Instructure Community Weekly Highlights (September 8-14, 2026)

Katie Metz

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!

Community Spotlights

Canvas Lite

Big news for Free-for-Teacher users: Canvas Lite launches at the end of September, giving individual educators a free, streamlined way to build and deliver courses without an institutional license. Zach Pendleton's post breaks down what's new (course setup, SpeedGrader, gradebook, mobile access) and what's changing (a new domain, identity verification, self-serve support, and course limits). Free-for-Teacher final access window will be September 30 through October 6 for a one-time export window, so current users can move their content over before access ends.

Read More: Built for Individual Educators, Built with Security in Mind: Introducing Canvas Lite

To help with the transition, Ask a Coach is available with live drop-in sessions running that first week to walk educators through exports, imports, and getting started with New Quizzes.

Read More: Moving to Canvas Lite: Ask a Coach is here to help

Community Content

InstructureCon 2026

• [Louisville Mixtape] HigherEd: Assessment & Integrity
• [Louisville Mixtape] HigherEd: Skills, Credentials & Career Pathways
• [Louisville Mixtape] K12: Coaching & Professional Learning
• [Louisville Mixtape] K12: District Implementation & Rollout

Accessibility

• European Accessibility Standard Update: ETSI Publishes EN 301 549 v4.1.1

Business and Government

• Public Safety Training Webinar 9/15/2026: Building a Digital Training Environment

Upcoming Instructure Live Events

• From the Academy Forward: Building a Digital Training Environment for Public Safety - Tuesday, September 15, 11:00 AM MDT
• Canvas Klatch with Greg - Tuesday, September 15, 2:00 PM MDT
• Canvas Klatch with Dianna - Wednesday, September 16, 5:00 PM MDT
• Community Compass - Thursday, September 17, 9:00 AM MDT
• Building Active Learning Experiences in Canvas: Leveraging the Right Tools for Student Engagement - Thursday, September 17, 12:00 PM MDT
• Learning While Leading – Making it Work: The Business of Leading - Thursday, September 17 12:00 PM MDT
• Canvas Klatch with Greg - Monday, September 21, 3:00 PM MDT
• LearnPlatform: From Insight to Impact: Leveraging BOY Data & RCE Planning - Tuesday, September 22, 9:00 AM MDT
• EduCast3000 – The Skills-Based Redemption: Upgrading Badges into Real HR Currency - Tuesday, September 22, 12:00 PM MDT
• Canvas Klatch with Dianna - Thursday, September 24, 4:00 PM MDT
• Canvas Klatch with Dianna - Monday, September 28, 6:00 PM MDT

Product Content

Other Blogs

Canvas LMS Blog newest posts:

• How are you helping students understand the boundaries between beneficial and harmful AI use in the classroom?

Impact Blog newest posts:

• From User Groups to Segments: Understanding audience targeting in the new Impact

LearnPlatform Blog newest posts:

• Streamlining accessibility compliance: A proactive approach for K-12 districts

Instructure Roadmap

Check out the Instructure Roadmap for upcoming updates.

 

Upcoming Enforcements, Deprecations, and Breaking Changes 

Added

• Portfolium: 2026-12-30
  • Additional description: Institutional administrators who prefer to opt their users out of portfolio retirement communication can do so with the Opt-Out Request form.

For more information, see the Instructure Enforcements, Deprecations, and Breaking Changes page

Feature Updates

Canvas

Change Log

2026-09-03 See Back to School Code Pause Change Log

 

Updated Notes

Canvas Deploy Notes (2026-10-07)

• [Added]
  • New Quizzes: Matching Question Type Support - Instructors
• [Added]
  • Platform - Progress Bars Updated to InstUI