Why I Heart InstructureCon

[erinhmcmillan]

Last night (or more accurately, very early in the morning), I was thinking about why we do what we do as employees at Canvas. I can't speak for everyone at Instructure, but I can probably speak for a good majority of them. I used to work in an industry where I felt like my job really didn't matter, where people were completely consumed with their own achievements and more or less lived in an isolated bubble. I realize not everyone agreed with my philosophy, but I was just grateful to have a job. When I was lucky enough to land a place with Instructure, my whole world brightened and for the first time I felt like my work mattered to people—that it mattered to me. I love coming to InstructureCon so I can get to meet people in real life, not just on Twitter or in the Community ( @kona  I'm looking at you). InstructureCon also creates a palpable atmosphere that can't be experienced or re-created anywhere else. Our customers are our heroes; what we are doing is literally changing the world and making a difference in education. What we do matters. What we do—together—matters. And coming to work every day is a privilege for me. To our customers, thank you for trusting Canvas in assisting with your educational pursuits. I love being a part of what you do.

[travis_thurston]

Well said, erinhallmark​. I agree that the energy and atmosphere at InstructureCon​ is palpable. There's nothing like InstructureCon

[scottdennis]

The Doc Team definitely embodies that side of Instructure-dom.  What you-all produce and maintain does matter in a very real and quantifiable way to people who often need the guides and the videos RIGHT NOW, but I think I get what you mean in a bigger picture way too.

[kmeeusen]

As many of you know, I always bring my now 13 year old Granddaughter to InstructureCon​. Here, the most important lesson she learns is that education is celebrated, that everything we do is about the learners, that educators are friendly caring people that will stop and talk to you at any time, that education is so important that 2,000 people will travel literally thousands of miles to immerse themselves in everything "education"! These are awesome and powerful lessons!

This year she has accompanied me to all of the keynotes, and was so excited by Josh's that she spent an hour telling her Grandmother all about it.

This is just a small, but very important piece of what InstCon means to me!

[jbrady2]

 @kmeeusen ​ Since the blog interface will allow me to "like" your post only once, I had to reply with "+1000 Likes" to what you wrote.  That is a wonderful life-lesson you are imparting to your granddaughter.  Education should be celebrated, and that is exactly the feeling I got from my first InstructureCon when I attended this year.

[jbrady2]

erinhallmark​ Wonderful post.  This year was my first InstructureCon, but I am already determined that I will attend many more even if I must use vacation time and pay for it myself.  It truly is an experience unlike any other conference I have ever attended.  Instructure does such a wonderful job in working to make the experience memorable and create a place for like-minded people to gather and share the what, why, and how of their passion for education.

[scottdennis]

Thats awesome, Jeff.  I used to feel the same way when I was a user and I absolutely love being a part of it all as an employee.  Our goal as the Community team is to make the community like Instructurecon all year round - its a lofty goal for sure.

[kmeeusen]

Hi  @jbrady2 ​

Glad you made it this year, and had the opportunity to learn what a true experience InstCon is.

In my 35++ years as a professional I have attended many conferences, but none provided the experience that InstCon does.

KLM

[t_logvynenko]

Erin, what a pleasure to read posts imbued with sincere love to education! Our Unplag team was deeply impressed by the immense enthusiasm of all the participants of InstructureCon. That was literally an apogee of our preferences in education development process. There are some invaluable things that cannot be put any price tag on, the things that all Canvas community does! Feeling thankful, we wrote a short story on our Blog -  Unplag at InstructureCon 2016: the Most Curious Facts and Our Impressions​ - and we are waiting to meet everybody next year!