Hey Community. Canvas Fam. Yes, you. 🫵 Let's Chat.

This Community empowers you with information to use Instructure software successfully, but we know it can sometimes feel like an expedition to find a single panda in the deepest darkest bamboo forest - we want to help you find that panda faster and in a way that feels natural. 

It’s why we’re introducing Panda Bot, a beta AI experience!  

A new button was added to each Question Forum. This great little tool was added to help you and all Community members quickly identify useful answers and to save you time! 

From June - November, the Community Team is making it a priority to recognize Community members who help others by sharing solutions in the Question Froums found throughout the Community. These members make it possible for everyone to maximize their use of Instructure products. This blog is a summary of all of the people who were identified to receive a Thank You from the Community Team.

Were you aware that Instructure provides a video hosting and collaboration solution, Canvas Studio? We weren’t sure, so we thought we better ask before we share some exciting news - All video guides will be migrating from Vimeo to Canvas Studio by July 31st.

The Comunity Team is rolling out a rather significant update starting the week of June 5, 2023:  

Refreshed Home Page - An updated and elevated feel to the Instructure Community home page will make it easier to access the most important resources and topics within the Community.

Each step in the Community’s 8-year history needed different care and different supports to thrive, the mission and one key element were constant as membership and resource counts climbed. YOU. The people who come to the Community to advance their understanding of a product or connect with others keep returning, keep sharing, and keep learning. You make the Community flourish.

Starting June 1, and running for the next six months, we’re going to recognize Community members who help others by sharing solutions in the Question Forums. With the goal of enablement, you share resources and best practices, you are really making it possible for everyone to maximize their use of Instructure products.

The Comunity Team is rolling out a rather significant update starting the week of June 5, 2023:  

Individual product landing pages – Each product in the four product families will have a new layout applied and will be organized to promote actions of Learn, Contribute, and Discover.

The Comunity Team is rolling out a rather significant update during the week of June 5, 2023:  

Simplified top-level navigation - New navigation cues in the Community will organize resources into the categories of Product, Groups, and Explore and will make it possible to find what you need more efficiently. 

Back in January 2022, Community team member Tami B wrote a blog post introducing the Mastery Connect Great Guides Overhaul. And today, I’m excited to share that we recently put the finishing touches on that project.

As we wrap up Teacher Appreciation Week, I want to take a moment and add my voice of thanks to all of our educators. Your hard work and dedication in the classroom, whether in person or virtual, don’t go unnoticed. 

Thank you, teachers, from a fellow former teacher and always advocate of education. The dedication and hard work you put in every day drive our business forward.

Thank you, Teachers! You are the driving force behind what we do at Instructure. When you succeed, we all succeed. Thank you for your commitment to education and for inspiring us to create tools to help you with your mission. 

To kick off our giveaways this week, I want to start by acknowledging the work educators do every day to make learning engaging and positive. As a former educator myself, I truly appreciate your dedication and recognize how invaluable you are!

Today’s giveaway is your choice of two beautiful course banners. Use these in your course today or use them to inspire your own course design!

As part of this very important week, I want to celebrate YOU. Each and everyone one of you is guiding lives, driving positive social change, and shaping our world’s future through the incredibly important work you do. I love listening to your stories, finding ways to help you have the space to do the rewording work you do, and raising awareness of the challenges you face day to day. I learn and grow from what you share, ultimately making my own teaching practice that much better. And your spirit is quite frankly, awesomely inspiring.

I’m excited to share that Instructure is celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week May 8-12th, 2023! 

While our celebration aligns with the end of the school year in North America and Europe, we're ready to thank all educators who make a difference every day in the lives of countless learners and spread some Instructure love. Whatever you teach and wherever you may live or work, we want to ensure you are appreciated for everything you do for your students! 

Canvas LMS introduced a fun and simple feature in 2020 - confetti for students’ on-time assignment submissions. Little did we know that this seemingly small addition would make a significant impact on students and educators alike.

As the Themes & Ideas Process launches across all four of Instructure’s product families and as we respond to some feedback we received, the Community Team wanted to share that we made some adjustments to our Ranks and Roles. 

We’ve been hard at work giving a few areas in the Community a new coat of paint, making them easier to use, and we’re excited to finally show them off.

We often don’t pause to shine a spotlight on ourselves, but we’d like to introduce you to our team – the incredible group of individuals who work behind the scenes to make the Community the awesome place it is, somewhere where we hope you feel welcomed and supported.

The journey of life-long learning is filled with small moments that add up to make a big impact. These are your moments...your moments of joy, your moments of reflection, and, importantly, your moments of accomplishment. We want to celebrate with you!

Through now and March 13, Instructure is looking to collect all of these moments through the Making Confetti Moments contest.

As many of you may already know, Instructure was founded nearly 15 years ago with 10 passionate customer experience members dedicated to delivering a transformative customer experience for all. 

It was a huge honor when we learned that our Customer Service team was named as a finalist, along with our stellar Sales Development Team, in the upcoming Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service! The Stevie Awards are some of the most prestigious awards for businesses. Our customer success team was one of six companies recognized in the Customer Service Department of the Year category.

During the month of February, one that is filled with thoughts of appreciation, kindness, and love, Instructure is celebrating some of the changemakers that inspire learners every day. Teachers and educators inspire students to dive deeper into questions, spark innovation, and support growth. They are the ultimate cheerleaders! We love that they bring out the best in us as learners and are truly passionate about what they do.

As we look to 2023 with great anticipation, we can’t help but note all of the wonderful activities that occurred in the Instructure Community throughout 2022. Community is about coming together, collaborating, and celebrating ongoing improvements in teaching and learning. You make that possible, and for that, thank you for everything you contribute to the ever-growing Community.  🎉

The Community Team has updated some features and displays within the Known Issues pages to make it easier to navigate and understand the statuses of all identified issues across all Instructure Products.

As mentioned in You’re Invited: Languages of Appreciation Book Club, this is your formal invitation to join us

Have you ever stood in front of a crowded room to receive a service year pin or a regularly scheduled award? How did that experience make you feel?

Along with our new chief product officer, Shiren Vijiasingam, I have spent a lot of time talking to our customers about New Quizzes. I love hearing how educators are using new tools that we’re developing, especially when it comes to quizzing and assessing within Canvas. During those conversations, I have also heard that for many of our customers, they need more resources to be ready to transition to New Quizzes. 

So we listened and acted when many of you expressed interest in directly engaging with us on essential product rollouts and decisions—like this transition from Classic Quizzes to New Quizzes. We've taken that feedback to heart as we've created this updated/refreshed rollout for New Quizzes.