Latest news with #Instructure
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Teachers Get A New Assistant: Instructure Drops AI Into Canvas
AI in education Instructure and OpenAI have announced a new partnership to bring LLM-powered AI technology into Canvas, one of the most widely used learning platforms in education. The collaboration introduces IgniteAI, a built-in set of generative AI tools that will be released to Canvas users in stages over the coming year. Where AI is Adding Value in Canvas A key piece of the IgniteAI rollout is a new assignment builder that lets educators create AI-guided tasks. Teachers can write learning goals and sample prompts, set up how the chatbot will interact with students, and define how outcomes should be evaluated. At the same time, Canvas's grading system, analytics tools, and content creation features get new automation support, from faster feedback to AI-generated rubrics. Teachers stay in full control of how the AI behaves. They can customize each prompt and review all chatbot responses. Meanwhile, students get a chance to have focused conversations with the AI inside Canvas, working through ideas at their own pace. All chats are visible to the instructor, and the company says student data stays local and is not shared with OpenAI. The system also tracks each student's interaction. When learners show understanding or make progress, those moments are captured and added to the Gradebook. That lets teachers see not just the end result, but how a student arrived there. Repetitive tasks such as rewriting rubrics, responding to common requests and drafting feedback are handled by the system, allowing instructors to focus on discussion, coaching, and more complex teaching. "We're committed to delivering next-generation LMS technologies designed with an open ecosystem that empowers educators and learners to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world," said Steve Daly, CEO of Instructure. "This collaboration with OpenAI showcases our ambitious vision: creating a future-ready ecosystem that fosters meaningful learning and achievement at every stage of education.' Opportunities and Tradeoffs Daly says this partnership will free up time for educators and give students a more flexible way to engage with lessons. Leah Belsky, who oversees education strategy at OpenAI, describes the tools as a way to offer 'more personalized and connected learning experiences,' without removing human oversight. Schools are already moving quickly. Surveys show education leading all sectors in generative-AI adoption. Early feedback from pilots suggests students feel more confident when they can test ideas in a private chat, and some classroom studies point to modest gains in test scores among students using AI for practice. Still, the tools raise concerns. Nearly half of faculty respondents in recent polls say they worry about bias in model outputs. A similar number cite data privacy as a top issue. Those who work on academic integrity expect new forms of cheating to emerge. Others warn that expensive AI licenses could deepen gaps between well-funded and under-resourced schools. And until teachers are fully trained on how to use the tools, confusion and uneven results are likely. A university survey from May 2025 confirmed many of these fears among students. Respondents cited grading fairness, misuse of AI for shortcuts, and the risk of over-relying on automated suggestions as top concerns. Faculty echoed those points. They questioned whether AI nudges weaker writers toward overly similar phrasing and whether automated grading could undermine trust. To reduce those risks, campuses are already setting up review boards, bias checks, and clear opt-out options. Instructure, for its part, says that all student data stays within the institution, and that OpenAI has no access to individual records. Privacy teams are expected to monitor that closely. Where This Leads Canvas is now placing AI tools where teaching already happens—in assignments, discussions, and grading workflows. The chatbot becomes part of the lesson, not just an external add-on. If the systems work as intended, teachers could gain clearer feedback and students could move beyond generic answers into more thoughtful, process-based work. If the technology fails to live up to that promise, trust may erode. Either way, AI is no longer sitting outside the classroom door. It's embedded, logged, and learning alongside everyone else.
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
Instructure Launches IgniteAI to Simplify and Seamlessly Transform AI Integration in Education
Powered by AWS, IgniteAI sets the stage for a future-ready, open ecosystem with agentic support as the AI landscape continues to expand SALT LAKE CITY, July 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Instructure, the world's leading edtech ecosystem and maker of Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), today announced the launch of IgniteAI,Instructure's next big leap in secure, in-context AI for education. Powered by AWS Bedrock, IgniteAI simplifies and streamlines the use of AI directly within Canvas and Mastery, enhancing efficiency and driving educational success. This advanced AI solution also seamlessly connects with hundreds of trusted partner tools, saving time and allowing educators to maintain confident control over the learning experience. Amid explosive growth in AI technologies, educators and administrators face significant challenges in navigating the role of AI in education and effectively implementing a variety of tools. IgniteAI addresses these pain points by delivering confidence, simplicity and substantial educational value, enabling educators and learners to leverage AI intuitively and safely. "Over the past year, we've listened as customers opened up about the real challenges and complexities they face in trying to deploy AI effectively," said Shiren Vijiasingam, chief product officer at Instructure. "By embedding AI transparently into the familiar Canvas environment and ensuring full interoperability with both our native AI functionality and that of our partners, IgniteAI brings powerful, vetted AI solutions directly into the daily workflows of educators and learners. Our technology removes barriers and protects data, allowing educators to confidently dedicate more of their time to providing an exceptional learning experience." Educators can use IgniteAI directly within Canvas or Mastery to conduct tasks such as creating quizzes, generating rubrics, summarizing discussions, aligning content to outcomes and more. IgniteAgent enables conversation-based completion of even the most complex workflows within Instructure products, and can orchestrate other partner AI right within the agent chat. Leveraging the Model Context Protocol (MCP) standard, trusted partners can easily integrate their agents and workflows to work seamlessly with IgniteAgent. Educators will be able to generate solutions to even the most complex educational problems seamlessly across Instructure and partner products right within the Instructure learning ecosystem, with a single prompt. To date, many AI learning solutions are isolated point solutions confined to serving a single function within their product, adding to the noise and cognitive overload for educators. Instructure's strategic approach to AI focuses on extending the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) framework and facilitating connections across the educational ecosystem of over 1,100+ edtech partners and leading large language models (LLMs) via the established MCP standards. Existing partnerships with Anthropic and OpenAI are enabling novel use cases in education. This results in greater interoperability, allowing AI to operate seamlessly across systems while keeping educators and learners within their institution's Instructure experience — the hub of all teaching and learning. Institutions can combine native Instructure IgniteAI features with other AI tools they know and love to confidently and securely achieve educational success. With this deliberate approach to AI, Instructure is well-positioned as AI evolves beyond generic content creation into more autonomous support that can help users complete previously time-consuming tasks, also known as "agentic AI." IgniteAI emphasizes three core tenets: "As testers of IgniteAI, we've been incredibly impressed with its potential to transform the learning experience," said Robert Romano, IT associate director at Florida International University (FIU). "Our staff, who are keen to embrace AI, particularly appreciated features like the translation capabilities, which offer a powerful way to make education accessible for our entire student body. What truly sets Instructure apart as a partner is the opportunity to collaborate directly with their research and development team to help shape the future of the product. At FIU, we pride ourselves on a culture of testing and innovation, and we're excited to be part of the journey in shaping a tool that will undoubtedly empower educators and students alike." Instructure customers will begin to see the IgniteAI icon in Canvas and Mastery immediately where AI is already integrated into the product experience. Additional features are launching on an opt-in basis in line with our approach to co-creating with our customers and preserving their agency in enabling AI capabilities and include support for automating content creation and remediation, streamlining grading and feedback, and building educator and learner AI skills with novel AI assignments. Additional Instructure product enhancements In addition, Instructure announced several significant updates to its product suite. Canvas, the central platform for learning, offers more intuitive and personalized experiences, featuring redesigned dashboards and modules that enhance usability and provide a cohesive mobile app experience across platforms. To support differentiated learning at scale, Canvas has introduced differentiation tags that enable personalized instruction and enhanced management and discovery of LTI tools through the new Canvas Apps experience. Innovations in assessment include specialized STEM items, enhanced proctoring capabilities in New Quizzes and new student portfolios that showcase diverse learning progress. Accessibility remains a top priority, with Canvas LMS, Canvas Studio, Canvas Catalog and Impact going above the minimum standard by achieving WCAG 2.2 AA compliance as part of a recent Voluntary Product Accessibility Test (VPAT). This is part of ongoing efforts to achieve high accessibility standards across all Instructure products, ensuring equitable access to content. Furthermore, Mastery by Instructure now offers streamlined assessment management, AI-powered item alignment and generation, assessment experiences in Spanish and deeper actionable insights through enhanced analytics dashboards designed to facilitate quick, data-driven instructional decisions. There are 18 new solutions launched as part of these enhancements, 10 of them leveraging AI to remove friction and drive learning success. About Instructure Instructure powers the delivery of education globally and reimagines the technologies that turn teaching and learning into opportunities. Today, the Instructure ecosystem of products connects the dots for educators and institutions by improving educational experiences at every age, every stage and every transitional moment—across K-12, higher education and the workforce. We encourage you to discover more at
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
Instructure and OpenAI Announce Global Partnership to Embed AI Learning Experiences within Canvas
First-of-its-kind integration transforms education by embedding OpenAI's technology directly within the Canvas learning environment, empowering educators and amplifying student potential SALT LAKE CITY and SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Instructure, the world's leading edtech ecosystem and maker of Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) and OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research organization, today announced a global partnership that introduces a new integration that enables teachers to create Large Language Model (LLM) workflows directly in the LMS. This groundbreaking collaboration represents a transformative step forward in education technology and will begin with, but is not limited to, an effort between Instructure and OpenAI to enhance the Canvas experience by embedding OpenAI's next-generation AI technology into the platform. IgniteAI announced earlier today, establishes Instructure's future-ready, open ecosystem with agentic support as the AI landscape continues to evolve. This partnership with OpenAI exemplifies this bold vision for AI in education. Instructure's strategic approach to AI emphasizes the enhancement of connections within an educational ecosystem comprising over 1,100 edtech partners and leading LLM providers. "We're committed to delivering next-generation LMS technologies designed with an open ecosystem that empowers educators and learners to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world," said Steve Daly, CEO of Instructure. "This collaboration with OpenAI showcases our ambitious vision: creating a future-ready ecosystem that fosters meaningful learning and achievement at every stage of education. This is a significant step forward for the education community as we continuously amplify the learning experience and improve student outcomes." This initial Canvas-native functionality brings OpenAI's technology into the classroom with educational integrity and privacy at the core of the experience: Educator-guided, outcome-aligned AI – This integration enables educators to design learning activities that fully leverage the capabilities of OpenAI's technology, fostering deeper engagement and more enriching educational outcomes. Educators maintain complete control over the interactions, ensuring they align with learning objectives. Student agency meets teacher visibility – Through the integration, learners benefit from dynamic and personalized educational conversations within the Canvas LMS. Educators also gain insight into students' assignment interactions with AI in Canvas. The learner information remains private to the Canvas user and is not shared with OpenAI. Evidence-based learning, seamlessly integrated – As students interact with AI in Canvas, key learning evidence is captured and returned to the Gradebook — bridging AI-driven exploration with standards-aligned assessment. Enhancing high-value educational experiences – By automating routine and low-value tasks, this integration creates space for educators and students to focus on more meaningful educational activities. Students experience personalized, adaptable learning journeys while educators gain valuable insights from learning artifacts directly captured within Canvas, reinforcing their ability to nurture higher-order skills. "Now is the time to ensure AI benefits students, educators, and institutions, and partnerships like this are critical to making that happen," said Leah Belsky, general manager and VP of education at OpenAI. "With Instructure's global reach with OpenAI's advanced AI models, we'll give educators a tool to deliver richer, more personalized, and more connected learning experiences for students, and also help them reclaim time for the human side of teaching." Leading education toward the future The global announcement by Instructure and OpenAI signals a strategic shift towards edtech and AI companies working side by side to shape the future of education and respond to the rapid pace of technological change, focusing on where education is headed. AI benefits learners most when their engagement reflects strong practices; industry partnerships can further strengthen this. "We are harnessing powerful technology not simply because it's innovative but because it fundamentally changes, and accelerates, the learning experience," said Daly. "Our partnership with OpenAI clearly illustrates our commitment to delivering tools that allow educators and learners to thrive amid constant change." LLM-enabled assignment The first tool Instructure is launching is a new type of assignment called the LLM-Enabled Assignment, designed to let educators create a custom GPT-like experience within Canvas. Teachers can define how AI interacts with students, set specific learning goals and objectives and determine what evidence of learning it should track. They can do this using natural language prompts or by leveraging an assistant within the assignment creation flow to guide them through the process. "This new type of assignment allows students to have rich, casual and interactive conversations in a ChatGPT-like environment they already know they love," said Shiren Vijiasingam, chief product officer at Instructure. "In that process, they create visible learning evidence that teachers can confidently use, as it's mapped to the learning objectives, rubrics and skills defined by the teacher." Through this tool, when students submit their assignments, teachers gain a high-level view of overall progress, key learning indicators and potential gaps, each supported by clear evidence. They can then dive into specific indicators to see exactly where and how a student demonstrated the required understanding in the conversation. "What's powerful about this tool is that it enables educators to assess the student's learning process — not just the final outcome," said Vijiasingam. "This is only the first in a set of tools we will develop with OpenAI over the coming quarters. This feature provides a meaningful way to teach students how to use these tools responsibly and effectively, all within a high-quality pedagogical framework that encourages critical thinking and supports higher-order skills." About OpenAI OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company with a mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. About Instructure Instructure powers the delivery of education globally and reimagines the technologies that turn teaching and learning into opportunities. Today, the Instructure ecosystem of products connects the dots for educators and institutions by improving educational experiences at every age, every stage and every transitional moment—across K-12, higher education and the workforce. We encourage you to discover more at Contact Brian Watkins Corporate Communications Instructure (801) 658-7525 July 23, 2025
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Instructure Launches Canvas Career: A Skills-First, AI-Powered Learning Experience Designed to Help Organizations Build Future-Ready Workforces
With 73% of U.S. workers feeling unprepared for changes or disruptions in their careers in the next five years, Canvas Career meets the growing demand for career readiness and scalable, skills-based learning SALT LAKE CITY, July 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Instructure, the leading learning technology ecosystem and maker of Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), today announced the beta launch of Canvas Career, a new learning experience built to meet the rising demand for workforce-aligned, skills-first education. Designed specifically for adult learners, Canvas Career enables both private and public sector organizations to deliver flexible, scalable programs that help individuals build in-demand skills, advance in their careers and stay competitive in a rapidly changing job market. The Boston Consulting Group reports the average half-life of job skills has dropped to under five years, with some tech sectors experiencing even shorter durations. This makes upskilling and reskilling essential for employees to stay relevant. Companies that neglect investing in talent may find themselves lagging as transformation and mobility accelerate. Additionally, a recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll, commissioned by Instructure, reinforces this urgency: 73% of U.S. workers reported feeling unprepared to adapt to changes or disruptions in their careers over the next five years, and 50% expressed uncertainty about which skills, certifications or credentials employers value. "As part of Instructure's future-ready ecosystem, Canvas Career is an employee-centric LMS that anticipates the learning needs of tomorrow's workforce," said Elizabeth DiRenzo Ezzi, product lead for Canvas Career at Instructure. "As professionals prepare for jobs that don't yet exist and increasingly change careers to explore new paths, we're committed to helping organizations deliver skills-aligned learning at scale, with the flexibility, support and personalization modern learners expect." A modern experience for workforce learningCanvas Career was built specifically for non-credit, continuing education and workforce development programs where speed, relevance and measurable impact are critical. With Canvas Career, organizations are able to: Reach new learner populations, including working adults, career switchers and employer-sponsored learners Build and adapt content quickly with AI-powered tools Launch industry-aligned programs, including short courses and skills-based learning programs, to meet evolving market demands Deliver learning flexibly with self-paced, mobile-first programs Gain real-time visibility into skill development, learner progress and program outcomes Connect training to organizational goals with customer relationship management (CRM) and human resources information system (HRIS) integrations Whether organizations are delivering internal workforce training or training for external customers, Canvas Career provides the structure to track growth, identify skill gaps and demonstrate impact, without adding administrative complexity. One of the early adopters in the Canvas Career beta program is Intelvio, a healthcare career training and placement company that equips learners with the skills and credentials needed to thrive in today's workforce. "We run asynchronous, rolling-enrollment programs where one instructor supports hundreds of learners preparing to enter the workforce," said Shauna Vorkink, chief learning officer at Intelvio. Canvas Career is purpose-built for that model. It gives us the tools to track progress, gain visibility into skills development and use AI to help our learners reach meaningful outcomes." Solving the 'how' of future-ready learningLearning and development leaders today face two critical questions: what to teach, and how to deliver it effectively. While labor market insights increasingly shape the "what," Canvas Career is purpose-built to solve the "how." With built-in AI tools, enterprise integrations, and support for flexible delivery models, it provides organizations with a modern way to deliver skill-aligned learning at scale. Built on the same trusted foundation as Canvas Academic, Canvas Career carries forward Instructure's focus on security, accessibility and learner-centered design, with new features tailored to the needs of modern workforce programs. It's built for public and private sector organizations leading the charge on skills development and career readiness and is part of Instructure's robust ecosystem, including credentialing, video content, and a comprehensive catalog allowing registration of courses to be automated in Canvas Career. Canvas Career is currently in beta and available to select pilot institutions across business, government and continuing education sectors. General availability is expected in January 2026. To learn more about Canvas Career or schedule a demo, visit: Haris Poll MethodologyThis survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Instructure from April 23 - 25, 2025, among 1,210 employed U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 3.4 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Brian Watkins, Corporate Communications at Instructure, ABOUT INSTRUCTUREInstructure is shaping the future of learning by delivering a future-ready ecosystem that helps learners thrive in tomorrow's landscape. Our vision is to drive a future where education technology seamlessly amplifies human potential, empowering people to excel in a perpetually changing world. The Instructure ecosystem supports educators, institutions and learners across K-12, higher education and the workforce — enhancing experiences at every age, every stage and every pivotal transition. Discover more at CONTACTBrian WatkinsCorporate CommunicationsInstructure(801) 658-7525 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Instructure
Axios
5 days ago
- Axios
OpenAI's new Canvas deal pushes AI deeper into schools
OpenAI's tools are coming to Canvas, the learning platform used by more than 8,000 schools worldwide, OpenAI and ed tech company Instructure announced Wednesday. Why it matters: OpenAI — like Apple and Google before it — is taking aim at student users because early exposure can lead to lifelong lock-in. The big picture: The deal lets teachers build custom AI chatbots inside Canvas, using OpenAI's models to assist with instruction, grading and assessing student progress. The collaboration embeds OpenAI's tech directly into Canvas, Instructure's platform designed for K-12 and higher ed. Catch up quick: Canvas, founded in 2008, helps teachers with grading, tracking student progress, course creation and communication with students. Tens of millions of students and teachers worldwide use Canvas to manage course materials, assignments and class discussions, according to Instructure. Think of Canvas as a more robust version of Google Classroom. Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini and Perplexity are also available within Instructure's IgniteAI framework, which allows schools to integrate different genAI tools. Between the lines: Educators will be able to create custom chatbots within Canvas. The new Canvas tool lets educators use natural language prompts to specify how the AI interacts with students, similar to creating custom GPTs in ChatGPT. Teachers will be able to set specific learning goals like mastering complex math problems or mastering the proper structure for the four-paragraph essay. The other side: Students are getting mixed messages on AI use. Until recently, using ChatGPT was banned in most schools and widely seen as cheating. Psychiatrists and pediatricians worry about use of genAI by teens or anyone else with a developing brain. Sixty-six percent of educators think generative AI will reduce students' attention spans, according to a survey of university presidents, chancellors, deans and more from the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) and Elon University's Imagining the Digital Future Center. Context: Instructure says the OpenAI integration will give teachers visibility into how students used AI on assignments, including where in the chat students demonstrated key understanding of the material. "Educators can now assess how students think, not just what they produce," Instructure says. This is key to solving educators' and parents' biggest gripe with ChatGPT — that students are using it to cheat on everything. Visibility into how students used AI (or didn't) on their assignments could also solve their biggest pain point — being falsely accused of using ChatGPT to cheat. Zoom out: OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Perplexity and other AI companies are locked in a mindshare race. Last month, Google announced Gemini Education, a version of its AI app customized for educators and students. Perplexity has partnered with K-12 schools and some colleges and universities to offer free versions designed for educational use. The intrigue: Once users grows comfortable with a product that learns their preferences, they're unlikely to switch. As with previous tech adoption cycles like Windows vs. Mac, iPhone vs. Android or cloud providers, early choices can stick. If you've been training ChatGPT on all the details of your life for years and storing all of your data in its memory, you're unlikely to switch. Yes, but: All the interactions students have with ChatGPT or any other third-party app within Canvas are owned by the educational institution, not Canvas or OpenAI or any other third-party provider.
