General Assembly Celebrates the "Coolness" of Canvas

[bgooding]

Heather Luna, Technical Product Manager, General Assembly

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When I first delved into Canvas, I saw its immense potential but felt it lacked a certain spark—a coolness factor that could truly make it shine. That's when inspiration struck: why not create a series celebrating Canvas's features as the superheroes they are?

It all started with a spark of excitement and curiosity. The first episode centered around the Link Validator, and boy, was I blown away! I mean, who knew that something as seemingly mundane as checking links could be so darn cool? But it was more than just a feature; it was a solution to a real pain point we faced. With Canvas, it felt like we had our very own superhero swooping in to save the day, one broken link at a time.

And thus, "That's What's Cool About Canvas'' was born. With each episode, I aimed to showcase Canvas's features and their real-world impact on educators and students. From the Link Validator to the Accessibility Checker and the Speed Grader, each feature was celebrated for its ability to streamline operations and enhance the learning experience.

But I didn't want our series to be just another boring tech demo. I wanted it to be fun, cool, and informative—just like Canvas itself. So, we infused each episode with what I like to call "humanization." It's about making people empathize with the real-world scenarios where these features shine brightest. Because let's face it, a user story is one thing, but a relatable, humanized experience? That's where the magic happens.

So far, episodes have featured: 

• Link Validator: Ensures that all links within course materials are valid and functional, saving educators time and frustration.
• Accessibility Checker: Helps educators create accessible course content, ensuring that all learners, regardless of ability, can fully participate in the learning experience.
• Speed Grader: Streamlines the grading process, allowing educators to provide timely feedback to students and focus more on teaching and less on administrative tasks.
• Undelete and Restore Functionality: Allows users to recover accidentally deleted course content, providing a safety net and preventing data loss (in the video Gritty tries to overthrow a learning experience designer.)

But more than just a showcase, these videos became my way of getting buy-in for Canvas. See, I knew that to truly inspire change, I needed to do more than list off features. I needed to ignite passion, foster empathy, and excite people about the possibilities that Canvas could unlock.

And you know what? It worked. The enthusiasm and excitement surrounding "That's What's Cool About Canvas" were infectious. To see my passion project take center stage at Demo Day and garner so much attention was truly humbling. But more than that, it was validation that my approach was working. By infusing a little bit of fun and excitement into the world of education technology, we could make a difference.

But beyond the hype, there's something extraordinary happening here. The excitement surrounding our series isn't just about flashy features; it's about driving change management and easing the transition to Canvas. With each episode, we're getting more and more buy-in and less and less pushback. It's a win-win for everyone involved.

So here's to Canvas—the platform that's not just cool but downright heroic. And here's to "That's What's Cool About Canvas," the series propelling the coolness factor one video at a time. When innovation meets enthusiasm, the possibilities are endless.

Originally published on Instructure.com