Instructure Develops Specialized Canvas Service For Internet2's 221 Member Institutions

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Instructure and Internet2 announced today at the 2012 Fall Internet2 Member Meeting a partnership to establish an advisory board and develop the Internet2 NET+ Canvas learning management system for teaching, learning and administration. The service benefits Internet2's 221 higher education member institutions.

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"Canvas is currently the learning platform for more than 250 educational institutions," said Devlin Daley, co-founder and chief technology officer at Instructure. "We are excited to join the Internet2 community of 221 institutions because they are focused on bringing together the best ideas and technology to transform education."

The Internet2 NET+ Canvas LMS includes all the current features of Canvas, including SpeedGrader, migration tools, web services integrations, mobile access support, analytics, ePortfolio and more. The service will also include unique features and custom integrations such as SAML2 federated identity and other NET+ services, such as Box. The organizations also established an advisory board to provide input on the service's product roadmap.

The NET+ Canvas advisory board will initially consist of the University of Washington, Auburn University, Brown University, the University of Central Florida, the University of Maryland and the Utah Education Network, which will represent the University of Utah and Utah State University. The advisory board will meet quarterly with Instructure executives and will participate in discussions regarding features and functionality to jointly define with Instructure the future development of Internet2 NET+ Canvas.

"We are thrilled to have Canvas available as an Internet2 NET+ Service for our member institutions because it's one of the most talked about and anticipated new learning platforms," said Shelton Waggener, senior vice president at Internet2. "As we do with all of our cloud services, Internet2 responded to the needs and priorities of its member community by providing a forum and process for engaging with Instructure collectively to tailor this unique service offering."

The University of Washington, which recently announced its decision to use Canvas as its sole learning management system, sponsored this effort to make Canvas a NET+ Service for the Internet2 community. The decision stemmed from a pilot in which a majority of UW faculty surveyed recommended Canvas to colleagues and preferred it to other learning management systems.

Other Internet2 universities that participated in the service validation effort reported similar enthusiasm from their faculty, students, staff and administrators for Canvas. The universities are working with Instructure to streamline the process for evaluating, contracting and implementing Internet2 NET+ Canvas.

"Canvas offers a platform for enriching the educational experience," said Kelli Trosvig, chief information officer at University of Washington. "We wanted to introduce Canvas to the Internet2 community because Canvas saves faculty time and allows them to experiment and innovate."

Availability:
Service Validation for NET+ Canvas began August 1, 2012, and is expected to conclude November 1, 2012. During October more information about the service and related FAQs will be posted to the Internet2 NET+ website. For more details, visit http://www.internet2.edu/netplus.

Internet2 members may also contact [email protected] to ask questions about the service or to join the mailing list for more information.

About Internet2:
Internet2® is a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the nation's leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 provides a collaborative environment for U.S. research and education organizations to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of their educational, research and community service missions. For more information, visit http://www.internet2.edu.

About Instructure:
Instructure is a technology company committed to improving education. We provide instructors and students modern tools and resources to empower the learning experience. Founded by graduate students in collaboration with educational institutions, Instructure provides Canvas - the open, easy-to-use, cloud-native learning platform.

Copyright © 2012, Instructure, Inc.  All rights reserved. Instructure, Canvas and their respective logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Instructure, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brands and names may be claimed as the property of others.

Media contacts:

Devin Knighton, Instructure Director of Public Relations
(801) 722-8187  |  [email protected]
Twitter: @devinknighton  |  www.instructure.com

Todd Sedmak, Internet2 PR & Media Relations Manager
(202) 331-5373 | [email protected] 
Twitter: @Internet2 | www.internet2.edu

SOURCE Instructure