Instructure Reprises $100,000 Canvas Grants Program to Ignite Innovation Toward Lossless Learning

Independent judging panel to award grants to 15 proposals in K-12 and higher ed

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Sep 30, 2014, 09:00 ET

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Learning technology company Instructure, the creator of the Canvas learning management system (LMS) for K-12 and higher education, today announced the return of Canvas Grants, a program that awards $100,000 in grants to projects that spur innovation in learning. The company introduced the program at the annual EDUCAUSE conference in Orlando, Fla., inviting innovators in both K-12 and higher ed to submit proposals that further "lossless learning," this year's Canvas Grants theme.

Learning technology company Instructure, the creator of the Canvas learning management system (LMS) for K-12 and higher education, today announced the return of Canvas Grants, a program that awards $100,000 in grants to projects that spur innovation in learning. The company introduced the program at the annual EDUCAUSE conference in Orlando, Fla., inviting innovators in both K-12 and higher ed to submit proposals that further "lossless learning," this year's Canvas Grants theme. (PRNewsFoto/Instructure)

Lossless learning, a concept Instructure introduced at its annual InstructureCon this summer, is the pursuit of perfect feedback loops between learners and educators. The Canvas Grants program aims to spark ideas that eliminate the loss of information — such as lost instruction, participation, engagement or assessment — in the learning environment, be it in face-to-face, blended, hybrid or flipped classrooms.

"Everyone has great ideas for improving learning," said Jared Stein, vice president of Research and Education at Instructure. "Canvas Grants is aimed at helping anyone turn a great idea into reality, whether that's by designing new technology or testing instructional strategies that move us one step closer toward lossless learning."

An independent panel comprising educators in K-12, higher ed and the nonprofit sector will evaluate the proposals and award five $10,000 grants to higher ed projects and ten $5,000 grants to K-12 projects. The judges are as follows:

Higher Ed

David Lyons, University of Colorado at Denver
Gretchen Schaefer, Husson University
Ryan Seilhamer, University of Central Florida
Michelle Stephens, Richland Community College
Sandesh Tuladhar, Columbia University

K-12

Jennifer Hart, Pasco eSchool
Anne Jones, Project Lead the Way
Anna Kraftson, Naperville Community Unit School District 203
Chris Long, Huntington Beach Union High School District
Moss Pike, Harvard-Westlake School

Canvas Grants is the latest in a series of efforts by Instructure to promote innovation from within the educational community. Last year's program brought in more than 400 proposals, including winning submissions from a Philadelphia administrator looking to help inner-city students record stories from their communities and air them on TV; a librarian who wanted to outfit a makerspace at her school with Legos, Little Bits and MinecraftEdu; and a Carnegie Mellon University faculty member who planned to build personalized dashboards for students to track their own educational and career objectives.

Submissions are now open through January 23, 2015. Winners will be announced in March 2015. Ideas can be shared on social media using the hashtag #CanvasGrants. For more information or to submit a Canvas Grants proposal, visit http://www.canvaslms.com/canvasgrants.

About Instructure
Instructure, Inc. developed the Canvas learning management system to make teaching and learning easier for everyone, everywhere. Canvas empowers learning in every context with open, usable SaaS technologies. And through Canvas Network, Instructure provides a cloud platform where teachers, learners and institutions worldwide can connect and chart their own course for personal growth, professional development and academic inquiry. Learn more at www.canvaslms.com.

Contacts
Devin Knighton, Director of Public Relations at Instructure
(801) 722-8187 | [email protected]
Twitter: @devinknighton | www.instructure.com

Matt Reichman, Method Communications
(801) 461-9778 | [email protected]

Copyright © 2014, Instructure, Inc. All rights reserved. Instructure, Canvas and their respective logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Instructure, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brands and names may be claimed as the property of others.

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SOURCE Instructure