This post is sponsored by We Are Teachers and Canva for Education. All opinions are my own.
You’d think I would be saving A LOT of time in this virtual world seeing as how I’m no longer fighting copy machines, cutting a ton of laminated task cards, or unnecessarily organizing my classroom cabinets. Instead, I’m spending so much time recreating lessons, after an exhausting six hours of virtual classes each day. Well, there’s a glimmer of hope for all of us with a new creative platform for education.
You may have heard of or even used Canva before to create infographics, social media content, or even some presentations. Canva is truly a super simple way for anyone to feel like a fancy digital designer and now Canva for Education is going to help you save some time.
There is a sign-up/application process, but trust me, it is worth it. You and your students are about to create some really beautiful work. I mean like, really beautiful work.
After using it for even just a short time, I already have five favorite uses:
There are so many convenient features for teachers to use AND That last one, giving students time to explore and create, is my favorite part about Canva for Education!
Canva for Education–creates a collaborative space for teachers and students. Students get to creatively show their ideas and learning! (It is COPPA and FERPA compliant.) Plus, you know how fancy you feel when you create something really cool on Canva? Imagine that feeling times a hundred for your students.
After asking my yearbook students to create some flyers for a Photo Contest we are hosting, a student literally said, “But I’m not creative.” Less than twenty minutes later, the same student asked me to check their flyer to see if it had the right information. Despite their camera being off, I know they were secretly beaming with pride. I could hear it in their voice! The templates really help empower students to feel like designers, which I know will change how they feel about their level of creativity with more use.
Here are some ways Canva for Education can contribute to student work:
- Many of the templates are perfect for “About Me” activities, but since it’s already mid-October, consider taking a different approach where students can create inspirational quote cards OR computer backgrounds for each other!
- Utilize an infographic template for students to brainstorm their ideas in the plot planning stage of the writing process. Once you share the template with students (they get their own copies) and yes, you can easily share your templates with your teacher friends too!
- Infographic templates can also be used to show learning of informational text and text features! Great for all content areas!
- Challenge students to create movie posters or social media ads for a piece of text you recently read, that mirrors the mood or theme of the story. This is like an updated version of this DVD project for “The Monkey’s Paw” but can still be collaborative because multiple students can work on one design.
- After analyzing a character or individual, create an invitation or flyer inviting them to an event planned by that person! This will really allow students to show their understanding of a character’s interests and style based on clues from the text!
- Similar to creating invitations and flyers for characters, students can create actual social media content for characters!
- Create WEBSITES! Remember, mastery of learning doesn’t always need to be in the form of an essay. Websites are a great way to practice writing skills and digital literacy. Canva for Education offers some really awesome templates and features for student (and teacher) collaboration!
Start creating now!
Once you and your students start using Canva for Education, you won’t want to stop. It allows even beginners to look like they’re creative design experts. If you’re ready to look like a pro, head over to Canva for Education and sign up now! It is entirely free for K-12 teachers and students around the world, so you have nothing to lose!
If you’re interested, you can also join the Canva teacher community on Facebook or the Twitter community to see how other teachers are using Canva for Education in their instruction!
