Thoughts on #canvasintel17

[kenneth_rogers]

It's no agency secret - I think the Canvas Intel Exchange‌ is pretty awesome. When I was approached by "The"  @kona ‌ to help organize the event, I jumped at the opportunity. I'm not sure why she asked me, although I think it was my charmingly good looks, but it does go to show that you don't have to have a lot of Canvas knowledge to have a voice and drive change! (That's a topic for another day!).

What many people don't know is that there were many, many hours put into this event. The organizers -  @kona ‌,  @BethCrook ‌,  @garth ‌, MLentini‌, and myself - are spread out all across the country. We met virtually for the months and weeks leading up to canvasintel17‌ so that we could (hopefully) bring an amazingly collaborative event to the folks of this fine Community.

Now - enough back story. How did the morning go?

I am blown away by the people who showed up! Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to sit in on any of the conversations, so you will have to wait for those blogs to hit The Community. But the people! I had the privilege of manning the welcome/registration table and just the smiling faces of the people who had already registered, or the inquisitive eyes of the folks who just walked up asking "What's this about - and can I join you?" What started as 5 people spread across the United States, hoping to connect and learn from other Community members over a few hours turned into sixty-five people representing four countries (that I know of) and both Higher-Ed AND K12, in one spot, collaborating on all things Canvas! Does it get any better than that!?!

So, to those who came this morning - thank you! You made the Intel Exchange a success! For anyone unable to attend - watch for the blogs! We are encouraging everyone who attended to blog about what they learned - and I hope they do. Also check out the hash tag on twitter - #canvasintel17. Now - for the rest of https://community.canvaslms.com/community/instcon/2017?sr=search&searchId=447fe540-1c04-4580-8a32-ef...‌!

[biray]

I can't wait to read all about it in the participant blogs, too!!  

•  @kona  Congratulations
•  @kenneth_rogers  Congratulations
•  @BethCrook  Congratulations
• MLentini Congratulations
•  @garth  Congratulations

Sounds like it was a successful event!!

[garth]

I felt this was a great warm up event for the conference.  It was a chance to discuss topics with peers, bounce ideas, and gather information for the upcoming sessions.  Sometimes we get stuck in our own bubbles, an event like this is a great opportunity to hear from others for a couple of reasons important to me:

• Get a different perspective on things
• Validate experiences from within our bubble, we are doing it right (or wrong)
• Meet new people to collaborate with

It was definitely time well spent.

[awilliams]

Wow, just wow! I can't say thank you enough to all of you who made this happen. But THANK YOU! What an amazing morning and start to our time here together. I'm going to write a bit more in a separate blog post, but I'd get myself to Colorado once a year just to do this!

I hope everyone who attended will leave a comment or make their own blog post so we can stay connected. 

[kona]

Excellent write-up and I'll definitely be adding my own thoughts once I get a chance to take a breath! InstCon has been especially crazy for me this year!