Canvas LMS

Still reflecting on an inspiring week in Oslo. #CanvasConEU reminded me how much strength lies in community. Educators shared data insights, roadmaps, and best practices that turn ideas into outcomes. What I saw was not just innovation, it was action. Real people solving real challenges together with students at the heart of every conversation.

An incredible week in Oslo with our best #CanvasConEU yet! There’s a special kind of energy that happens when people from different regions come together with one shared purpose. In an action packed week, I had the remarkable pleasure of providing the opening remarks alongside Daniel Hill, speaking with institutional leaders alongside Professor Martin Bean CBE in an IT Leadership roundtable, and presenting alongside James Gray from Kortext & Mark Bramwell FBCS from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford about the collaborative innovation for their new AI solution featured in Canvas. Thank you to all of our amazing speakers including the wonderful Dr Paul Redmond that kept everyone on the edge of their seat discussing antifragility and the need to meet learners where they are at. Some alarming (and comical!) stats that were presented. Still buzzing from the incredible week and cannot wait to continue the engagement with our community at the next one in London for 2026!

I was lucky enough to spend this week in Singapore at EDUtech Asia! I created a video recap to try to capture and share the incredible experience! Thank you our friends at Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) for opening their campus to us, our amazing Instructure customers who gave us their valuable time, as well as our partners at Amazon Web Services (AWS), edt and Singapore Education Network for organizing amazing panels. Also a huge shout out to our Canvas LMS team - Elysia Alim, Connie Murphy, Avi Hanner, Farrah King, Adam W., Mariam Riza FCCA CPA MSc, Prof. Sheila Christine Ledesma and so many others for their hard work creating this amazing experience!

CanvasCon never disappoints. It’s a masterclass in ideas, innovation, and inspiration. I left with lots of notes and even more questions to explore. Dr Paul Redmond's opening keynote was sensational. With the customary aplomb of a Scouser, he had the audience in the palm of his hand from start to end. Thorough analysis of Boomers to Gen Alpha was followed by three forces that are transforming learning and three killer apps. (I'll forgive him for calling Liverpool FC a 'provincial club'. Sounded suspiciously like the words of an Evertonian, but I know not). Neil Davidson and Olga Patterson from The University of Edinburgh demonstrated the value of templated courses in Canvas to drive engagement and student satisfaction. Matt Turner and Luke Westwood from The University of Birmingham shared a candid view of using AI data insights. Tool agnostic, there was plenty to take away on this emerging capability across the educational landscape and beyond. I delivered a session just after lunch: Designing Assessment for a Flexible, Lifelong Learning World. I had eight questions for institutions to ask themselves. Offering assessment choice is probably the one I think sits at the top of the tree for lifelong learners who range in age from recent grads to well, any age. They aren't the same and choice is where I think we should be. Professor Martin Bean CBE* is always a highlight on an agenda. Plenty of insights from the panel he chaired, which featured: Amina Abdulrahim, Executive Director of ICT and IT Security, American University of Sharjah Ms. Jóhanna Birna Bjartmarsdóttir, Founder & CEO, HARTS Dr. Lara Silvers, Interim Director of the STEM Digital Academy, City St George’s, University of London Miss. Louise Taylor, Head of Quality and Learning Innovation, Coleg Gwent Lifelong learners want and need an ecosystem of courses with multiple starting points, not just from a time perspective but a content perspective. There was also thought provoking discussion on how we teach people to learn lifelong. If you're not familiar with Martin's disruption continuum, then go watch him speak. To take just one point, each country needs a verified, secure and meaningful digital wallet so that lifelong learning can be easily captured and stored. (As I said to Martin - "We must not stop meeting like this") Closing us out, another speaker who I always enjoy hearing and take lots from; Melissa Loble. She's the reason why I was reading about neuroplasticity on a 7am flight home from Oslo this morning. Thank you Instructure. Looking forward to CanvasCon 2026 in London.