Live at EDUCAUSE 2026: Inside the EdTech Top 40 with Ryan Lufkin

In this bonus episode recorded as part of our virtual EDUCAUSE 2026 (https://events.educause.edu/annual-conference) coverage, Dustin speaks with Ryan Lufkin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlufkin/) from Instructure (https://www.instructure.com/) , about the inaugural EdTech Top 40: Inside the U.S. Higher Education Digital Learning Stack (https://www.instructure.com/re....sources/research-rep . Based on aggregated LTI launch data, the report offers a data-driven look at how institutions are actually using educational technology—and where the biggest gaps and opportunities remain. They discuss why enterprise-wide access to AI tools like Gemini, Copilot, Claude, and ChatGPT doesn't necessarily translate into meaningful course-level adoption; the importance of training, support, and implementation; and what an average of 28 unique LTI tools says about the complexity of today's ed tech ecosystems.


Guest Name: Ryan Lufkin - VP of Global Academic Strategy at Instructure


Guest Social: LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlufkin/)


Guest Bio: Ryan Lufkin is the VP of Global Academic Strategy at Instructure (makers of Canvas, the leading education technology used by schools across the country). Ryan has been working with colleges and universities in the educational technology space for over 20 years, beginning with Utah-based start-up Campus Pipeline, the first html portal for higher education. He has worked for large ERP solutions like SungardHE and Ellucian helping evolve those systems to the Cloud, driven mobile adoption in teaching and learning technology, and developed curriculum for both corporate and higher education institutions. Ryan has helped lead Canvas’ evolution from an LMS to a full learning management platform to support the challenges facing colleges and universities of all sizes.







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