CanvasCon was fun!
I have a small confession to make: CanvasCon was a lot of fun. I’m serious. I learned a lot. Admittedly, I had some early skepticisms about CanvasCon when I had heard it was going to be completely online this year. Instructure, our Canvas LMS parent company, is known for putting on great conferences to help showcase upcoming products and roadmaps. It’s a great opportunity to connect with others, including folks who work for Canvas. I have attended their annual Canvas conference twice. Formerly called InstructureCon, they renamed it to the more recognizable CanvasCon, and instead of holding it in a beautiful mountainous resort in Keystone Colorado, it was completely online. Oh, and it was free. I knew the pandemic had forced the conference to be moved completely online for the safety of everyone involved, but it was hard to not be skeptical given the high expectations I had from attending previous Canvas conferences.
But you know what? I really enjoyed it! On top of that, since all CanvasCon sessions were developed for online modality, it has excellent replay value. I have attended several in-person conferences where breakout sessions were recorded, but watching those recordings was never as engaging or as enjoyable as attending them in person. With online conferences it is quite the opposite. I have enjoyed going back watching the breakout sessions I missed on the day of the conference. The replays have been every bit as enjoyable because they’re pretty much the same.
They had LeVar Burton!
“Literacy paves the way to be a lifelong learner” – LeVar Burton.
LeVar Burton’s gentle demeanor and unmistakable voice instantly brought me back to the house I grew up in. There I was, a 7-year old having just sat through yet another amazing episode of Reading Rainbow, humming the melody of the ever-so-catchy show music. The year was 1991 and I remember the show so clearly, as if it were something I was binge watching today. So when I found out that LeVar Burton would be delivering a keynote at this year’s CanvasCon online conference I was immediately excited! It’s been decades since I’ve seen an episode of Reading Rainbow, but I can still sing the lyrics to the opening theme song. To say his keynote did NOT disappoint would be an understatement.
Ready to (re)watch it on demand?
All of the keynote addresses and breakout sessions are available to watch on demand now. Head on over to CanvasCon On Demand and click on “watch the sessions”. If you registered to attend then all you need to do is enter your email address and you’ll be given immediate access to all of the on-demand content from CanvasCon. If you didn’t pre-register that is okay, there is a link where you can register and again you’ll be given immediate access. I hope you enjoy CanvasCon 2020 as much as I did!