Peggy Moore, uBEATS honored for driving student success

UNMC’s Peggy Moore and the uBEATS program have been awarded as the leading Transformative Program in teaching and learning through the first-ever Instructure Academic Excellence Awards.

Instructure is an education technology company that supports educators, institutions and learners across K-12, higher education and the workforce. It is the parent company of the Canvas learning management system employed by UNMC and its e-learning office.

Instructure says its Academic Excellence Awards honor outstanding achievements in education and highlight the vital role of innovation and dedication in shaping educational outcomes.

Moore has served as UNMC’s director of interactive e-learning since 2014, helping drive the expansion of uBEATS – UNMC’s free online science and health science resource for middle and high school students that has been expanding nationwide.

Thanks to the generous support of donor funding, uBEATS is free for students, offering more than 100 e-learning modules, now reaching more than 100,000 students and awarding more than 700 digital badges.

In its press release announcing the award winners, Instructure recognized Moore’s visionary leadership that “has grown uBEATS into a nationwide force.” It applauded uBEATS for “delivering free, life-changing science and health education to over 95,000 students while illuminating pathways to meaningful health care careers.”

“Interest in a health care career starts when you spark students’ curiosity at a young age,” Moore said. “uBEATS e-learning modules serve as that catalyst, connecting engaging activities that students enjoy with accurate content teachers trust.” 

She added, “I’m honored to receive the first place Academic Excellence Award for Transformative Program from Instructure on behalf of uBEATS. I’m grateful for my amazing UNMC team and leadership, donors and our students and teachers who use uBEATS.

“We plan to leverage this global recognition as we embark on using AI to translate our modules to Spanish and enhance the learner experience.”

UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, who spearheaded the program’s creation while serving as UNMC’s senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, congratulated Moore and the uBEATS team on the award.

“Under Peggy’s leadership, uBEATS reimagines STEM and health science education, breaking it down in ways that resonate with today’s generation of learners,” Dr. Davies said. “uBEATS is intentionally designed to engage and inspire young students to become health science professionals, which is especially important when Nebraska and the country are facing a health care workforce shortage.”

He added, “It’s been inspiring to see how uBEATS has grown exponentially over the past few years, and I am excited to see its continued growth and impact on teachers and students everywhere in the years ahead.”

Moore and uBEATS were recognized at InstructureCON in Spokane, Washington, on July 24.

The Transformative Program Award recognizes scalable initiatives that meaningfully shift educational practices within institutions or communities, according to Instructure. The awards also honored categories for Outstanding Course and Innovative Tool.

Finalists were selected from a competitive global pool of nominees based on their creativity, measurable outcomes and overall influence on education, Instructure said.

“We are truly inspired by the dedication and innovation shown by this year’s award recipients,” said Melissa Loble, chief academic officer at Instructure. “Celebrating educators has become an integral part of our operations, influencing everything from the products we bring to market to the way we strive to deliver a better customer experience every day.”