Situation
In 2016, Activate Learning recognised that its fragmented learning platforms - Google Classroom in some colleges and a competitor legacy LMS in others - were holding back its reputation and digital ambitions, and opted for Canvas LMS.
But as Canvas LMS use expanded, especially its award-winning online-only GCSE programme, Activate Learning identified a new challenge: how to recreate the over-the-shoulder support students receive in classrooms, through Canvas LMS.
Insights
Activate Learning’s student base is particularly discerning. As Group Innovation and AI Specialist Patrick Kelly-Goss explained, “Our learners are digital natives, anything clunky, they’ll notice immediately.”
Learners studying online often lacked immediate, informal feedback - the small moments of clarification that build confidence. That’s where the team saw the potential for AI to make a measurable difference.
Solution
Activate Learning’s digital team built a suite of custom AI tools fully integrated into Canvas, creating a secure, context-aware system that enhances both teaching and learning.
- Activate AI Tutor: A student-facing chatbot embedded directly within Canvas course pages. It provides contextualised, non-judgmental support—helping learners problem-solve in real time, from “what’s sine versus cosine?” to “how can I improve my writing?” Every interaction is securely logged in Canvas for teacher insight and transparency.
- Activate AI Feedback: A staff-facing tool that assists educators in writing personalised, rubric-aligned feedback more efficiently. By drawing on assignment briefs, rubrics, and student submissions already stored in Canvas, the AI drafts high-quality comments that teachers can review and adapt.
Both tools leverage Canvas’ structured data and permissions model, ensuring secure access and precise alignment with each course’s learner journey.
Outcome
The results have been remarkable.
- Activate Learning won Gold Award for their work with learning in AI at The Learning Awards 2025
- Across pilot studies, teachers using AI Feedback reduced their marking time from six hours to two and a half hours per mock exam
- Students rated the feedback they received as more personal, supportive, and actionable
- Every ten uses of the AI Tutor correlated with an average increase of one-third of a GCSE grade for learners
- Students with additional learning needs used the AI tool over twice as often as their peers - demonstrating its power to provide equitable, non-judgmental support.
Activate Learning’s philosophy is clear: AI is not about replacing teachers, but empowering them. And with the help of Canvas LMS and its custom-built LTIs, the organisation has been able to strike this important balance.
Working with Canvas LMS and AI integrations, Activate Learning has created a model where human expertise and intelligent technology work hand-in-hand. The result is a learning environment that meets learners where they are, and helps every student, regardless of background, achieve their potential.
Patrick Kelly-Goss, Group Innovation and AI Specialist, Activate Learning