In contemporary education, many teachers flourish in their passion for teaching, but an unsettling trend is emerging: increasing reports of stress and burnout among educators. According to a 2024 study by the RAND Corporation, administrative responsibilities significantly distract teachers from their primary focus—engaging with students. This issue is particularly pressing for seasoned educators, many of whom are considering stepping away from the profession entirely. The mounting pressure to juggle teaching duties alongside administrative tasks has become a notable concern.
To provide relief, Instructure, an innovative player in the education technology landscape, has introduced IgniteAI—an array of generative artificial intelligence (AI) solutions specifically tailored for educators. This game-changing platform, forged in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and built on Amazon Bedrock, integrates seamlessly with Canvas, Instructure’s learning management system (LMS) which is utilized by over 2.4 million teachers globally. IgniteAI is poised to revolutionize instructional support and diminish the overwhelming administrative load faced by educators.
Reducing Time-Consuming Tasks for Educators
Today’s educators operate under relentless time constraints, especially following the pandemic, during which numerous students required additional academic assistance. Notably, tasks like managing Individual Education Programs (IEPs), adapting lesson plans for varied learning needs, and grading can be particularly time-intensive. Despite being designed to ease some of these burdens, many existing LMS platforms, including Canvas, often add to the overwhelming pressure educators face.
A peer-reviewed 2024 study from Auburn University highlights that schools frequently introduce LMS without phasing out outdated processes. As a result, the LMS becomes just another task rather than a genuine solution. “The last thing we want is for instructors to view technology, or a platform like Canvas, as an additional burden,” remarks Zach Pendleton, chief architect at Instructure. “This led us to ask: How can we simplify or automate their workflows so they can dedicate more time to student engagement?”
An Intelligent Assistant Built to Support Teachers
To alleviate the burden, Instructure explored how generative AI and agentic workflows could render Canvas more user-friendly. By harnessing natural language processing, educators can interact with the LMS in their own terms, letting the system execute the necessary actions. For instance, if a student requires an extension on an assignment, educators no longer need to navigate through multiple screens. With IgniteAgent, simply typing “Sally needs an extension” prompts IgniteAgent to adjust the due date automatically.
This simplification extends to several administrative tasks that can now be accomplished with minimal input, including:
- Creating assignment rubrics.
- Summarizing course discussions.
- Generating assignments or quizzes based on uploaded materials.
- Duplicating course materials.
- Drafting institutional announcements while adhering to established pedagogical tones.
IgniteAgent achieves this fluidity by leveraging Canvas’s extensive library of over 500 APIs. An essential feature of IgniteAgent is its transparency: educators can preview the steps and verify the agent’s planned actions before implementation, ensuring human oversight is maintained at all times. As Narine Hall, principal AI product manager at Instructure, emphasizes, “It’s vital for our users to understand the actions the agent is taking and the specifics of the APIs it engages with.”
Built Responsibly with Transparency and Control
Instructure prioritizes the responsible development and use of AI, ensuring that transparency is infused throughout its suite of products, including IgniteAI. This tool not only empowers educators but does so while maintaining the security of sensitive student data, thanks to Amazon Bedrock’s regional hosting capabilities.
“The agent is always guided by educators and never acts independently,” added Pendleton. “It functions more as an instructional assistant rather than an autonomous entity.”
Scaling Quickly with Support from AWS
The longstanding collaboration between Instructure and AWS dates back 15 years, marking the selection of AWS Cloud to host Canvas. Thus, when Instructure sought to scale IgniteAgent from an initial concept to a beta version, AWS emerged as the obvious partner. Early in 2025, Instructure engineers collaborated with the AWS Product Acceleration team, resulting in a beta version ready for classroom demonstrations within six months.
AWS provided expertise in effectively leveraging large language models (LLMs) and refined prompt design, which proved invaluable for the project. “This technology is at the forefront, and having access to AWS’s deep well of knowledge was instrumental,” Pendleton noted. “Additionally, they delivered functionalities that we couldn’t cultivate in-house.” IgniteAgent is powered by Anthropic’s Claude via Amazon Bedrock, which boasts advanced features such as reasoning, vision analysis, code generation, and multilingual capabilities.
The synergy between Instructure’s engineering team and Amazon Bedrock’s resources significantly expedited the development process. “Utilizing Bedrock allowed us to accelerate our ambitions within our timeline,” shared Hall.
Designed to Support Student-Centered Teaching
During the beta phase, instructors in K-12 and higher education settings evaluated IgniteAgent’s potential to address real-world challenges. For instance, a teacher requested IgniteAgent to create a quiz from a PDF teaching guide. The system produced multiple-choice questions aligned with instructional goals, enabling the teacher to make edits seamlessly. Another educator submitted a research paper and received a structured assignment along with grading criteria and an optional rubric.
Educators expressed sentiments of empowerment while using IgniteAgent. They appreciated how the tool functions as an aid rather than a replacement, with one beta tester likening it to “having an instructional assistant who never tires.”
Powering the Future of Personalized Education
IgniteAgent exemplifies a convergence of efforts involving instructional designers, engineers, and researchers, all dedicated to minimizing administrative burdens on educators so they can concentrate on teaching. Unlike many AI applications that are built to showcase technology, IgniteAI strives to tackle tangible challenges faced by teachers daily. As the demand for personalized learning increases, innovative AI tools like IgniteAgent promise to help educators assist struggling students while simultaneously catering to advanced learners—without adding to their workload.
By enabling educators to prioritize instruction over administration, IgniteAI signifies a pivotal advancement towards a more efficient, responsive, and student-centric educational ecosystem.
To discover how AWS empowers EdTech companies to create, deploy, and scale solutions that drive student success, contact us today.