EdSurge and Digital Promise are thrilled to announce the winners of the first “Digital Innovation in Learning Awards,” or DILAs. The awards celebrate teachers, administrators and ed-tech organizations who every day demonstrate exemplary practices in using technology to support learning.

After receiving more than 1,500 first-round applications and nominations from the U.S. and 31 other countries, and more than 550 video submissions, the panel of 10 DILA judges selected five finalists in each of the 15 categories. Out of those finalists, the judges picked 17 winners, seeking out those who most closely fit the criteria for each of the awards listed below and represented best practices in a way that can be replicated by other educators and organizations.

“Wow. We were so inspired by all the the entries that we received for this first DILA competition,” said Betsy Corcoran, CEO of EdSurge. “These videos show so much creativity, energy and passion for learning--they are an uplifting reminder of how learning can be joyful.”

“We sought to showcase excellence and raise the bar across teaching, leadership and development”, said Karen Cator, CEO of Digital Promise, “and these first submissions for the DILAs didn’t disappoint!”

Each entry created a three-minute video describing their practices. All of the winning videos and written submissions are here. In addition, EdSurge and Digital Promise and proud to present playlists of the top videos in each category (educators, administrators, and edtech organizations), as well as playlists from Honorable Mention applicants.

We are pleased to announce the following winners:

Educator Winners

Administrator Winners

Edtech Organization Winners

To celebrate the winners, on November 21 Digital Promise and EdSurge will co-host the Digital Innovation in Learning Awards Gala at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. Tickets for the event and information about sponsorship are available here. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, an astrophysicist and host of the Science Channel's Outrageous Acts of Science Information about the Digital Innovation in Learning Awards Gala are available on the awards site (awards.edsurge.com).

Again, congratulations to all those who applied, and we'll see you again next year!