Oklahoma’s Electric Cooperatives and the K20 Center
are seeking applications from innovative Oklahoma educators for the
SKIE(Supporting K20 Innovative Educators) Award.
The 2025 SKIE Award Nominations are due March 14th and Applications are due May 23rd, 2025
About the SKIE Awards
Award winners will be recognized at the K20 Innovative Learning Institute (ILI)
This award celebrates educators or teams of educators across the state who have demonstrated the ability to link student learning with the innovative use of technology and the K20 IDEALS (https://k20center.ou.edu/about/ideals). Five regional awardees will be honored at the K20 Innovative Learning Institute (ILI) in the Fall of 2025. Each regional awardee or team will receive a personal check of $1,000.
View highlights from our previous awardees below. Or click here to see the full playlist on YouTube.
To be considered for the SKIE Award, teachers—or a team of educators working collaboratively and willing to be considered as a team—must:
- Possess a record of outstanding application/integration of the K20 Center IDEALS
- Demonstrate excellence in teaching and the use of technology
- Demonstrate instruction that is both engaging and effective for students
How to Apply
Following this checklist will help you submit a quality application
- Watch model videos from past applicants to get ideas
- Read through the entire application guide to get familiar with the questions you will need to answer
- Choose a lesson/unit/project example from your classroom to discuss and exhibit how you employ the K20 IDEALS (inquiry, discourse, equity, authenticity, leadership, and student-centered learning climate)
- Type your responses to the questions in the application guide document
- Find or take a photo of yourself to attach to your application
- Paste your responses from this document into the application and hit submit
- Choose a day to record your video responses. One of your two videos should show off your classroom and students engaged in learning. The other can be you reflecting on your practice.
- Access the Padlet board and post your videos.
- Make a copy of the SKIE Application Guide Doc
Submit a Supporting Evidence Video
The video evidence will be submitted through Padlet. This part of the application will be easier to complete with a phone or tablet. You can access the Padlet board from a web browser. You will submit two videos, one for each prompt at the top of each column on the Padlet board. You will be able to record as many times as you want before accepting a draft to submit.
To create a post on the board follow these instructions:
- Select the “+” icon at the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Then, select the “+11” button on the right side of the post box. This will show all options for attachment types.
- Select the “Video recorder” option. This will open a window for you to record a video up to two minutes long.
- Select the correct camera and microphone options at the bottom of the window.
- Select the camera icon at the bottom of the window when you are ready to record. The recording will begin immediately.
- You may pause, stop, watch back, discard, and re-record your video until you are satisfied with it.
- When your video is ready, select the “Playback and save” button in the top right corner of the window. Then, select “Save.”.
- Once the video has been added to the post, you may complete their post by adding a “Subject” as well as any additional text needed to the caption before posting.
- When the post is ready, select the “Publish” button, which will add the post to the Padlet board.
Prompt 1: Show us your classroom and tell us about your approach to teaching
Prompt 2: Show us a project where you support your students in taking responsibility for their own learning using technology as a tool
For technical support accessing the Padlet, contact Dewey Hulsey, dewey@ou.edu.
Additional Resources
For more information on the application process contact Tracy McCarty, tmccarty@ou.edu.
Want to Nominate an Outstanding Educator?
You can win too! If your nominee is awarded you will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card.
A nomination is not required to apply for the SKIE Awards. However, you can encourage an outstanding educator to apply by filling out a nomination form. The nomination form will send a notification to the teacher and their principal of their nomination with instructions for how to apply. In addition to self-nominations, electric cooperative members across the state will be encouraged to nominate a deserving educator or team of educators with outstanding community engagement.
