my wife and for the College. It is an incredible validation of what we do at Loyalist."
"We congratulate Professor Washburn on this well-deserved award," said Loyalist President Maureen Piercy. "We are very proud of the skill, innovation and commitment to student learning which resulted in Rob being selected. Recognition from professional peers is a very positive reflection on our outstanding faculty and programs, such as E-Journalism."
Professor Robert Washburn named this year’s Canadian New Media Educator of the Year.
More information regarding the 2007 finalists from across Canada can be found on http://www.cnma.ca/index_e/07finalists.html.