Using Canva In the Classroom

Using Canva in the Classroom

    As an educator, one of my goals for my students is that they understand that all content areas are important and rely on each other.  I want my students to find the beauty in math and science and the methodical processes in the arts.  I try to develop interdisciplinarily lessons and units within my STEAM lab to foster this idea.  While I'm certified as K-5 elementary education teacher, I also have a bachelor's degree in fine arts.  I always try to find a way to incorporate artistic thinking in my classroom.  One way I have done this is by using Canva.

    Canva is a design website that has numerous premade templates and blank slates that easily allows anyone to create incredible presentations, posters, videos, flyers, and more.  The website has free and paid level memberships, but by using your educator email account, you can qualify for a free pro-level account.  Users can easily collaborate on projects, and teachers can create "classrooms" for their students, allowing teachers to assign tasks.  The site has an extensive database of "elements," such as cartoons, music, shapes, that can be added to the projects.  After a bit of practice on the website, creating projects have become very easy.  I use Canva to create any flyer going home with my students (or the digital copy to share electronically).  I upgraded my Google Classroom headers to be fun gifs that the students love looking at.  I have also created many slides for presentations using the website.  I have been using the site for about 8 months, and there are so many different templates I haven't explored!     

    Currently, my students are participating in a unit that has them learning about the stars (ESS1-1 and 2) coordinating pairs and planes (5 G.A.1 and 2), and informational writing (W.5.2.). Students have been busy learning about a constellation to create a visual representation of their stars within a quadrant and develop a writing piece sharing facts about the constellation.  Instead of the traditional informational essay, I wanted my students to create an infographic for this specific project.  This was when I knew I needed to introduce them to Canva.com!  I knew that using the templates and numerous features, my students would easily be able to create stunning infographics to show off what they have learned.

    This past week, the kids began creating their infographics.  The first day required me to model the website projected onto the projector screen.  I had the students choose a background, a title, two text boxes, and an image.  This took about 20 minutes, but they enjoyed every minute of it.  The students who picked up the mechanics quickly helped others or added more information.  After they completed what I modeled, I stopped the students, and I joyfully heard groans because they wanted to continue creating.  Since then, the students have been given a checklist of the required elements, and they have been diligently working on their creations.  While they are still a work in progress, here are a few student examples-

The students are doing an excellent job creating visually appealing infographics.  Because of the vast database of elements, the students didn't have to scour the internet for graphics to add to their posters.  Most of the students found editable cartoon vectors of their constellations after simply searching the name of their project.  While showing what they have learned about their stars and how to write informational pieces, they are also learning how to create a poster for presentations.  For example, we have discussed the importance of text size, color, and font for legibility and how some images aren't always suitable for what you are creating.  The best part, though, is that they are enjoying themselves!  This has been a crazy year for all of us, and I want the kids to enjoy themselves while they are learning.  Canva has helped make this project fun!