Celebrating the Best (and Worst) in EdTech.
The Edgies celebrate the real builders, breakers, and fixers in education. No easy trophies. Just pure innovation, real results (and a few well-deserved wedgies along the way).
The Trophy Everyone Wants
Not your boring corporate plaque. The Edgie is a statement piece — a crystal-cut reminder that you've built something that actually matters in education.
Winners receive this custom-designed award, digital badges for your site, and industry-wide recognition as true innovators.
What Makes Edgies Different
We don’t care about your buzzwords.
AI-powered? Blockchain-backed? Great. Does it actually work?
We celebrate builders, not B.S.
Your marketing deck won’t save you here. Real results or step aside.
We roast bad tech. Loudly. With a Wedgie
Nothing personal — unless you wasted teachers’ time. Then it’s very personal.
Edgies are earned in the trenches.
Where the students, the teachers, and the real users live — not in VC boardrooms.
How It Works (Simple, Fast, No B.S.)
1. Nominate your product, platform, or project.
Open call for nominations across Best Edgies and Worst Wedgies categories.
Get seen by our judging panel of ruthless but fair rebels.
Edgies Judging Panel + Public Voting (for select awards) determine finalists.
Finalists and winners get crowned (and maybe roasted)
Winners and Wedgies announced live. Think hype. Think celebration. Think memes.
The Categories
🎓 Higher Education
- 🏆The "Finally, Something Useful" Award – Best new product launched in 2023 or later
- 🏆The Disruption Award – Most groundbreaking emerging tech or AI in higher ed
- 🏆The "About Time!" Award – Smartest fix to a long-standing academic pain point
- 🏆Real-World Ready Award – Career prep, internships, or skills-based learning tools
- 🏆Retention Rock Star – Tools making a measurable impact on student success/retention
🏫 K-12 Education
- 🏆The "Finally, Something Useful" Award – Best new tool launched in 2023 or later
- 🏆The Classroom Transformer Award – Best use of AI or adaptive learning
- 🏆The "About Time!" Award – Long-overdue fix to a classic classroom issue
- 🏆Most Addictive Learning Experience – Games, simulations, or interactive tools
- 🏆Family Engagement Hero – Best tech for bringing families into the learning
The Road to Glory
The starting gun fires. Builders, rebels, and disruptors — it's your time to step up. Nominate your product, your team, or your wild new idea.
The starting gun fires. Builders, rebels, and disruptors — it's your time to step up. Nominate your product, your team, or your wild new idea.
The clock strikes zero. If you didn't throw your hat in, you'll have to watch from the sidelines.
Our rebel judges go through every entry. The cream rises. The bloated, buzzword-loaded junk sinks.
Our rebel judges go through every entry. The cream rises. The bloated, buzzword-loaded junk sinks.
The Shortlist drops. Now the people have their say. Educators, students, tech nerds — vote to crown the true legends.
Last call for chaos. After this, it's locked.
Last call for chaos. After this, it's locked.
Winners are crowned. Legends are born. Some pretenders get glorious public wedgies. Everybody wins… or learns.
Higher Education Judging Panel
Academic experts and innovators who understand the unique challenges of higher education technology.
Dr. Maya Johnson
Digital Learning Scientist
Leading researcher in learning science with 15+ years experience evaluating education technology. If your product doesn't improve outcomes, she'll be the first to call it out.
Prof. James Wilson
University Innovation Director
Former dean who now leads digital transformation at a major university. Brings both academic rigor and practical implementation experience to the judging panel.
Dr. Sophia Chen
EdTech Researcher & Entrepreneur
Bridges the gap between academic research and startup innovation. Has evaluated hundreds of higher education tools and isn't afraid to call out empty promises.
K12 Judging Panel
Classroom veterans and education innovators who know what works in real K12 environments.
Jacob Steiner
K12 Technology Director
Former classroom teacher who now oversees technology implementation across a large school district. Known for his practical approach and focus on what actually works for teachers.
Alex Rivera
EdTech Founder & Rebel
Former teacher turned tech founder who's built and sold two education platforms. Known for brutal honesty and championing tools that actually work in real classrooms.
Kai Zhang
Student Advocate & Developer
22-year-old prodigy who built his first learning app at 16. Brings the crucial student perspective and technical expertise to cut through marketing fluff.
🏆Judging Criteria
How We Decide Who Gets an Edgie (and Who Gets a Wedgie)
We don't hand out trophies for buzzwords. To win an Edgie, your product has to actually do something great.
All entries are evaluated on a mix of real-world value and actual user love — because we believe innovation means nothing if it doesn't help people.
💥Here's what we look for:
- ImpactDoes it matter? Can it move the needle for students, educators, or institutions?
- InnovationIs it solving a real problem in a bold, original way? Or is it just old tech in a new jacket?
- UtilityIs it easy to use? Does it fit into real classrooms, workflows, or student lives without creating chaos?
- ExperienceWhat's it like to actually use this thing? Is the design human-centered? Is the value obvious?
- CredibilityCan you back it up? Show us usage, testimonials, pilot results — anything that proves it's legit.
⚖️How Scoring Works
Each submission is evaluated using a two-part scoring system:
60% Expert Judging Panel
A group of educators, technologists, and EdTech skeptics evaluate each finalist using a weighted rubric across the five categories above.
40% Popular Vote
You bring the energy. Get your users, educators, and fans to vote. This score reflects real-world excitement — not just marketing reach.
⚠️Note: A product can't win based on popularity alone — it has to deliver the goods.
🔍What Gets You a Wedgie?
We look for the opposite of everything above.
Overhyped, overpriced, overengineered junk with zero classroom love? That's how you get publicly roasted.
About the Edgie Awards
The Edgie Awards are founded by longtime EdTech innovators tired of the same old, pay-to-win awards game. The Edgies recognize true achievement and innovation — and call out the bad actors — to push the industry forward.
Innovation matters. Outcomes matter. Students matter.
Think you have what it takes? Prove it.