Canva: A Simple Graphic Design App and Web-Based Tool

What is Canva used for?

Canva is simple graphic design software that allows students, teachers, and others to create images, blog designs, Facebook covers, social media posts, presentations, andother graphic elements. The possibilities are really endless with the app. You can access and edit projects from the app or the web. That makes it simple to use any device to create visually rich images. A huge bonus is that Canva's drag -and-drop editor makes it easy to create without having to know any coding or graphic design!

Ease of Use
I would rate the ease of use of this app as “Easy.” Canva makes it so that anyone, even those without a background in graphic design, can bring images to life and share those images with design sizes specific to any social media platform. Upper elementary students can easily handle the use of Canva and its user interface. Students can access over 8,000 different templates and literally millions of pre-loaded images in the software.

Can’t find an image? Upload your own and use it in any template. All documents are saved on Canva and can be accessed from any device that accesses the internet. So, for example, if a student wants to begin a design on an iPad, they can easily finish it later on a PC or other device.

How to Use Canva in Education
You can use Canva to create digital posters that display student knowledge and understanding about any topic. There are so many possibilities that are available through this app and online tool. Beyond digital posters, there are many other templates and themes that students can use to make presentations, social media posts, and other images.

The biggest thing for educators is to think outside the box with Canva. If you are teaching about a historical figure and you want to make it relevant to a student, have them create a social media post that would be applicable to that individual from that time frame. For instance, you might set it up this way. “If George Washington had a Facebook profile and wanted to boost the morale of his troops through a social media post, how would that look?” That will get your students attention and I can guarantee that students will go above and beyond the expectation level. Why? Because it is relevant and that type of instruction speaks to today’s learner.

How I Use Canva
As a teacher, I give students options to create what I call “Digital Documents” where they catalog and create representations of their own learning. I encourage students to make these digital documents visually rich with images, color, and content that is relevant and accurate to the concepts I'm teaching. Students are eager to use Canva and often create documents for multiple classes. This program has made my students familiar with, and some are even experts at, simple graphic design. You really will be amazed at the high level of work students will give you through the use of Canva.

Feel free to comment on how you use Canva in your own classroom to benefit student learning.

About the Author
Corey Knight is a middle school teacher in New Haven, Indiana and has been an active technology blogger for over a year. After receiving a post graduate degree Corey saw a niche to provide online resources for teachers who use iPads in the classroom, so he created his website.