A Night to Remember: Photos from the 2015 DILAs Gala

By Mary Jo Madda

November 24, 2015

A Night to Remember: Photos from the 2015 DILAs Gala

Krista Moroder

Dyke Redmond accepts "Creative Director" Educator award.

And that's a wrap!

Here at EdSurge, we're big fans of vintage storytelling--bringing back old-school style in the most Maker-ish of manners. Old typewriters, antique books, hipster cameras. We love it all. And what better place to celebrate storytelling than on Friday, Nov. 21, at the second annual Digital Innovation in Learning Awards (DILAs) Gala?

Co-hosted with Digital Promise at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, the Gala celebrated the best and brightest in digital storytellers across the globe--those 16 educators, administrators, and organizations who won DILAs for the work they've done and conveyed through the power of video.

As explained by Nihal ElRayess, Teach for America Senior Managing Director of Program Continuum and User Experience, in a recent blogpost, the awards function as "a joint effort to celebrate what such leaders are accomplishing, and importantly, how it’s being accomplished."

Betsy Corcoran and Karen Cator, the hosts for the evening.
Betsy Corcoran and Karen Cator, the hosts for the evening.
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Keynote Marco Torres discusses the power of digital storytelling.
Keynote Marco Torres discusses the power of digital storytelling.

Joined by over 180 teachers, entrepreneurs, investors and others in the education community, we celebrated the winners, their videos and their abilities to demonstrate exemplary practices in building and applying technology to support learning. And just as keynoter and professional videographer Marco Torres shared, the power of digital storytelling is infinite, both for adults and students, when it comes to share what and how they learn.

"If you do not tell your story, one will be told for you," he shared. "Make the 'why' clear in your stories. The 'why' makes stories come alive."

EdSurge's Greg Becker and Digital Promise's Krista Moroder took what Torres said to heart--and captured every detail of the DILAs with their cameras. Check out some of the photos below!

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Riverside Unified School District's Renee Hill (R) and Steven Dunlap (L), winner of the "Power to the People" Administrator award.
Riverside Unified School District's Renee Hill (R) and Steven Dunlap (L), winner of the "Power to the People" Administrator award.
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Guests were able to view videos before the Gala.
Guests were able to view videos before the Gala.
"Better Together" Organization award goes to Mozilla Hive Chicago.
"Better Together" Organization award goes to Mozilla Hive Chicago.
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Interested in applying next year for the Digital Innovation in Learning Awards? Check back on dilas.org in the spring for all the details. And in the meantime? Keep on fighting the good fight.

Congratulations to all winners from the EdSurge team!
Congratulations to all winners from the EdSurge team!

Major thanks to all sponsors who made this event possible!

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