The Making It Happen program highlights the dramatic role educators are having on the learning process by using technology and rewards those individuals for their commitment and innovation. To date, more than 100 educators have been awarded this recognition. The impact of this program has been felt at numerous conferences around the country. The focus of the Making It Happen program is on current practitioners, highlighting their significant contribution and encouraging them to continue their work. The program highlights the dramatic role educators are having on the learning process by using technology, and rewards those individuals for their commitment and innovation. Making It Happen recipients are in our classrooms, districts and the state making it happen for learners everyday.
Successful integration of educational technology requires a common passion, initiative and pledge that can best be summarized by the Making It Happen Formula of Success. Nominees should exhibit these qualities.

The eight components of the Formula of Success are:

1. Educators who apply available technology now,
2. Move forward and don't look back,
3. See students as real people,
4. Teach through relationships - inspire, encourage, nurture,
5. Recognize that further change is necessary, but understand that it is a process,
6. Realize that teacher empowerment is the key element to technology integration,
7. Expect success and,
8. Motivate through awareness and access to information.

About 1994, Kathy Hurley, Pat Walkington, and Deb deVries got together at a conference and began sharing perceptions of conference activities. All three were disappointed in the commercial aspect of most of the presentations made at conferences by vendors or companies. While they felt it important to focus on products and their impact in the classroom, they also felt strongly that teachers and administrators using the technology should be featured and recognized for their grass roots leadership in integrating technology in the classroom. They made a commitment to work with state organizations and conferences to identify individuals who have really made it happen within their respective state or region and recognize them publicly. The resulting "Making It Happen" awards have been a wonderful way to recognize key educators around the country since 1995. This year, ISTE has taken on the sponsorship of the "Making It Happen" awards. Each award recipient receives the now famous “pink satin jacket.” Initially winners were female. When males began sharing the spotlight, a black satin jacket was selected for their award.