Ideas for using Canva in your classroom this term...
Submitted by Fiona Beal
Canva (canva.com) is a graphic-design tool website which has both free and paid elements. It is web-based and is available for iPads and Chromebooks. You can also use it as a Chrome extension when using the Chrome browser. After spending some time exploring Canva I found that it has an easy to use drag-and-drop interface and provides access to over a million photographs, graphics, and fonts. There are free and paid elements but I found there are sufficient free elements for one to use the program very creatively. When you explore Canva for the first time a feeling of great delight comes over you! You suddenly realise that Canva could be great to use in the classroom for various design projects. There are so many useful free Canva tools available. In this post I will give you some classroom ideas.
What can you do with Canva?
Canva (canva.com) is a graphic-design tool website which has both free and paid elements. It is web-based and is available for iPads and Chromebooks. You can also use it as a Chrome extension when using the Chrome browser. After spending some time exploring Canva I found that it has an easy to use drag-and-drop interface and provides access to over a million photographs, graphics, and fonts. There are free and paid elements but I found there are sufficient free elements for one to use the program very creatively. When you explore Canva for the first time a feeling of great delight comes over you! You suddenly realise that Canva could be great to use in the classroom for various design projects. There are so many useful free Canva tools available. In this post I will give you some classroom ideas.
What can you do with Canva?
As I looked around Canva I found so many ways I could bring it in to my teaching. You can create professional presentations, posters, multi-page documents, invitations and cards, infographics and so much more. There are just so many different templates.
How do you access Canva?Popular design types
Documents
Events
Blogging and e-books
Social Media Posts
But first, how do you access Canva in the classroom? The process is simple.
- Sign in with your Google account.
- Select one of the over fifty-six categories shown above such as presentations, posters,greeting cards, infographics, cover pages and more..
- Replace the text and images. Optionally change colors, size, layering, and more.
- Alternatively create your own project with a blank template.
- Save/publish/share.
Here is a Slideshare on how I used Canva with a class for the first time:
Ideas for the classroom
Presentations
Students will be used to creating presentations using PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote. Canva also has a great presentation tool and students could use it to create really attractive presentations on the topic they are working on in any subject. They could show their presentations using Canva's present tool. Get some ideas from this post: How to Make a Presentation With Canva
Brochures
Often one wants students to use tri-fold brochures for their classroom projects and Canva can assist here with a six-sided brochure template/
Greeting cards
Students love to create cards for their family and friends. They could create and download attractively designed cards using Canva.
Posters and fliers
Poster-making in class is a long time favourite with teachers. Posters can be used to demonstrate a summary of extensive research and reading around a topic. They also facilitate creative thinking and provide an opportunity to learn by doing. Watch this short video to see how to create a poster using Canva, Make a poster in Canva. To find out more about using posters in your classroom read:
How Can I Use Poster-Making to Facilitate Learning in the Classroom?
Reports
Students often need to compile reports for various subjects and Canva is great to use for this task. For ideas on how to do this read: How to Design Your Report for School Projects With Canva's Free Alternative to Photoshop. If your students have written their reports or e-books using another program, they could then design the cover for their project using Canva..
Infographics
Infographics area great visual way to view and absorb information. Some neuroscientests say that the use of stories and the use of images, pictures, and visual tools get students to pay attention more easily. Creating an Infographic as a summary of findings makes the information not only eye-catching but also readable and memorable. To find out one way of using Canva to make an infographic watch this short tutorial: How to Create Infographics in Minutes (Canva)
Certificates
One can use certificates in a variety of ways in the classroom. Students love to be recognised for their hard work! One way to do this is to create certificates. Canva has a great collection of pre-made certificate designs that can be customized for any achievement. Students themselves can create certificates for a variety of purposes. i.e. for Mother's day or Father's Day. Watch this short video: How To Canva Certificate
Ideas for the classroom
Presentations
Students will be used to creating presentations using PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote. Canva also has a great presentation tool and students could use it to create really attractive presentations on the topic they are working on in any subject. They could show their presentations using Canva's present tool. Get some ideas from this post: How to Make a Presentation With Canva
Brochures
Often one wants students to use tri-fold brochures for their classroom projects and Canva can assist here with a six-sided brochure template/
Greeting cards
Students love to create cards for their family and friends. They could create and download attractively designed cards using Canva.
Posters and fliers
Poster-making in class is a long time favourite with teachers. Posters can be used to demonstrate a summary of extensive research and reading around a topic. They also facilitate creative thinking and provide an opportunity to learn by doing. Watch this short video to see how to create a poster using Canva, Make a poster in Canva. To find out more about using posters in your classroom read:
How Can I Use Poster-Making to Facilitate Learning in the Classroom?
Reports
Students often need to compile reports for various subjects and Canva is great to use for this task. For ideas on how to do this read: How to Design Your Report for School Projects With Canva's Free Alternative to Photoshop. If your students have written their reports or e-books using another program, they could then design the cover for their project using Canva..
Infographics
Infographics area great visual way to view and absorb information. Some neuroscientests say that the use of stories and the use of images, pictures, and visual tools get students to pay attention more easily. Creating an Infographic as a summary of findings makes the information not only eye-catching but also readable and memorable. To find out one way of using Canva to make an infographic watch this short tutorial: How to Create Infographics in Minutes (Canva)
Certificates
One can use certificates in a variety of ways in the classroom. Students love to be recognised for their hard work! One way to do this is to create certificates. Canva has a great collection of pre-made certificate designs that can be customized for any achievement. Students themselves can create certificates for a variety of purposes. i.e. for Mother's day or Father's Day. Watch this short video: How To Canva Certificate
Badges
Badges are becoming a popular motivation tool in the classroom and for teacher professional development. Teachers can easily create badges to acknowledge their students’ achievement. Watch this short video: Creating a Badge in Canva
Badges are becoming a popular motivation tool in the classroom and for teacher professional development. Teachers can easily create badges to acknowledge their students’ achievement. Watch this short video: Creating a Badge in Canva
How I am currently using Canva
1. I used Holly Clark’s ‘Think-Pic-Share idea recently in several ways. This makes use of the Twitter template and one can use it for summarising. One class used it to write about their favourite book since it is book Week at school. Another class used it to summarise what they had learned in a History lesson.
2. Our Grade 7s are busy with a ‘Flour Baby’ project in Life Orientation. We are using Canva to create a Stork party invitation, thank you cards, a baby announcement and a final report on the project. The Grade 7s love using Canva.
1. I used Holly Clark’s ‘Think-Pic-Share idea recently in several ways. This makes use of the Twitter template and one can use it for summarising. One class used it to write about their favourite book since it is book Week at school. Another class used it to summarise what they had learned in a History lesson.
2. Our Grade 7s are busy with a ‘Flour Baby’ project in Life Orientation. We are using Canva to create a Stork party invitation, thank you cards, a baby announcement and a final report on the project. The Grade 7s love using Canva.
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