Professor Wins National Award for Web Site

A professor in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication won a national award for the best educational Web site in the nation. Assistant Professor Carol Schwalbe received the Broadcast Education Association’s Best of Competition for an innovative and in-depth Web site she created for her Online Media class. Schwalbe designed and built the site to give her students a place where they can access everything they need for class – the syllabus, links to related sites, assignments, step-by-step instructions, resources and more. Nationally recognized professors and professionals from around the country critiqued each faculty entry in a blind peer review similar to that for published research articles. The judges evaluated professionalism, design, currency, content, writing, use of interactivity and multimedia, technical merit and overall contribution to the discipline in both form and substance. From within each category, the judges selected one Best of Competition. Last year the acceptance rate for Best of Competition winners averaged 8.4 percent. The judges gave Schwalbe the top award in the educational category for interactive multimedia work they called “exceptional and worthy of recognition.” According to one judge, “This is a wonderful site.” Another judge applauded the “great site navigation,” “good color choices” and “excellent resources for students.” “Given my print and online background, I was thrilled to be recognized by the broadcast industry at the national level,” Schwalbe said. “Competitions like this motivate us to keep our professional skills sharp and continue doing the things we teach our students.” Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan said he was delighted, but not surprised, by the award. “Carol is one of the best and most innovative journalism professors in the nation,” he said. “This is just the latest illustration of that simple fact.” Two years ago Schwalbe won an Award of Excellence in the Informational Production category for the Cronkite-Zine, an online magazine that showcases the work of Cronkite School students. More than 1,400 journalism educators, industry professionals and graduate students belong to the Broadcast Education Association, which is dedicated to teaching and research about electronic media and multimedia.Schwalbe will receive her award at the Broadcast Education Association’s annual convention in Las Vegas on April 28.