IgniteAI is Instructure’s integrated artificial intelligence platform, designed to bring reliable, transparent AI directly into the Canvas ecosystem. The platform consists of multiple features embedded in current Canvas tools, such as Rubrics, Discussions, and Announcements, as well as new AI-specific tools, such as IgniteAI Search and the IgniteAI Agent.
Audience
Audience
This article is intended for faculty, students, and staff who use the Canvas Learning Management System at Ithaca College.
Most of the IgniteAI features can only be accessed and used by a person with the "Instructor" role in a course and are not visible to students or TAs. If you cannot see the IgniteAI feature, it may be turned off or not available to you based on your role in the Canvas course.
Platform
Canvas
Contents
- AI Generator for Rubrics: Nutrition Facts
- How do I use IgniteAI Generator for Rubrics in an assignment?
- AI Grading Assistance for SpeedGrader: Nutrition Facts
- How do I use AI for grading assistance?
- AI for Question Item Authoring: Nutrition Facts
- How do I use the AI Assessment tool for authoring question items?
- AI‑Translations: Nutrition Facts
- How do I translate an Announcement using AgniteAI Translations?
- How do I translate a Discussion using IgniteAI Translations?
- How do I translate an Inbox Message using IgniteAI Translations?
- AI Summaries for Discussions: Nutrition Facts
- How do I use the AI Discussion Summary tool?
- How do I use the IgniteAI Insights for Discussions?
- AI Search: Nutrition Facts
- AI Accessibility Remediation
- IgniteAI Agent (currently not available for Instructors)
AI in Canvas Rubrics
AI Generator for Rubrics: Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts: AI Generator for Rubrics
This Nutrition Facts page introduces the IgniteAI “Rubric Creator” feature: a tool that helps instructors generate high-quality, editable rubrics based on an assignment’s title and description. It briefly explains what the tool does (e.g., suggesting criteria, point values, and performance level descriptors), making rubric creation faster and more consistent across assignments.
How do I use IgniteAI Generator for Rubrics in an assignment
Guide: How do I use IgniteAI Generator for Rubrics in an assignment
This instructor guide offers step-by-step instructions on how to use the IgniteAI Rubric Generator when creating or editing an assignment in Canvas LMS. It covers how to trigger the rubric generation, edit or regenerate criteria, finalize the rubric, and integrate it into SpeedGrader or another grading workflow.
AI in Canvas SpeedGrader
AI for SpeedGrader: Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts: Grading Assistance
This Nutrition Facts page provides information about the Grading Assistance features in SpeedGrader to provide feedback suggestions and enable efficient grading workflows.
How do I use AI for Grading Assistance in SpeedGrader?
Guide: How to use IgniteAI for Grading Assistance
This instructor guide walks Canvas users through generating suggested scores and feedback for written assignments based on the associated rubric. It covers how to trigger the tool in a Canvas course.
This feature requires the use of Enhanced Rubrics and the Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader, which must be enabled.
This feature is for instructor support and is not designed to replace professional judgment and the instructor's role in grading or providing student feedback. Students cannot see the AI tool, but they are notified if the tool was used by the instructor.
AI in Canvas New Quizzes and Item Banks
AI for Question Authoring: Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts: IgniteAI for Item Authoring
This Nutrition Facts page introduces the IgniteAI “Question Authoring” feature: a tool that helps instructors generate editable quiz questions and assessment creation based on existing course content, text, or files that are aligned with the relevant learning outcomes.
How do I use the AI Assessment tool for Question Item Authoring
Guide: How to use IgniteAI for Question Authoring
This instructor guide introduces the IgniteAI “Question Authoring” feature: a tool that helps instructors generate editable quiz questions based on existing course content, text, or files. It covers how to trigger the authoring tool, edit or regenerate and how to preview a question item.
AI in Canvas Discussions, Announcements, and Inbox
AI-Translations: Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts: AI Translations for Discussions and Announcements
Nutrition Facts: AI Translations for Inbox
These Nutrition Facts describe the “Translate” capabilities provided by IgniteAI available in the Discussions, Announcements and Inbox tools. The translation features are available for instructors and students who choose to use AI to translate messages in Discussion threads, Announcements, and Inbox.
How do I translate an Announcement using IgniteAI Translations
Guide: How do I translate an announcement?
This guide walks Canvas users through translating announcements using IgniteAI. It shows how to trigger translation when composing or reading a message. This feature supports more than 10 languages and is available for all users in a Canvas course when enabled.
How do I translate a Discussion using the IgniteAI Translations tool?
Guide: How do I translate a discussion?
This guide walks Canvas users through translating discussions using IgniteAI. It shows how to trigger translation when composing a new discussion or reading a reply — useful if you communicate with students or colleagues who speak different languages. This feature supports more than 10 languages and is available for all users in a Canvas course when enabled.
How do I translate an Inbox message using the IgniteAI Translations tool?
Guide: How do I translate an Inbox message?
This guide walks Canvas users through translating individual Inbox messages using IgniteAI. It shows how to trigger translation when composing a new discussion or reading a reply. This feature supports more than 10 languages and is available for all users in a Canvas course when enabled.
AI for Discussion Summaries and Insights
AI Insights and Summaries for Discussions: Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts: Summaries for Discussions
This practical guide walks Canvas users through translating individual inbox messages using IgniteAI. It shows how to trigger translation when composing or reading a message — useful if you communicate with students, colleagues, or parents who speak different languages. A helpful reference for instructors working in multilingual or international course settings.
How do I use IgniteAI Insights for Discussions?
Guide: How to use IgniteAI Insights for Discussions
This instructor guide walks users through creating a Discussion Insights dashboard report to support instructors in grading Discussions using IgniteAI. It includes instructions on how to trigger the Insights dashboard report.
How do I use the AI Discussion summary tool
Guide: How do I use the AI Discussion summary tool
This instructor guide walks Canvas users through the features of the Discussion Summary tool using IgniteAI. It outlines how the tool creates a list of the main points, questions, and ideas in a discussion thread. The guide includes instructions for instructors on how to trigger the tool to generate a discussion summary.
Other AI Tools in Canvas
IgniteAI Search
Guide: IgniteAI Search for Courses
This guide provides information on how to enable and use the Search feature in a Canvas course. Search will find assignments, announcements, discussions, or pages based on a keyword search. The tool provides a list of relevant results that can be filtered. The guide includes instructions on how to enable this IgniteAI feature in a course. Once enabled, the IgniteAI Search is available to all users in the course.
Nutrition Facts: IgniteAI for Search
This Nutrition Fact describes the capabilities of the Search tool provided by IgniteAI, including how instructors and students can use AI to search the Canvas Course.
AI Accessibility
Guide: IgniteAI Accessibility Checker
This instructor guide provides information on how to use the Accessibility Checker in Canvas. You will need to scroll down the page or click on the specific sections for how to generate "Alt Text" or "Table Captions." The Accessibility checker uses a selection of WCAG 2.1 Level A, AA, and AAA success criteria when checking for common accessibility issues in the Rich Content Editor.
Nutrition Facts: Course Accessibility Checker for Generating Alt Text
Nutrition Facts: Course Accessibility Checker for Generating Table Captions
These Nutrition Facts describe the capabilities provided by IgniteAI for using the accessibility checker features to generate Alt Text for images or captions for tables that are in the Rich Content Editor.
IgniteAI Agent
This feature is currently not available for Instructors as IT&A continues to research and understand this tool.
Guide: IgniteAI Agent
Nutrition Facts: IgniteAI Agent
This instructor guide describes the capabilities of the Agent provided by IgniteAI — namely, how instructors and LMS administrators can get started interacting with the Agent to build content within the course.