Rutgers.eduRecently, a set of AI features in Canvas, IgniteAI, was made available to instructors to enhance course engagement and support multilingual communication, including AI search within course content, an AI-enabled discussion summarization tool, and language translation options. These features are described below.
To ensure we fully understand the impacts, benefits, and risks of these features, IgniteAI will be temporarily disabled in Canvas to allow for a more thorough review. The Academic Technology Advisory Council (ATAC) and the AI@Rutgers Academic Working Group will conduct a careful review of the tools, including implications for pedagogy, academic integrity, data privacy, and intellectual property, before they are broadly available to faculty.
As part of this evaluation, we plan to launch a pilot program to explore these features, offering you a chance to participate and help shape their future use. If you are interested in joining or learning more about the process, please email help@canvas.rutgers.edu to express your interest or ask questions. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we take a measured and transparent approach to understanding how emerging AI tools can support teaching and learning at Rutgers.
Office of Information Technology – Enterprise Applications and Research Computing
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
IgniteAI Search in Courses
Read the IgniteAI Nutrition Facts: Search.
Leveraging semantic algorithms and AI, IgniteAI Search enables users to search Canvas course content by understanding query context and returning relevant results. Within a course, the IgniteAI Search feature queries content pages, announcements, discussion prompts, and assignment descriptions. IgniteAI Search does not search across different courses at this time. See What is IgniteAI Search for Courses?
IgniteAI Summaries for Discussions
This option is a feature preview and is under active development. Read the IgniteAI Nutrition Facts: Summaries for Discussions.
IgniteAI Summaries for Discussions use a Generative AI model to summarize the main points, questions, and ideas in a discussion thread. These summaries are only available to instructors and administrators.This feature requires the Discussion/Announcement Redesign feature option to be enabled. See What are IgniteAI Summaries for Discussions?
IgniteAI Translations for Inbox Messages
This option is a feature preview and is under active development. Read the IgniteAI Nutrition Facts: Translations for Inbox.
Inbox Translation is an AI-powered translation tool for Inbox users that lets them translate an inbox message while composing. It allows users to choose if the translated version should appear first or second in the message. Both the original and the translated versions will be included. The message sender enables the option and selects 1 of the 10 supported languages. Translations use new models for improved accuracy, speed, and consistency, with AWS Translate for Inbox translations. See How do I translate an Inbox Message using IgniteAI Translations?
IgniteAI Translations for Discussions and Announcements
This option is a feature preview and is under active development. Read the IgniteAI Nutrition Facts: Translations for Discussions & Announcements.
Discussion Translation is an AI-powered translation tool for Discussion users to translate discussion topics and replies. It is also present in Announcements. When enabled, the option applies to both Discussions and Announcements and cannot be toggled separately. Translations use new models for improved accuracy, speed, and consistency, with Claude 3 Haiku for Discussion translations. In the translation experience, users can view the source text and the translated version separately, and use dedicated user interface controls to manage translations and close them without refreshing the page. Currently, 10 languages are supported. See the following guides for more information and videos: