As we ascended on Las Vegas, Nevada for InstructureCon 2024, the excitement in the air was palpable. This year’s event truly was a melting pot (literally, with a 118* F average temperature this week) of innovation, collaboration, and discovery. Ahead of the official start of the conference, the Canvas LMS product and engineering teams had the opportunity to conduct a discovery session with users across the globe. We were excited to have users join us from nearly every region of the world, including Australia, the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK, and across the United States. This session proved to be an enlightening experience, revealing key insights and highlighting areas of growth and opportunity within our global community. Here are the highlights from our engaging and productive session:
- Small Wins Matter: We've heard it before, and it's still true. Our users want to see small but impactful changes in the Canvas LMS to drive customizations, improve instructor and admin efficiencies, and enhance educator-to-student interactions.
- Use AI Responsibly: Despite a few regional differences, AI governance priorities and concerns among our customers remain consistent globally. Customers are excited about upcoming advancements that will enhance instructor and admin efficiencies, as long as they are developed and managed ethically, respecting existing data protection policies.
- Course Optimization: Optimization in large courses is as crucial as ever. The current limitations, like slow gradebook loads, cause friction in the teaching and learning experience, leading customers to seek cumbersome and time-consuming workarounds. Users are looking to Canvas to adjust core performance for a more stable experience directly within Canvas’ interface.
- Grading Flexibility: It's clear that each institution has unique needs for structuring enrollments and grading submissions, especially when scaling large enrollment courses. We've heard specific use cases from our customers about features that would enhance the grading experience, making the review and scoring process more efficient for educators.
Our discovery session helped to kick InstructureCon 2024 off right! It was an invaluable opportunity to connect with our users and gain a deeper understanding of their needs, challenges, and aspirations. The insights gathered will play a crucial role in shaping the future of our platform. We are committed to continually evolving and improving to meet the dynamic needs of our community.
We continue to be inspired by the passion and dedication of our users. Together, we are driving the future of education, one innovation at a time. We thank everyone who participated in the session and contributed to the rich tapestry of ideas and insights. Here’s to pushing for growth, discovery, and transformative learning experience.
