Annual Latvian ICT Award “Platinum Mouse": Most Active EU Code Week Teacher

Since 2024, the Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association (LIKTA) annual ICT award "Platinum Mouse – Teacher in the Digital Age" has taken on a new focus. It now highlights the importance of the EU Code Week initiative and the active involvement of teachers in the implementation of various activities.

The annual Latvian ICT award "Platinum Mouse" has been awarded since 2007, organized by Latvian Information and the Communication Technology Association together with other digital skills stakeholders. "Best e-Teacher" has been one of the categories of the annual ICT award "Platinum Mouse" since its first year, and it's open to formal education teachers who effectively use digital content, digital solutions, and artificial intelligence in their teaching. The winners of this award have not only been computer or IT teachers, but also teachers of various subjects who use digital tools to improve their teaching methods.

This award category is now awarded to the "Most Active Code Week Teacher", highlighting educators who not only integrate digital technologies into the daily learning process, but also actively organize, guide and inspire students to participate in coding and digital skills development activities under the Code Week initiative.

The initiative reflects the belief that digital skills should be developed from a young age and that teachers can be inspirational guides and leaders in the world of technology. The award honors teachers whose creativity, perseverance, and passion have significantly increased students' interest in coding, robotics, game development, and other tech-related fields.

Award Application Process and Criteria

Every autumn the "Most Active Code Week Teacher" award is announced. Teachers, schools, or community representatives are invited to submit applications that document specific activities, student engagement, methods used, and their impact on the learning environment.

Particular attention is paid to:

The involvement of students, especially girls, in digital skills activities.
The development of digital thinking and creativity.
Community engagement (schools, families, other teachers).
Compliance with Code Week values: accessibility, inclusion, creativity.

LIKTA implements the “Platinum Mouse Award": Most Active EU Code Week Teacher category as part of the Code4Europe project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science Republic of Latvia and various digital education partners.

An expert jury from the fields of education, ICT and digital skills evaluates applications based on pre-defined quality and impact criteria:

Involvement in Code Week activities.
The number of activities organized and registered on the Codeweek.eu website.
The total number of young people aged between 5 and 25 involved in the activities.
The number of girls from 5 to 25 years involved in the activities.
The availability of the educational materials developed for public use by all interested parties.
Further work plans.

Why is this a good practice?

Extensive publicity in the education sector

The winners are honoured at the Annual Latvian ICT Award ceremony organized by LIKTA in December. The event is widely reflected in the press and on social media, reaching a broad audience of teachers, boosting the prestige of the profession, and promoting the importance of digital skills development in education.

Highlighting Teachers' Contributions

By highlighting teachers' achievements, the best teachers are publicly celebrated and receive both symbolic and practical prizes. The winner of the "Most Active Code Week Teacher" category also receives a €1,000 cash prize, supported by the Code4Europe project. The aim of the prize is to motivate the representatives of the education sector to actively engage in Code Week activities in order to promote the digital literacy of society and to provide an opportunity for everyone living in Latvia to get to know coding in an engaging and exciting way. The award also serves as a motivational tool, encouraging teachers to go beyond traditional teaching boundaries and integrate interactive, technologically creative approaches.

In 2024, three finalists were nominated for the award:

Elčins Jafarovs: A member of the Datorium team, he has participated in Code Week for five years. He has received the Code Week Certificate of Excellence from the European Commission for three consecutive years. He has completed a total of 94 activities registered on Codeweek.eu. He teaches computer science, programming, and advanced programming classes at many schools across Latvia every week as part of Datorium.
Anžela Džafarova: A Code Week ambassador in Latvia. The Datorium team, under her leadership, has participated in Code Week events in Latvia since 2020. She has received the Code Week Certificate of Excellence for her contributions to promoting the initiative and inspiring young people in 2020, 2022, and 2023. She has completed a total of 52 activities registered on Codeweek.eu.
Dita Holla: A Code Week ambassador in Latvia for the second year, she strives to promote Code Week with practical examples of activities that preschool teachers can do using robots or materials already available in preschool groups. She has been publishing her examples on the EU Code Week Latvia Facebook page since 2022. Dita Holla has also presented at eTwinning international project webinars on Code Week activities implemented in her institution. She actively provides information to preschool teachers who have questions about which activities they can do and how to register them. Since 2020, she has registered 14 activities on Codeweek.eu.

In 2024, the main prize was awarded to Elchin Jafarov, a teacher of Datorium. A special award from the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was given to Dita Holla, a teacher from Alūksne preschool "Sprīdītis", who introduces coding to the youngest children in kindergarten.

More information about the initiative is available on the LIKTA website.