ATLANTA, GA—EdSurge and Digital Promise are thrilled to announce the launch of the first “Digital Innovation in Learning Awards,” or DILAs, to highlight exemplary practices of teachers, administrators, and edtech organizations that support learning. The announcement was made today at the 2014 ISTE conference.

“We want to highlight excellence, both by celebrating leadership and sharing tangible evidence so others can benefit from their work,” says Karen Cator, CEO of Digital Promise.

“There’s a kind of magic involved with bringing together three critical communities — teachers, administrators and organizations that are building tools and services,” says Betsy Corcoran, cofounder and CEO of EdSurge. “Each of these groups is learning from — and teaching — one another.”

There are five awards each for three categories of leaders: teachers, administrators, and organizations (both for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations). The “Creative Director” award for teachers, for instance, spotlights teachers who are inspiring their students to create high-quality multimedia projects. The Administrator “Open Door Policy” Award will elevate administrators leading the way in collaboration, communication, and sharing their schools’ practices with others. And for organizations, the “Mindful Data” Award will celebrate a company or nonprofit that has exemplary data management policies.

See the full collection of awards below.

People and organizations can nominate themselves or others for the awards. All applicants are asked to create a short video illustrating their practice. EdSurge and Digital Promise are convening a team of respected educators and thought leaders who will review the videos and pick the most compelling practices. Among the judges are:

• Karen Brennan, Harvard Graduate School of Education and MIT Media Lab

• Jaime Casap, Global Education Evangelist, Google

• Stacy Childress, CEO, NewSchools Venture Fund

• Rafranz Davis, Instructional Technology Specialist, Arlington ISD

• Dr. Mark Edwards, Superintendent, Mooresville Graded School District

• Michael Horn, Co-founder and Executive Director, Education, Clayton Christensen Institute

• Jennie Magiera, Digital Learning Coordinator, Academy for Urban School Leadership

• Pam Moran, Superintendent, Albemarle County Public Schools

• Constance Steinkuehler Co-Director, Games+Learning+Society Center, University of Wisconsin

All finalists will be invited to the Digital Innovation in Learning Awards Gala in November, co-hosted by EdSurge and Digital Promise and held in Silicon Valley. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered for winners.

“The most significant award, however, is that the work will be shared widely as examples of great practices,” Corcoran says. “There are marvelous practices out there and we’re looking forward to publishing them.”

Applications and nominations are now open and available here ( awards.edsurge.com). The deadline for completed applications is 11: 59 PM on October 1. Find out more details about the DILAs, sponsorship, judging, and more here.

The First Annual Digital Innovation in Learning Awards