This is the first year that I am nominating my favourites for the #eddies12 and it is quite a buzz! There were so many amazing educators and blogs to choose from and I wish everyone the best of luck.

• Best administrator blog – The Principal of Change by George Couros
  I am constantly amazed at what George comes up with on his blog as it is always relevant and timely. George is inspirational and has played a big role in educators from Australia, especially Adelaide, connecting online. As our opening keynote at the CEGSA 2012 state conference in Adelaide, George connected with the audience and created a flurry of online activity which has continued to grow.  George is very open and honest in what he writes and he is a wonderful support for anyone who seeks him out online.

• Best individual blog – Free Technology for Teachers
  One of the first blogs that I started to follow for technology resources. Following Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) I found lots of little gems of information and resources.
• Best teacher blog – Bianca Hewes (@BiancaH80)
  Bianca is an inspiring teacher of English from New South Wales. I heard Bianca speak at the biggest TeachMeet in Sydney earlier this year and she was inspirational. We met up again at ISTE2012 in San Diego and it was great to connect again as Bianca is so friendly and approachable. Her blog is informative and I especially enjoy the Project Based Learning  section which is comprehensive and reflective.

• Best class blog – Ms Cassidy’s Classroom Blog An excellent class blog from 6 and 7 year olds in Kathy Cassidy’s class. It’s fantastic to see what young learners are capable of doing and it is a privilege to be invited into their learning environment.

• Best individual tweeter – George Couros (@gcouros)
  I am nominating George for this award as he reaches a major audience through his tweets which are always informative and relevant. He shares so many great links and articles to read that it is hard to keep up. I have added depth to my professional learning through George’s online sharing and I really appreciate his dedication. Judging by his many followers, especially the Aussies and their retweeting and tweets to George, I know that he has made a major impact on their online professional learning.

• Best twitter hashtag – #ozteachers Lots of great learning and sharing between teachers in Australia and worldwide. I have found lots of wonderful resources and have made great connections through this hashtag.

• Best free web tool – Storify
  A great free app that lets you create stories from social networks. I have enjoyed using Storify  to build stories by capturing tweets and adding narrative and other media. Extremely user friendly and allows for creativity.

• Best library/librarian blog The Daring Librarian
  Love this resourceful and extremely colourful blog by Gwyneth Jones (@gwynethjones)

• Best educational wiki Educational Origami
  This wiki is full of a variety of resources and worth checking out. I have shared quite a few of the resources in my teaching and with my colleagues.

• Best open PD / unconference / webinar series K12online
  An excellent online conference open to all educators interested in emerging technologies and classroom practice.

• Best educational use of a social network Twitter
  An amazing online networking service that has so much to offer and has helped me to grow professionally online.

• Best free web tool Google Drive
  Has made life easier for online access of files, documents, videos…from anywhere at anytime!

• Lifetime achievement Sue Waters
   An amazing educator who has given so much to us all, Sue deserves to win this award. I was fortunate to meet Sue twice this year, at ISTE2012 in San Diego and at ACEC2012 in Perth. Sue is so giving of her time and expertise, at any given time of the day as she works in both hemispheres. Her blog The Edublogger is a wealth of information, links, resources, tips, tricks anything to do with blogs and online learning. Thanks Sue for your tireless work both online and f2f.