UW–Madison’s Kuhrasch releases new app that helps create supportive, authentic learning communities


Cindy Kuhrasch, with support from UW–Madison’s Department of Information Technology (DoIT) and the School of Education, has developed a smartphone app that uses movement-based activities to create inclusive groups of learners.

Cindy Kuhrasch
Kuhrasch

Kuhrash, the program coordinator for the Department of Kinesiology’s Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) program, hopes the project will “change the way we build learning communities.”

The “enCourage UW” app, which is now available in the Apple and Google Play stores, features hundreds of activities, each with detailed instructions, video examples, materials needed, and additional details for facilitators on how to successfully lead them. These activities are grouped by activity type and the social and emotional skills they develop, making the app easy to use in a variety of settings.

“I see the app as applicable to anyone who engages in community building through educational means, regardless of their discipline,” Kuhrasch says. “The goal is to provide educators with simple yet high-impact activities that can be used to build social and emotional skills.”

enCourage UW

Kuhrasch received a Spring 2023 Staff Innovation Grant from the School of Education’s Dean’s Office, which supports innovative endeavors such as this within the School of Education community. It is with this grant that she, along with colleagues in the PETE program, were able to successfully create and release this “game-changing tool.”

“This project has the potential to reach thousands of people worldwide,” Kuhrasch says. “I am confident that it will make a real difference in the lives of learners of all ages.”

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