Lynda Bergsma was recognized for her 17-year body of work, in which she uses media literacy education as a health promotion strategy for children, youth and families. Through Bergsma’s projects, teaching, research, writing, speaking and leadership, thousands of people across the United States and worldwide have learned to make healthy decisions in a media-saturated culture. In this podcast (MP3, 13 MB), Bergsma discusses the importance of implementing media literacy education into curriculum. She notes that students today are bombarded with various types of media and they must be taught how to properly analyze and understand what they are consuming.

Craig Lindvahl and Joe Fatheree were recognized for their creation of the Aha Film Festival, an annual event they designed to showcase the work of students in multimedia classes from Teutopolis and Effingham high schools in Illinois. The festival sells out a 1,600-seat theater and includes industry seminars on the day of the festival. In this podcast (MP3, 15 MB), the duo talk about the importance of hands-on learning and what the popular film festival means to their small Midwestern town.

Jay Hoffman was recognized for his work with a student-led news network composed of 12 students who deliver the news on a weekly basis. They work extensively with other students in the school as well as community members to produce, edit and broadcast their stories. In this podcast (MP3, 13.5 MB), Hoffman talks about what goes on behind the scenes at the South Burlington News Network. We learn that participants make a habit of reaching out to the community and that several students were recently honored by C-SPAN in a yearly film contest.

Gary Olsen was recognized for his creation of “The Garden Organic.” The cable television reality show teaches young students how to grow and prepare their own food, in partnerships with Hy-Vee Foods, Steve’s Ace Home & Garden Center and the Iowa State University Extension Office. The program combines science, math, culture and the history of food along with basic food how-to’s: growing, harvesting, preparing and preserving. Students are taped as they set out on their challenge to grow an organic garden with no artificial or non-organic pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides. The series, now in its fourth year, is broadcast on a Dubuque Community School’s own full-time 24/7 cable channel provided by Mediacom Cable. In his podcast (MP3, 12 MB), Olsen recounts humorous events that have occurred during filming of "The Garden Organic," and what the kids and community have taken away from this educational reality show. He also talks about how significant business and community partnerships have been to the show.

Ray Lund was recognized for his creation and implementation of Thornton Academy TV (TATV), a student-run television station. Lund’s students have developed long-running shows and have made their TV station an important thread in the community. In his podcast (MP3, 9.6 MB), Lund discusses the enthusiasm his students demonstrate as they work to develop shows for the station and the media-related careers they pursue after graduation.

The deadline for 2009 applications is less than one month away! We thought it might be helpful for individuals who are considering applying to hear from a couple of previous LIL winners, so we recently spoke with RaSheda Workman and Dan Meyer about their application experience. Listen to their podcast (MP3, 8.2MB) and remember, the deadline for applying is December 17, 2008 at 12pm PST!

Raedell Coogler and Jessica Fredricks were jointly recognized for the partnership between Bethune Academy and the Pierce Orphanage in South Africa to raise cultural awareness between the two groups of children. With the assistance of Bright House Networks and programming from Cable in the Classroom, students are learning geography, how to be good citizens, how to be good stewards of their resources and how important it is to help others. In their podcast (MP3, 19MB), Coogler and Fredricks discuss their main goal of the fundraising projects: to enhance their students' and community’s awareness of the circumstances of others while teaching them how to be good citizens and stewards of their resources.

RaSheda Workman was recognized for her work with the program “Eyes Wide Open,” which exposes middle and high school students in rural and under-served areas to the issues that perpetuate persistent poverty and teaches them how to become effective change agents for their community. Workman was nominated for the award by her former employer, Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.). In her podcast (MP3, 23MB), Workman discusses how, through the lens of anatomy, she taught her students everything from the effects of health policy on people living in poverty and the value of advocacy work to combat inequities, to the importance of becoming informed decision makers in order to enhance their quality of life.

Jenann Wakefield was recognized for the development of “Parent Bridge”, a secure web application providing access to parents without computers in the home to login through computer kiosks in grocery stores. These kiosks allow parents to access their children’s information, including posted messages, grades, assignments, attendance, lunch transactions, standardized test scores and other student data. They also provide a way to easily communicate with their children’s teachers. In her podcast (MP3, 10MB), Wakefield discusses the increase in parent involvement in their child’s education, citing a survey that found 80 percent of parents who use Parent Bridge initiated conversation with their child because of something they read on Parent Bridge. Within the last two academic years there have been over one million logins.

Cheryl Seals was recognized for her work with the “Academic Excellence Society” (AES), a collaborative effort between local schools, parents and community members to strengthen the academic portion of a student’s school experience in Okaloosa County, Fla. In her podcast (MP3, 18MB), Seals discusses the Academic Excellence Society’s wide variety of programming, and notes the district has been making great strides in closing the achievement gap. Last years F-CAT scores show tremendous progress from the year prior.