(Washington, DC) The DC State Education Office’s (SEO) DC OneApp website won a 2006 Digital Education Achievement award this week from the Center for Digital Education. The Center, which evaluates the nation’s best and most cutting edge education technology applications, singled out DC’s OneApp as the winner for the category of student focus. This award winning application is another example of Mayor Anthony A. Williams’ initiative to move the District’s technology forward and to make technology easier to use for DC citizens.
For the second time in three years, SEO and the Office of the Chief Technology Office (OCTO) have partnered to produce award winning technology.
“We developed DC OneApp into a powerful multifunctional application making it convenient for District students and their families to secure needed financial assistance,” stated Suzanne Peck, the District of Columbia’s Chief Technology Officer. “Our collaboration with the SEO and higher education institutions cut down on processing times, so high school graduates are now receiving their aid sooner.”
Students and parents can use the DC OneApp online (http://www.seo.dc.gov/) to apply for the District's three higher education financial aid grants including the DC Tuition Assistance Grant (DCTAG), DC Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (DCLEAP), and the DC Adoption Scholarship (DCAS).
“This is another remarkable achievement,” said Deborah A. Gist, State Education Officer for the SEO. “OCTO and the SEO continue to look at the needs of our schools, students, parents, and educational organizations and build efficient cutting edge technologies that meet those needs. I am pleased that the Center for Digital Education has recognized the work performed by OCTO and the SEO.”
The Best of the Web awards evaluate higher education, K-12 state, and K-12 district websites on their innovation and use of technology, web-based delivery of public services, efficiency, economy, and functionality for improved student and faculty access.
The panel of judges included representatives from the Center for Digital Education, Converge Online magazine, NYWired for Education, Inc., and 2005 Best of the Web contest first-place education winners.
The Center for Digital Education is a national research and advisory institute on K-12 and higher education technology. The Center is a business division of e.Republic, which publishes Converge Online, Government Technology and Public CIO. The Best of the Web (BOW) recognizes and celebrates the innovations and resulting maturity in providing solutions and communicating well with citizens, businesses, or educational communities.