Every year, the eLearning Awards from European Schoolnet help to identify projects which develop an innovative use of ICT in teaching and learning. Recenly, the 2003 awards took place and the following iniciatives were prized:

· The first prize winner 'From Skerrydoo to Carrickfadda, a Study of Sligo's Coastline' is a heritage and ICT project involving more than 300 pupils from 12 primary schools in County Sligo, Ireland. The children learned about the flora and fauna of their area, conservation and pollution issues, stories and folklore of the sea and the importance of the sea in the local economy. Pupils also learned to use ICT as a presentation and research tool. The project website is now also a resource for teachers and can be a model for schools in other coastline communities wanting to use ICT creatively in a heritage project.

· Panta Rei, the project that won second prize, is targeted at schoolchildren aged nine to 11 years old. The judges said that the website, which is about water and the environment had "excellent production and pedagogical values".

· Learning Science Through Play displays science projects made by two- to five-year-old children and explains their kindergarten's ideas and methods. In awarding this Icelandic entry third prize in the eLearning Awards, the judges said that it was "refreshing to see such a high quality project specifically made for young children".
Seven other entries to the eLearning Awards were highly commended by the judges. They are (in alphabetical order):

1. Bioethics, Medicine and Halacha, Israel

2. JordianWeb, Spain

3. SOS Africa, Spain

4. Téléphones portables et télé-validation de séquences pédagogiques, France

5. The Nobel Peace Prize - A Real Life Project, Norway

6. The virtual craft place, Finland

7. Vocabolario multilingue multimediale, Italy

This selection may help to understand e-learning potential in schools.