Welcome to the Instructure Community Weekly Highlights blog! Every Monday, we will update you with all the goings-on in the Instructure world from the previous week: community updates, product updates, new blogs to read, and everything else you'll need to know will be here!
Developers
Professional Learning
The Product Blog newest posts:
Other Blogs
Canvas LMS Blog newest posts:
Impact Blog newest posts:
Check out the Instructure Roadmap for upcoming updates.
Changed
For more information, see the Instructure Enforcements, Deprecations, and Breaking Changes page
Catalog Release Notes (2026-05-25)
Catalog Release Notes (2026-06-01)
Would you please ask for the IT team to open another "free for teacher" access window? Would you also notify FFT teachers in a direct and prompt way about the timing of this window? I wasn't able to download my data during the previous window and I will really need the data soon. It represents attendance and grades for 8 university courses, as well as content that I have poured hundreds of hours into. I'm sure there are many others in my same situation. Re-gaining access to my data is top priority right now.
…the less communicated, the better for Instructure…
Please convince me that I am wrong, but this appears to be the reality…
@MarkRobertFreiermuth I'm sorry you're not feeling supported or heard through this motion. We've had to make some very difficult decisions to ensure the safety of all Canvas users, and we understand that has placed some hardship on free-for-teacher users. This is an open place to express opinions and frustration, just please be mindful of the Community Guidelines as you do so - there are real people on the other end of your words who care deeply.
I confess that I was a bit angry about the obfuscation. I do apologize for a bit of lashing out. I regretted it (really). Nevertheless, because little to no information has been given, it is easy to get upset. I think it is important for management to understand that there are real people on 'this end' too, who feel they are being run over by the corporation they trusted.
Do you know that I sang Canvas' praises? I convinced others to "give it a try." Do you know I gave a presentation in Cambodia on the advantages of using Canvas because it offers a free version? And, you might like it more than Google Classroom? Do you know that I recently convinced my wife to switch her platform to Canvas from Google Classroom? I'm sure you didn't know any of this, but again, this is just to point out that we are real people, too.
I am also a regular user of Canvas, as you probably know, but I also teach outside of the ivory towers on occasion. Sure, it will increase my work by using Google Classroom, but that is not the main issue. I like using Canvas. I really do like it. However, when I see all of my colleagues here online trying to get help but getting really not very much, I feel angry for them—not only selfishly for myself.
I don't think we have been given adequate justification for the closure, so it appears that this is strictly a cost-benefit analysis. Do you see where one might get that idea?
Sorry again for my harsh comments, but management really needs to consider the free users a little bit more carefully.
I really appreciate that, Mark, and I appreciate your passion so much. I love that you presented in Cambodia and advocate to and for others! We're committed to providing a free solution for educators so there's no cost-benefit we're chasing with this - instead we want to ensure that what we provide is safe for everyone. We have an incident overview available if you'd like to read more on how FFT was impacted and why it's been closed down. Please know, I see you, we see you, and our entire Community empathizes with how much this has impacted teaching and learning. I hope we can communicate future plans soon - stay tuned.
If Instructure cares, it would be best to offer users of FFT who find themselves in a bind the ability to request a one-time data download.
