EP 38 - Canvas, Credentials, and the Agentic AI Classroom: Ryan Lufkin, VP of Global Academic Strategy Instructure

In EP 38, John and Jason talk with Ryan Lufkin of Instructure about the evolution of online learning, the impact of Agentic AI on education, and how Canvas is shaping the future of digital classrooms.

See complete notes and transcripts at www.onlinelearningpodcast.com

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Guest Bio:

Ryan Lufkin is the Vice President of Global Academic Strategy at Instructure, where he works to enhance the academic experience for educators and learners, worldwide. With over two decades in the edtech world, Ryan has experience with every major technology platform that institutions use to deliver education, from the LMS to the SIS, and all the systems in between. A well-known thought leader in the edtech industry, Ryan is a podcast co-host, frequent media spokesperson, and speaker at industry conferences and webinars. Ryan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations/Communications from the University of Utah and certificates in Data-Driven Marketing and Brand Management from eCornell.

Resources:

• Canvas LMS https://www.instructure.com/canvas
• EduCast3000 Podcast https://www.instructure.com/resources/podcast
• Chole 10 Report https://qualitymatters.org/qa-resources/resource-center/articles-resources/CHLOE-10-report-2025

Theme Music: Pumped by RoccoW is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Transcript:

We use a combination of computer-generated transcriptions and human editing. Please check with the recorded file before quoting anything. Please check with us if you have any questions or can help with any corrections!

[00:00:00] John Nash: You, you ready? Jason? Anything else?

[00:00:02] Jason: Nope. Just taking a drink, that's all.

[00:00:04] John Nash: Alright, I'll let you do another one.

[00:00:06] Jason: Yeah, that's

[00:00:07] Ryan Lufkin - Instructure: Do the vocal exercises, you the

[00:00:08] John Nash: yeah, me, Mimi. Red leather. Yellow leather. Yeah.

[00:00:12] Ryan Lufkin - Instructure: Yeah.

[00:00:13] John Nash: I'm John Nash here with Jason Johnston.

[00:00:15] Jason (2): Hey, John. Hey everyone. And this is Online Learning in the second half, the Online Learning podcast.

[00:00:20] John: Yeah, we're doing this podcast to let you in on a conversation we've been having for the last three years about online education. Look, online learning has had its chance to be great, and some of it is, but some of it still isn't. And so how are we going to get to the next stage, Jason?

[00:00:35] **Jason:**John, that's a great question. How about we do a podcast and talk about it?

[00:00:39] John Nash: Perfect. What do you want to talk about today?

[00:00:42] Jason: Honestly, and I'm not just saying this 'cause Ryan's in the room, but one of our favorite ed tech tools, Canvas. And we're here today with Ryan Lufkin from Instructure to talk to us. Welcome, Ryan.

[00:00:56] Ryan Lufkin - Instructure: Thanks for having me. I love these conversations. Looking forward to it.

[00:00:59] Jason: Good. Why don't you just kind of describe the role that you play at Canvas?

[00:01:04] Ryan Lufkin - Instructure: Yeah so I'm the Vice President of Global Academic Strategy which means I, I spent a lot of time talking about the trends that are impacting education across the globe. In that role, I travel all over the globe. Honestly, I was in Singapore and Meine Columbia and me. City and all over the United States this year.

Talking about exactly the topics that you all focus on as well. How does technology impact learning experience good and bad? And what does that look like? And I've been within Instructure it's funny 'cause I always say Instructure the makers of Canvas because everybody, Canvas is a household name. Fewer people know the company name.

[00:01:35] Jason: Right.

[00:01:36] Ryan Lufkin - Instructure: But I've been there for seven years now. I've been an ed tech for over 25 years, and I just love the company, love our mission. I love the focus and so it's, it truly is a pleasure to be able to come out and have these conversations.

[00:01:47] Jason: Do you, do you work with anything other than Canvas at Instructure? Are you kind of over m