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tl;dr: This is an open discussion where you all can publicly share your qualitative thoughts and feedback about InstructureCon 2016! Please post before reading the comments from others. Then feel free to reply to others!
Once again we were stunned by another kumbayawesome InstructureCon! Fortunately the great sessions, ideas, and connections we made, can live on within our Canvas Community and in the InstructureCon 2016 community space! Remember that you can keep the conversation alive, around each breakout session, by adding comments! This is a great way to connect with the presenters and share thoughts/ideas with other participants.
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 2016!
Here's some things you might want to talk about: the sessions, the keynotes, the activities, the online schedule, the app, the booths, the venue, 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!
PS... Don't forget to add all those kumbayawesome photos you took, to the Camp Canvas Photo Gallery...
In your responses please @mention other community friends or use the "Share" tool to encourage others to offer their feedback as well!
Let's kick off this discussion with some @mentions:
@KristinL , @jward , @tom_gibson , @kub26 , kdfrench, @rseilham , @ckofeldt , @ktesterman1 , @roush_94 , amber_morse, @dlyons , @mjevins , @hyrum , lalevesque, @mfgu , kbeimfohr, @jasond , @britain_woodman , regina_mccurdy, @hsiao_62 , shortridge, @stuart_ryan , lambj @lindalee , awilliams, @thatcher_bohrma , @crystal_trotter , Deactivated user, 985706039, bsargent, @bwalters , @travis_cox , @beth_ritter-gut , @tmercer , mouldera, Deactivated user, sblyth, @tawnya_means , @michellemeazell , @mlattke , jray11, Deactivated user, mlove, @colleen_ortega , whitney.kilgore, @victoria-maloy , @arovner , @kevin1 , @lstark , dtheriault, kmiller, @BethCrook , @grahamb , @Chris_Hofer , floria, sphoward, Deactivated user, dhawley, jwhite, mmorvant, goodrum, @kristie_johnson , Deactivated user, hooker.24, lydia, yotebrarian, A00015317, catherine_gregory, @kyle_johnson , @timothy_mckean , @murphy_1527 , @sbeck1 , @ewilson , @lclontz , @straussi , chriscas, @candace_girard , @p_bier , @kdscholl , bigenhoc aharris, @dave-long , @kschneider25 , 16247, @skowlaski , msl_adm, evans.1517, eanderson3, @jbrady2 , @Adrienne_J_Gaut , @np , @ebaker , timf, @travis_thurston , Deactivated user, jap98y, seneman, @SchaeferG , stefaniesanders, @Renee_Carney , @scottdennis , @biray
InstructureCon was AMAZING. It was fun, the sessions were very good, the food was good...a conference experience unlike any other. I had a great time, but of course nothing is perfect 
.
Easy things: Wayyyy more tents and dry places to sit!
The biggest issue with InstructureCon that I had though, is that, for lack of a better term is that it was fairly "ableist". Events/food were in fields or mulch beds which can be challenging for people with mobility issues. Sessions/activities were spread around and it was difficult to get transportation from place to place if needed. I think that this is something that must get better in future years.
Also, in my opinion, the guest pass was an awful bargain, it was a lot of money spent to eat food alone...but when compounded with standing up in the rain it was even worse.
Oooh, I forgot about the lack of s'mores . And there were no camp sing alongs either!
I went to Walmart last year and picked up stuff for s'mores. Maybe having a bunch of people who are drinking in high altitude locations using pointed sticks and flaming marshmallows isn't the best idea? 
Great conversation! Overall, fantastic conference and theme! I am a bit biased with my love of camp anyways...
1. Agree about the accessibility/mobility issue for all.
2. Wifi was spotty.
3. Food was fantastic on Tuesday and Thursday night. (can't speak much for Wednesday... )
4. I will highly recommend to everyone next year to come out a day (or more) early and get acclimated to the elevation. I'm so glad I did.
Thinking ahead for next year:
1. Would love to bring the family next year, but the #1 thing stopping me is the guest fee. Way too expensive when I would only have my husband and 2 children join me only for the evening events only.
2. The app was great to have for the first year, but definitely room for improvement. The biggest struggle I had with it was not having the ability to add my own scheduled events beyond the sessions. I had a half dozen meetings scheduled and missed a pretty important one because I was relying on multiple calendars, etc. Also, having notifications would be great and the ENTIRE schedule within the app, not just sessions. Also, having more information about the shuttles within the app would be great too.
3. I was pretty frustrated walking from first choice and finding it was fully booked/closed and then going to the next room and it being fully booked/closed and then it wasn't working trying to figure out a 3rd and I would just end up in a lounge. Would be really nice to have the ability to have overflow rooms with live broadcast feeds for that 1 most popular session during each time.
4. S'mores and guitars! <-- That was the two missing items. (although obviously weather-dependent)
Feedback for Keystone:
1. NICEST Resort employees ever!! Seriously didn't come across a single bad attitude!
2. CME drivers were awesome
3. Check-in was a bit of a clusterf- after hours. Thankful to our CME driver who knew where they were going, because we were sent a couple of different places. Also heard of some bunking with 3 in a condo and only allowed to have 1 key for everyone, yet I was a single in my 1 bedroom condo and given 4 keys. That didn't make sense at all.
4. Did I mention amazing staff?!
For being the first time at Keystone and having to plan remotely, the events and Instructure staff did a fantastic job!! It can only improve, in my opinion!
I'm posting my response here so it will be grouped with that of my fellow Floridian, dreesd. (Hi, Dale! ) For me, coming from an elevation of 12 feet (no exaggeration), it was helpful to be able to spend a few days in Denver to acclimate, but not everyone has the time to do that. I was surprised that Keystone didn't have a few oxygen bars dotted around the facility. This is something that I've seen in trips to Telluride, Aspen, Vail, and even Leadville, so it's not unusual for high elevation towns in Colorado. I wouldn't expect the oxygen to be supplied gratis, but I think offering it on a cash bar basis (or hey, let people use their drinks tickets for oxygen instead of drinks) might be both possible and welcome.
This was the second InstructureCon that I have attended and an even better experience than the first! It is apparent the amount of thoughtfulness that goes into planning such an experience for attendees. Two common themes of #instcon16 (from the Keynotes down to fun visuals displayed throughout the venue) were building connections and choosing openness.
I had the wonderful opportunity to present with @ktesterman1 and share our Canvas journey and ideas which continued the conversation about sharing PD resources and established so many wonderful collaborative opportunities in the future! Sharing innovative ideas and collaborating with educators around the world (bringing the knowledge of the room or this case the whole canvas community together) to make an impact on an exponential amount of students not just my own is something I continually strive to achieve. I was moved to see it on display at the conference and has brought me into the Canvas community even more!
Looking forward to #instcon2017 
Keynotes: The keynotes were inspiring. I was especially intrigued by the idea of moving away from the traditional educational experience to allow students to take what they are learning and apply it to real-world problems. I have heard this concept discussed at several conferences prior to InstructureCon, but I had never heard it articulated in the same manner with so many examples of actual students engaging with the world around them as I did here.
App: The app made a great experience even better. It was wonderful having almost everything right at my fingertips. It would have been nice to have included the food and events section. Those are the only things I did find myself having to bring up a web browser for when I needed to double-check times and locations.
Activities: These kept me engaged both on-the-ground and online.
Sessions: The sessions were very informative. I especially like being able to hear about upcoming changes and learning about new ways to leverage Canvas and/or partner tools.
Venue: The venue was lovely, and I have tons of pictures to prove it. I plan to visit again on my own time to experience more of Keystone and the surrounding area.
Making Connections: It was nice to connect with so many wonderful and helpful people. I was able to spend time with some of my colleagues outside of our normal work environment, meet people who are located at other schools not that far from mine that I probably never would have met otherwise, and finally meet, in-person, some of the wonderful people I have interacted with in the community.
Overall there was entirely too much to do to do everything, but I tried to get in as much as possible.
