Canva
Canva is an online design tool that offers users the opportunity to create professional-looking posters, slideshows, images, event flyers, resumes, cards, certificates, infographics, and other media. The tool allows students to design visuals to showcase their knowledge in unique ways. With 75 million users and over 3.5 billion designs created, Canva is a very popular digital tool for Internet users. The tool was created by Melania Perkins, Cameron Adams, and Cliff Obrecht in an effort to teach the basics to the students who struggled to learn graphic design. Canva is accessible in eight different languages.
This collaborative tool allows students to share their work and request feedback from their classmates. Students can use Canva to construct and show knowledge. They can also capture photos or videos of their class work, homework, assignments, and school activities, post those in their own account, or a class account, and have discussions about the posts. Teachers can use Canva to design visually appealing infographics, posters, and images to complement text-heavy learning experiences.
Tool Snapshot
| Price | Free. Educators can sign up for Canva for Education, which gives Pro benefits and Google Classroom integration. Pro: $9.95/mo |
| Learning | Constructionism |
| Ease of Use | ★★★★✩ |
| Privacy | ★★✩✩✩ |
| Accessibility | ★★✩✩✩ |
| Class Size | Unlimited |
| ISTE*S | Creative Communicator, Global Collaborator |
| COPPA/ FERPA |
Yes, certified by iKeepSafe |
Video: Canva Review & Evaluation
Canva & the SAMR Model
Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model offers a lens for examining how technology is adopted in a classroom. As you strive to incorporate online tools into your classroom, we encourage you to use this model as an analytic tool.
Here is an example of how Canva might fit within the SAMR model:
Original assignment: Learning about air pollution
- Substitution: Each student creates a poster about air pollution (rather than drawing it on paper).
- Augmentation: Students share their air pollution posters with each other and provide feedback online through the Canva team feature.
- Modification: Each student works with a classmate to collaborate on the creation of a team poster about air pollution.
- Redefinition: Student teams share their posters with the public via social media, solicit feedback, and invite people to collaborate on their posters.
Far too often, technology is used as a direct substitute for other low-tech tools (e.g., pencil and paper). While substitution has some benefits (e.g., students develop their technology skills and knowledge), we encourage you to think about how you might use Canva to modify or redefine learning.
Learning Activities
Biology
In Canva, have your students use infographic templates and create infographics about animals.
Science
Encourage students to design climate change posters to raise public awareness about an important environmental issue.
History
Have students use the “Infographic timeline” template to visually map a specific time in history.
Creative Arts
Have students open Canva Photo Editor and upload and edit any photo that they want. This way teacher assists students in unearthing students unique creativity. See an example of it below.
Resources
- Canva YouTube channel
- Canva design page
- Canva tutorials by Canva
- Canva help center
- Design School by Canva (articles, tutorials, and awesome tips)
- "How To" Guides for Canva by DesignHub
How to Use Canva
- Go to Canva
- Click “Sign Up” and register for an account
- Return to Canva and login
- Choose any graphic of your interest
- Click on Blog Graphic
- Choose a Canva layout among one million images or click “upload” on the bottom left to edit any image you want
- Change the color, background, or add icons, text, images, lines, and shapes over the components on the left side
- Click “Share” on the top right to share your blog graphic either with others to view or edit your design or on social media OR click “Download” on the top right to download your design.
Video: Signing up for Canva
Image Sources
Canva articles (n.d.). Retrieved from https://support.canva.com/
Canva. (2016, May 17). Canva is now available in eight languages [Video file]. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-zLF
Canva youtube channel. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-sPK
Canva. (2012, July 16). Canva teaching materials. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-IMPz
Canva. (2012, July 16). Canva tutorials. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-XAqt
Canva. (2012, July 16). Canva articles. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://support.canva.com/
Canva. (2012, July 16). Design school. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://designschool.canva.com/
Canva. (2012, July 16). Design resources. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-rgZt
Canva. (2012, July 16). Design courses. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-DFHF
Canva. (2012, July 16). Canva for work resources. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-AGHTE
History of the cape colony before 1806..picture. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-hgDD
Timeline infographic (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-ARAm
United states declaration of independence..other. (n.d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-Tevg
US history timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/-xIiT
Research
Hadi, M. S., Izzah, L., & Paulia, Q. (2021). Teaching writing through Canva application. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 9(2), 228-235.
Yundayani, A., Susilawati, S., & Chairunnisa, C. (2019). INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF CANVA ON STUDENTS’WRITING SKILLS. English Review: Journal of English Education, 7(2), 169-176.
Author
This page was created by Emrah Pektas.
CC BY-NC: This work is released under a CC BY-NC license, which means that you are free to do with it as you please as long as you (1) properly attribute it and (2) do not use it for commercial gain.
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