InstructureCon 2015 Public Postmortem

[jordan]

tl;dr: This is an open discussion where you all can publicly share your qualitative thoughts and feedback about InstructureCon 2015! Please post before reading the comments from others. Then feel free to reply to others!

So InstructureCon 2015 came, took our breath away (thanks Olivia), and now it's over. Fortunately the great sessions, ideas, and connections we made, can live on within our Canvas Community and the InstructureCon 2015 community space!

Please be sure to take that survey that our marketing team sends out, so we can make instcon even better next year. That quantitative feedback is invaluable.

In addition we wanted to have an open discussion where you all can publicly share your qualitative thoughts and feedback about InstructureCon 2015!

Here's some things you might want to talk about: the sessions, the keynotes, the general sessions, the activities, the online schedule, the printed schedule, opportunities to connect, ideas for the community team to improve community interaction and engagement.

Thanks for your help Canvas Community...  We ❤️ you!

Onward and upward!

---

Please @mention other community friends or use the "Share" tool to encourage others to offer their feedback as well!

talk about a #ff FYI:

 @scottdennis ​,  @Renee_Carney ​,  @biray ​,  @shauna_vorkink ​,  @kona ​,  @clong ​, awilliams​,  @mjennings ​,  @travis_thurston ​,  @ewander ​,  @seanmichaelmorr ​,  @jared ​,  @scottdennis ​,  @G_Petruzella ​, Deactivated user​,  @canvas_admin ​,  @mfgu ​,  @tdelillo ​,  @hvaughn ​,  @ted_coopman ​, 229780​,  @sbastian ​,  @kschneider25 ​,  @jmunoz1 ​,  @anthonem ​, st2840​,  @rseilham ​, Deactivated user​,  @jward ​,  @dlyons ​, Deactivated user​, Deactivated user​, JGarton​, 504417​,  @bacherts ​,  @SethBattis ​,  @mlattke ​, Deactivated user​, erinhallmark​,  @sabsmith ​,  @adam_b_nemeroff ​

[tdelillo]

I agree wholeheartedly with much that has already been said, but let me with start with a slight disagreement. A couple of people have said that they didn't learn as much this year. I didn't feel that way at all. This was my 4th InstructureCon, and I'd say at least a third of the sessions I attended taught me brand new things, another third showed me interesting variations on things I already know about, and the last third I was probably reading #instcon tweets and not paying enough attention (but I've noted those as ones to go back to when the videos come out ).

To agree with and expand upon a few things:

• Session length / break time / room size - Personally, I love the 30 minute length. That said, it doesn't allow for much Q&A. In the sessions where presenters deliberately left 10-15 minutes for questions, I felt like they skimped on the content. And although 15 minutes is enough time to make it from one hotel to another, it's not enough time to make it to a popular session at another hotel, because the room is already full. One possibility is to find a way to have larger rooms (different venue? find a way to partition Sundial tent?). Or maybe change to a slightly longer session and a slightly longer break (40 min session with 20 min break).
• Activities / general zaniness - There seems to be mixed opinion on whether we need fun stuff to do, and whether the conference needs celebrities or glitz. I don't think we need nonstop entertainment - In fact, as an introvert (I know, hard to believe but true), I would love more quiet moments with smaller groups during the conference. Also, most of us have to keep working while we're conferencing, and it's hard to find a time and place (without hiding in the hotel room and feeling like you're missing out) to check a few emails or troubleshoot a few problems. There should be a big room (stocked with coffee, of course) called "Time Out", with tables and outlets. Like they have at hack night, but for stopping by during the day for a breather. All that said, I adore Instructure's sense of fun, and would miss the general zaniness if it was toned down.
• Presenter gift - BEST. SWAG. EVER. As  @kona ​ said, it was "Wow, just Wow!" and immediately useful.
• One tiny downer - the staff (Canyons staff, not Instructure staff) seemed a little less enthusiastic this year. I think we overwhelm them.

My answer to everyone who has asked "How was the conference?" has been, "Awesome. It's always awesome!"

[kona]

YES! This!

"There should be a big room (stocked with coffee, of course) called "Time Out", with tables and outlets. Like they have at hack night, but for stopping by during the day for a breather. All that said, I adore Instructure's sense of fun, and would miss the general zaniness if it was toned down."

[ltscal2]

At #devlearn conference they had a room full of round tables with a massive multi device charging stations. But this was something missing from this conference. My $10 powerbank from Asia got a lot of usage likely due to poor wifi and its searching too much.

[dwillmore]

This is a  great idea, and I believe it would satisfy the 'commons' idea for people to sit and connect.   I would add regular power for laptop charging and beverages.

[dwillmore]

What about a  speed meeting idea?  Five to 10 minutes to sit and shake hands then move to the next table.  Purell available for all who require it of course.:smileysilly:

Another icebreaker that could be fun would be the 'find these five people' which could involve a mix of Instructure and attendee folks.  Make that a requirement for a piece of swag or special buttons.

[GideonWilliams]

Great idea. We call it speed dating just to add a bit of spice to the event :O)

[clong]

 @kona ​ Great Idea!

[ted_coopman]

Hi Tracey,

Using the Sundial tent for some sessions with partitions sound like a great idea. I hope they tracked attendance in sessions so they can judge popular session topics. I found gamification, badging, and the more pragmatic how-to sessions to be the most popular. I also like the idea of a time out gathering space, perhaps we can have a "Canvas Commons Cafe" where people know they can go and hang out and converse, I too would like chances for conversation beyond randomly sitting with new people for meals (which I highly recommend).

This was #4 for me and there have been a lot of changes but (IMHO) you have to be philosophical about it and let each Instructurecon be its own thing. They were talking about changing the venue back in 2013 because of the size but they are loath to give it up because it is so beautiful. They also face escalating expectations of what new, crazy thing they are going to do. Instructure and the number of organizations it serves have both vastly increased in size and virtually every Instructure employee used to be at the event, which is no longer the case. That is sad, but just the reality of growth.

But hey, this board is not just an exercise, and like all the community feature discussions, someone is listening and taking notes.

-TED

[Renee_Carney]

Darn right we are taking notes!!!  :smileylaugh:

[awilliams]

I snuck in to the Sundial Tent during the long lunch breaks to relax in cooler air, get a decent internet connection, and catch up on work stuff.

[aquiram1]

After receiving word I might be allowed to attend "some kind of training", "somewhere in Utah in June", on Canvas, I immediately did what any good tech savvy girl would do and googled it. When I found the website for Instructurecon, which was not yet ready for 2015, I was immediately intrigued. I could not WAIT to attend. So, with great anticipation I waited and waited for final approval of the trip - which came sometime in late April! Then, it was time to wait for the actual conference. To know me, means to know my lack of patience for things like this. I had grand expectations for Instructurecon and I must say they were all met or exceeded!

Highlights for me included:

• The venue - the Canyons are a beautiful place and it makes sense to hold such a large conference all in one confined space like this. I enjoyed the fact that we were all together for the entire conference and making it back to a room between meals and sessions was simple - to make a wardrobe change or drop off all the amazing swag!
• Which if course, brings  me to the swag - everyone loves free things - even though I am moving towards a more minimalist lifestyle - the swag provided by Instructure was all useable and amazing!
• The people - from the moment we checked in to the moment we left, my team and I felt taken care of and supported. The Canvas and Canyons staffs were helpful and positive every time we needed them.
• The keynotes and general sessions - were amazing! I took something away from each one and will be referencing them as I look forward and plan my new year.
• The breakout sessions - yes some were overcrowded, yes some of the session descriptions weren't quite clear enough, but all in all, every session I attended had something I could take away and use in the upcoming year - whether for myself or for other others I will be working with, as a curriculum coach.
• All of the fun - the variety of game night, hack night, movies, food, and other fun was great. Not necessary, but a good switch from the traditional conference where you attend sessions, you return to your hotel room or have to find something to do somewhere else. It gives you an opportunity to hang out and network with others.

Lowlights for me:

• Honestly - there is nothing I am overtly disappointed with - I feel like I learned so much info that I am afraid of forgetting it before I can implement it.

I hope I am lucky enough to attend again - I feel like it is one of the conferences I have learned the most practical information from and even thought it's a ed tech conference, the focus on student centered learning and conversations about what that means and ways Canvas can be used to leverage it are what impacted me most.

[ltscal2]

sDeactivated user​ dont forget Settlers of Catan next time!

Great conference, people, venue and quality sessions.

A few comments

• more time between sessions (I would suggest for bigger, popular ones maybe live stream to a TV outside the room or something)
• great idea for sundail tent for keynotes and major sessions (sun allergic like me really appreciated so I didnt have to carry an umbrella in 30 degrees weather!) and not distracted by nature.
• make an app for conference info (the community section is close but an app would be lovely)
• Great idea to control the swag. Last few years it was just crazy people hoarding stuff. Suggestion for swag : a bag of sorts
• Dont assume everyone in the world drinks booze. Have options for those who dont want the booze to use their free drinks in other ways.
• Would have liked to attend the unconference but it was released after I had signed up for pre-conference so was only able to follow on twitter
• provide hard wire connections to all presenter stations. A few sessions I attended the poor presenters couldnt get online to do their demo!!
• Food was meh. But we dont come to conferences for the food or do we?   Thanks for great selection for Vegan/Vegetarians though.

Thanks again for a great conference , entertainment. Learned a LOT, connected and reconnected with some great people.

[dwillmore]

• I like the conference app idea, and would like to add that the app should have a scheduler option that holds your selections for break out sections.
• Hard wire connections for presenters is a must.  There were a few poor presenters that were about to lose their minds over the situation (hyperbole)

[tdelillo]

The presenters were told there would be "hardwire and wireless internet" (quoting from the email we got). I was one of those presenters that had no internet until 1 minute before my session started. Thankfully, the superb tech guys got it working in time, but it did fluster me a bit. Having a little more extra time between sessions would help the presenters as much as it would help the attendees.

[awilliams]

I totally agree with better connections for presenters.

As for those who don't drink, you could totally barter your alcohol punches for other things with people you meet at the conference. I tried to talk  @G_Petruzella ​ into this but found out he was saving them for the last night :smileysilly:

[kona]

Hahaha... awilliams​, I would have let you use mine for free! No bartering needed.

[cms_hickss]

 @ltscal2 ​- I like this suggestion. I actually had people asking me if I was going to use my drink punches because I don't drink. It would have been nice to do something with them.

[rgibson1]

I thought the guest keynotes were outstanding. Excellent. Great sessions. Excellent entertainment and food. But, the presentation rooms were awfully crowded. If you didn't get there early, it was standing room only. (If you were lucky.) The conference has gotten very large. I'm wondering if it's outgrowing the venue....

Regardless, it was an amazing conference .....as usual. Pulling something off this complex is a feat. Oh, and next year I'm getting that hotel EARLY. We ended up at the Park Peaks hotel because everything was booked weeks in advance. Not a good stay....

Last but not least, I attended the 'Unconference' and I would encourage that be repeated in the future. I picked up several great ideas....

[silversn]

I love coming to this conference... Has a lot of good information and being able to talk to the developers about what I think about Canvas and find out what direction it is going with a physical person is awesome. The only thing that I think really needs to be worked on is how hard it is to decide where to go and what to listen to. I am a teacher and really want to listen to other teachers about their classroom, not so interested in the tech side of things. It would be great if you could mark in the handouts or online if the session is a teacher talk about Canvas, if it is a IT presentation or a API sales pitch. I read the descriptions very carefully and there were still a couple of times I was expecting a teacher to be talking about using Video in the classroom and it turned out to be a API pitch... Still liked the conversation but my mind set was completely different.

[DaleDrees]

Very good point Mr. Silvers about not knowing what role the presenter has at their institution. I think adding their role would help out everyone in determining what session to attend.

[ltscal2]

I also found that not all presenters were active in this message board. I was looking for a particular presenter and found that he hasnt had activity since May and couldnt find his contact forcing me to go to a session I rather not go to find his colleague.

If you got consent from presenters could you post their contact info (email address) behind this community shell.

[jmunoz1]

I general, I loved InstCon! This was my first one and also my first time in Utah and I had a blast! :smileycool: Although there are always things we can improve, I am so grateful for having the opportunity to go.

• Sessions
  • Although everything was spread out, I really wouldn’t have minded the walking if there was a bit more time between sessions; in times I literally ran. :smileycry:
  • Too many sessions running at the time; at a moment I had to choose between 4 sessions. This is kind of a problem, since I would expect to be able to go to most of the sessions I was interested in. Maybe you can probably add another day of sessions; just disperse them a bit. Or, you could run a session twice, in different days or times; this wouldn’t necessarily apply for all sessions, but at least the ones that were full.
  • Sessions should be longer. I felt that in some presentations, the information given was very general, not much time given to dig in some topics.
  • I agree with the idea of identifying the sessions as beginners, medium, advanced, etc. This would help a lot when it comes to choosing which session to go to. I would sometimes go to a session just to think “I already know that”.
  • So many small rooms, I would say that in all the sessions I went to, I only got a seat in a third of them. Like someone has already said, I think we’re outgrowing the venue. But please don’t move! Use the Sundial tent between keynotes for other breakout sessions, you can do like three at a time in there.
• UX Tent
  • Awesome!!!!!!!! My colleague and I had a couple of questions regarding the technical side of Canvas, and they were great helping us. I recommend given them a bigger space and not only show Canvas UI, but also the Catalog, Commons and Bridge. I would’ve loved to see those work!
• Venue
  • It’s beautiful! Please do not change!
  • I would add more umbrellas around the forum area. The sun was scorching! :smileyshocked:
• Keynotes
  • Truly inspiring! All three of them! #learningheros
• SWAG
  • I wouldn’t mind buying some Canvas shirts for my crew here in NUCO. So maybe you could put some additional merchandise for sale next year.
• Canvas Crew
  • You guys were great and made us feel totally welcome!
• Security
  • Did anyone notice how cool the security people were?! They were dancing and such a happy crew! :smileylaugh:
• Special events
  • I did sign up for the uncon just because I thought it was a great opportunity. They even built a course for it! Unfortunately I couldn't go, I arrived to Park City past midnight (tuesday) from Puerto Rico and had a terrible migraine. But I read it was awesome and I regret not going!
  • International meet and greet: this was a great idea! Although I’m terrible at presenting myself, some nice people from London came to say hi so that was nice.
• Name tags
  • My name was written by hand :smileycry: I suppose it’s because my company bought my tickets late, but the tags were awesomely cool! Anyways, maybe it would be nice to include the institutions logo or the flag of state/country. It would just be fun to identify people this way.
• Networking
  • Our CSM was great helping us meet new people! But other than that, we were too busy running to sessions to actually have time to meet people. Nevertheless, this community space, at least for me, has been a great place to do networking, so kudos for that!

[rgibson1]

I would agree. The venue is part of the reason i love going each year. Having grown up in the Rockies (but now a flat lander), I look forward to the high altitude battery recharge. But, there must be some larger rooms in that complex.

And, I noticed this time (for the first time), the golf carts were PACKED every time I saw them. I prefer walking, but to get a seat at the next presentation I found myself looking for a cart at every opportunity. I never found one.

Lastly, I prefer the outdoor keynotes over the tent. I know the snow was a bug-a-boo last year, but this year would have been great to have them outdoors.

[canvas_admin]

Good point rgibson1​!  I forgot to include that sometimes I gave up waiting for a golf cart because too few were coming and lots of people were waiting so I decided to hoof it so I could make the next session.

[canvas_admin]

This was my first InstructureCon​ and overall I came away excited, encouraged, invigorated, exhausted and refreshed all at the same time!

Pros:

1. Meeting people!   Not only did I get to meet awesome Canvas people, some of whom are worthy of jumping out of a moving golf cart, I got to meet other Canvas users and educators and share ideas & challenges. I was amazed at how this experience sparked creativity, thoughts, and challenges within my mind. Some of the amazing people I got to meet include, but are not limited to:  @clong ​,  @kona ​,  @kmeeusen ​,  @biray ​,  @Renee_Carney ​, Deactivated user​, Deactivated user​,  @carolann ​, awilliams​,  @G_Petruzella ​, Deactivated user​, Deactivated user​, Deactivated user​, and Deactivated user​.
2. Unconference:  What a great way to put “student centered learning” in action! It was amazing how we were able to produce what we wanted to talk about, the flexibility of the sessions, the interaction, etc. I only got to attend half of it due to an afternoon pre-conference workshop, nonetheless it was a great way to experience scl​ in action.
3. Pre-Conference Workshop: I came away with some great ideas and insights on how to market an open enrollment course. I'm thankful for Deactivated user​,  @mloble ​, and Deactivated user​ for putting on this great workshop.
4. Game Night:  I had heard of exactly 0% of the game offerings.  I ended up playing only 1—Pandemic— because I was immediately hooked. It was a great way to meet new people and the coop element of the game helped encourage us to work as a team.
5. KEYNOTE: DEREK MULLER (instcon15)​ was simply amazing and definitely the most engaging of the keynotes.  Are these going to be made available as well? I would love to go back over this session.
6. The Hammer of the Gods: Content Distribution for Non-Coders​ session extremely helpful. It is going to save me a day to a day and a half of work in preparing for each upcoming term. A big shout out to Deactivated user​ and Jason for this session. I'm thankful I got to sit (yes, I actually got a chair!) in on this one.
7. Gondola: As this was also my first time in Utah, the Gondola ride was truly something to experience and showed off part of Utah's beauty.
8. Other: I'm glad I read this article, » The Official Unofficial Guide to InstructureCon 2014​,  before coming to my first InstructureCon. This article helped to set some of my expectations and I especially was thankful for the recommendations concerning drinking water, taking advantage of the golf carts, and the gondola ride.

Cons:

1. I missed out on the extra/leftover swag giveaway. Rookiemistake​ I will not repeat that again.  I Canvas swag.
2. SRO sessions: Perhaps indicate in the program how many people the room will hold. Or, run analytics to predict which types of presentations (or presenters) typically garner a large crowd and place those sessions/presenters in the larger breakout rooms. Also, please allow a little more time to move from one session to another since it is a huge resort area.
3. Food:  I must admit that I found most of the food bland and unimpressive, even after adding copious amounts of salt and pepper. Breakfast was good (it's pretty hard to mess up sausage and bacon!). I also enjoyed the bonmi sandwiches as I had never had one before. As someone from the deep south, the "Mardi Gras" food was not Mardi Gras food at all and did not represent New Orleans well at all.
4. Wifi: I was never able to make a connection in the Silverado on any of my 3 devices!

[katie]

Hi Mark! Thanks so much for your positive feedback - I'm glad the pre-conference session was helpful for you! We still have a Twitter bird for you if you want it - if you send me your address, we'll gladly mail it to you! You can reach me at katie@instructure.com. Thanks Mark, hope to see you next year!

[stephanie_pope]

Things I Enjoyed:

1. The session topics and presenters were professional and organized. I took away practical tools, strategies, and ideas.
2. Fun! Everything from the hat icebreaker, games, karaoke, to the miniature golf!
3. The keynotes were inspiring, challenged me intellectually (like Ted), and embodied the student centered theme.
4. The THEME!! I loved how connected the theme was to the swag, marketing, and stuff! The song is still stuck in my head- but in a good way.
5. The Canvas vibe/culture. Everyone was excited, spirited, and passionate about Canvas and supporting it's users.

Things I Noticed:

1. The food/beverage crew was AMAZING!! The coffee never ran out- super important!
2. The organization and logistics of traveling. Everything was on the website ahead of time and easy to make our plans.

Things to Think About:

1. As many people have mention- the schedule. The book was hard to make notes on and an app would have been extremely helpful.
2. The sad wifi. This was difficult for one of our teachers to hold a session while at the conference. She couldn't find a space that had both an outlet, quiet, and wifi. I would make a suggestion for a provided space like this for next year! How teacher centric!
3. Most of the sessions were led by administrators and staff- would have loved to hear more from the teachers.
4. It was a little discouraging that their was only ONE break (last day and second to last session) out that discussed the new ticketing system. I actually almost missed it because of our flight leaving that night. I was even surprised it wasn't at the UX tent to play around in.

A BIG shout out to everyone at Instructure!! What a "all hands on desk" kind of event. It was seamless and outstanding fun. I'm hoping my school send me again next year! I'm only wondering where is will be???

[tdelillo]

I have to add my 2 cents to the keynote indoor/outdoor debate. I love all the fresh air and sunshine, but I find it difficult to sit outside for the length of a keynote (or even to eat a meal). There isn't enough shade available for those of us that cook like turkeys under the blazing sun. I thought the Sundial tent was the coolest (literally and figuratively) innovation this year.

Maybe (expanding upon my earlier idea of partitioning the tent for more session space), there could be a few smaller tents set up. Use them as overflow and "comfort zones" for the keynotes (stream them in the tent if the live venue is the Forum stage). Use them as breakout session rooms (just don't assign them to presenters who need good internet!). Use them as additional seating for meals (the Forum tent was often packed at mealtimes).

[hornej]

It was my first InstructureCon. I learned a lot, and I had a great time. I love that the sessions were only 30 minutes. They don't need to be longer than that. I see some complaints about not learning anything, but I feel that there was enough variety where everyone could find something. The meet and greet for presenters was really nice, and the cookies and milk were a really clever idea.

I will echo the comments another person made about Mardi Gras night and the food. It wasn't Instructure's fault, but the resort can surely do better than that. The food truck night was cool except for it was also hurry up and wait night, so that was kind of annoying. I reckon I could have just eaten at Farm or somewhere.

I don't want it to change venues at all. I thought the Canyons were perfect.

Overall, great job! I'll be back with some of my people next year!

[sharonking5]

This was my first visit to InstructureCon. I absolutely loved it. I'll just give a short list of everything.

Loved -

I loved having the access to the outdoors. I hate conferences because I'm cooped up all day in air conditioning.

I loved being able to get exercise.

I loved the session on Flipping the Woodshop. I'm using that as soon as I can.

I thought the keynotes were amazing.

Canvas Community presentation was very helpful. It's why I'm here, and I'll be training our 13 community colleges on how to use it.

Did not like -

The Food. I'm from Louisiana. Nothing Mardi Gras-ish about that first night's meal. I finally found the special meals tent, and they had some fresh, amazing healthy food. However, there was no protein at all. This is very common for vegetarian options. There are plenty of protein sources that could be used... beans, eggs, tofu???

I won't beat the wifi to death, but it's on my list.

The black program. Unusable.

I actually would have loved to have had time to experience the area a bit. I did squeeze in hikes at 5 AM, but I felt like I would miss too much if I escaped for a bit.

Thanks so much! It was a great conference. I definitely will bring protein next time just in case, but I'll definitely be there.

[rgibson1]

Although the Instructure people know all the local areas inside and out, I'll volunteer that two years ago (my first conference) I had a DELIGHTFUL walk from the conference hotel to Park City. There's an extensive series of trails along the main road. I picked one up near the 7-11. It goes up past the historic barn > into the city. You'll never have a better walk. About 3 miles each way. When you get into Park City there's a creek that runs along the side. Wonderful....

[sharonking5]

I Did venture out to the start of that trail, but I'd love to take it all the way on.

Its a beautiful ​area and thanks for the tip on Bob's place. I blogged about my trail adventure if you are interested.

Morning Sunshine: McPolin Farm Nature Trail | Midlife Moments

[ltscal2]

Wow that was awesome. Much more interesting than the Single Track Holly's Trail that EVERYONE was walking. All I was imagining ripping down on my bike which sadly didnt happen. Do tell us how to get to there next time!

[DaleDrees]

Thanks for the link - great pictures! The trails at the Canyons were awesome!!! I had a chance to hike the Holly's and then onto Tombstone & Fantasy Ridge. The shot below is on the Fantasy Ridge trail. Great Conference, Great Trails and Great People!

[rgibson1]

Oh, and if you have some time next year, go to Sundance. It's not far from Park City. (Maybe 30-40 miles.) Fantastic. Robert Redford's place. (I call him Bob when I visit. 😃 They have chairlift rides up the mountain. Breathtaking vistas. (Canyons x 10) Kitschy little shops. And a zip line that you have to see to believe. Those people friggin' FLY down that mountain. Scared the crap out of me just watching. Beautiful....

Conference? What conference?

[rseilham]

Great responses...Let me jump in.

This is my third InstructureCon, and personally I find the networking with Instructure employees and other schools the most valuable part of this (and most conferences). This is especially true since the size of UCF makes some presentations not apply to our environment. There are some many things I like (the venue), but I won't repeat them, but here a few points.

What I loved:

• Meeting everyone.  The Twitter stream was jumping. Thanks Canvassadors!
• The big tent. It was like being at the circus! I originally was disappointed because i liked the forum stage, but the tent ended up being much better.
• The UX and Mobile tent. There needs to be more of this! I'd like to be able to find product engineers and managers easily at the conference. It's invaluable to have a discussion with a real person.
• The wifi was actually better this year.
• The punch cards for swag. It was less chaotic this year.
• Game night! Can we have Uno or Sorry! next year?

What I loved less:

• I used the InstructureCon 15' PPT template as suggested, but when I got to my presentation, the fonts weren't installed. :smileyconfused:
• The community for sessions. Although, I did like having a place to see who is attending my session and a public place to leave my presentation files, please consider adding a mobile application for scheduling next year.
• The food trucks, especially the pizza was packed. I love the food truck idea, but we need more of them!
• The location dictated my session selection. This is nothing new.
• I feel like I learned less at this InstructureCon, but that's just me personally. I think people who are newer to Instructure (Canvas) get more out of the sessions.

Suggestions:

• Some "birds of a feather" opportunities. I love mobile, that's no secret. I would like a place and time to meet others with my interest.
  
• Possibly splitting the conference session for K12 and Higher Ed.
• Bring back Flashback Heart Attack for the last night, they were great! (Maybe Hammer too)

[clong]

In Game Night add Clue... perhaps we could even make a Canvas version of clue remix scenarios... maybe a new bug that is introduced via a mole in the company

[rseilham]

I agree. More games that take 2 seconds to learn and enjoy. (:

[jordan]

Good feedback Ryan and  @clong ​. 😉

Just so you know... there was a big group of boardgame loving Instructure employees (like Deactivated user and straigle) who talked a lot about gamenight at instcon and it was a deliberate choice we made, to bring a wide variety of games, but from a different genre than what people are used to. Many people are familiar with traditional US games: Monopoly, Clue, Risk, Uno, Phase 10, Scattegories, Taboo, etc. etc. which can all be fun. But we wanted to do a couple things...

1. Introduce people to a plethora of exciting games that are less well known, but very enjoyable.
2. Get people out of their comfort zones and provide an opportunity to learn these unique "new" games together keeplearning​

It might be a good idea to bring in some additional traditional games for a future instcon gamenight. Games that take 2 seconds to learn are always a plus! I love the idea that some have suggested about having Game Night on Tuesday! I personally would like to see a game night from 7-10/11pm on Tues and another one from 7pm-whenever on Thursday. It was so fun to connect with the Canvas Community on a personal level and set aside, for a moment, our love of speedgrader or Canvas Commons​ and just laugh and play together. These moments deepen the digital relationships that we can maintain in this Canvas Community.

[cfierro]

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Deactivated user​