Every fall I gear up for another season of Green Bay Packers football. There are a lot of reasons to love the Packers. They’re a small town team, they have some amazing (if currently injured) players, and they play in one of the most legendary stadiums in all of sports.
But the reason I love the Packers is that they are always working to reach that next level. They are never satisfied with what they have already done, and they never expect something to happen again just because it has happened before.
While some teams begin the season with the hope of winning their division, making the playoffs or simply having a winning record, the Packers’ list consists of one item only: the Super Bowl. From preseason to playoffs, through wins and losses, this is the goal on the minds of the players and the fans. They expect nothing less than excellence.
This idea of excellence extends beyond the gridiron. It’s a goal to aim for in our lives and in our work. We should always be aiming for that Super Bowl, whatever it may be, and accept nothing less.
Every field of work has its own version of the Super Bowl, and education is no different. Tech & Learning recently announced the winners of their 2012 Award of Excellence, recognizing groundbreaking and innovative software, hardware, network and Web products for the education industry. Over 30 educators tested more than 160 entries to determine the winners.
This year’s winners include:
New Product
- Learning.com Marketplace, Learning.com
- MCI, School Specialty
- Middle School STEM, Learning.com
- PBS KIDS PLAY! Classroom Edition, Tribal Nova
Best Upgraded Product
- Aha!Math, Learning.com
- myON reader, Capstone Digital
- Shmoop, Shmoop
- Titanium Series Headset (with Guaranteed for Life Cord), Califone
- Turnitin, Turnitin
Check out the December issue of Tech & Learning for more information about this year’s winners.
In the words of Vince Lombardi, “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we attain excellence.”