Dive Brief:

• Instructure, the parent company to learning management system Canvas, has given away a total of $110,000 this year to innovative K-12 and higher ed teachers.
• The money specifically went to educators who had smart ideas around the theme of “Lossless Learning,” which focused on plans dealing with the integration of technology into classrooms.
• One winning idea, centered on the question of whether life can exist on Mars, had students design and program a Lego robot to assist students in "exploring" a life-size model recreating the Mars landing site in their study and determination of that possibility.

Dive Insight:

Cost, time, and technology barriers were reduced with the winning Mars idea, all through the use of "gamifying" the learning process. This concept is not surprising as a winning idea, as it has been gaining much traction in the world of education for its ability to present content in a fun, engaging manner that students are already used to from videogames and TV.