Let me say up front that my post has nothing to do with the fact that I did not win this year's Best Library/Librarian. When I won last year, I posted my concerns about using Listly for the voting process. This year, I felt compelled to post about changing the entire voting process, and why I feel this way. Of course I am interested in how you all feel, so please post in comments below...
1. The Nomination Process
Things changed a bit this year, and people were not required to post their nominations on their blogs. There was either a form to be submitted or an optional blog posting. Problem #1- Anyone can fill out the form. You can ask a friend, relative, a colleague.
2. The Voting Process
Can you say "popularity contest"? That is really what the voting process is all about. You hustle to get the vote and the one with the most votes wins. Problem #2- Listly. I have already mentioned publicly that this program should not be used for voting. It did not work with iPads or Internet Explorer. And as a nominee, I certainly did not want to know who voted for me, because that also told me who didn't vote for me. ( I'm a sensitive person, and it hurt that I didn't get support from certain people. ) The voting process should be private.
3. How I Would Change The Edublog Awards
It is an honor to be awarded for the work we do as educators. The Edublog Awards would be much more prestigious if a committee was formed (educators*) and those people nominated and chose the winners. If the everything remains the same next year, I will probably withdraw from the competition. Don't take this as a threat. I'm just frustrated. I'll be fine. Congratulations to all the winners. (Though it would have been nicer if the winners blogs were linked right there as they were last year....just sayin')
*I would be more than happy to help out in any way I could with the process....
#eddies2014
