Key points:
By now, you have likely heard of Canva (if you haven’t, please check out this resource, then come back). A couple of years ago, I was introduced to Canva and found that it has helped improve my life as an educator significantly.
From lesson planning and resource creating to parent communication–all improved because of Canva.
Lesson planning
Canva has so many templates when it comes to lesson planning. In addition to templates for your lesson plans, there are resources to create lesson aids. I have personally used Canva to create anchor charts, timelines, notetakers, and other helpful lesson aids that make lessons smoother.
Classroom decorations
I’m an elementary teacher who has taught grades from kindergarten through 5th grade. My room decor has changed with the grades I teach. When I changed grades last time, I went from 1st to 5th grade. Canva saved me so much time and money because I was able to create classroom posters and decorative motivational quotes that went with my positivity theme for 5th grade. I have also used this to create numerous charts, desk tags, and bulletin board designs as well.
Presentations
Simply put, my lesson presentations are no longer boring slides. They are attention-grabbing thanks to the graphic resources I can customize to each slide in the presentation. They are enhanced by sounds, transitions, and interactive elements. This has increased student engagement during whole group lessons. Bonus: Canva presentations are compatible with Google Slides and Nearpod.
Materials
While I tend to shy away from creating many worksheets for my students to complete, there are times when they have a worksheet, notetaker, and ditto of some sort that is used to show what knowledge they have gained. Creating these before in Word was somewhat limiting and tedious. Canva brings this to a whole new level by providing templates, graphics, and special symbols (I see you, math teachers), all which help make materials like the dreaded (but sometimes necessary) worksheets a bit more tolerable to both produce and complete.
Project-based learning
Project-based collaborative learning in the classroom can be quite engaging for both students and educators. While there are many collaborative tools that students can use to work together, my favorite for students to use has become Canva. Students can work on their project handout, presentation, or video in Canva simultaneously. Students’ interest is piqued with all the features that Canva has to offer for graphic creations. In addition, Canva is really user-friendly. Helping students learn and navigate Canva is a breeze, and any mistakes made are easily fixed.
Parent communication
As educators, we know how important parental communication is. We also have many ways to communicate with parents. Digital communication has proven to be quite useful when connecting with parents. However, digital communication can seem dry or lack creativity. Canva alleviates this. Digital communication is not eye-catching, which helps with memory retention. I have used this for my newsletter, monthly class calendar, how to videos, and flyers.
What are you waiting for?
Seriously, if you are not using Canva yet to make your life as an educator easier, why not? If you are worried about price, I am super excited to share that for educators and students, Canva is free (yes, you read that correctly)! If you are nervous to try it out, or if it seems intimidating, I get it–but I promise, you will not break it and it’s really user friendly. You can do it!
