How Canva makes my life easier as a teacher

Key points:

By now, you've probably heard of Canvas (If you haven't already, check this out) resourceA couple of years ago, I was introduced to Canva and found that it helped me significantly improve my life as an educator.

From lesson planning and resource creation to communicating with parents, everything just got better with Canva.

Lesson planning

Canva has many lesson planning templates. In addition to templates for your lesson plans, there are resources for creating lesson aids. I have personally used Canva to create reference charts, timelines, notepads, and other helpful lesson aids that make the process easier.

Classroom decorations

I am an elementary school teacher and have taught kindergarten through fifth grade. My classroom decor has changed with the grades I teach. The last time I changed grades, I went from first grade to fifth grade. Canva saved me so much time and money because I was able to create classroom posters and decorative motivational quotes that matched my fifth grade positivity theme. I have also used this tool to create numerous graphics, desk labels, and bulletin board designs.

Presentations

In short, my lesson presentations are no longer boring slides. They now catch the eye thanks to the graphic assets I can customize for each slide in the presentation. They are enhanced with sounds, transitions, and interactive elements. This has increased student engagement during group lessons. Bonus: Canva presentations are compatible with Google Slides and Nearpod.

Materials

While I tend to avoid creating a lot of worksheets for my students to complete, there are times when they have a worksheet, a notepad, and a ditto of some sort that is used to display the knowledge they have gained. Creating these before in Word was somewhat limiting and tedious. Canva takes this to a whole new level by providing special templates, graphics, and symbols (I get it, math teachers), all of which help make materials like the dreaded (but sometimes necessary) worksheets a little more tolerable to both produce and complete.

Project-based learning

Project-based collaborative learning in the classroom can be very engaging for both students and teachers. While there are many collaborative tools that students can use to work together, my favorite is Canva. Students can work on their project, presentation, or video in Canva simultaneously. Student interest is piqued by all the features Canva has to offer for graphic creations. Plus, Canva is really easy to use. Helping students learn and navigate Canva is a breeze, and any mistakes they make can be easily corrected.

Communication with parents

As educators, we know how important communication with parents is. We also have many ways to communicate with them. Digital communication has proven to be quite helpful in connecting with parents. However, digital communication can feel boring or lacking in creativity. Canva alleviates this problem. Digital communication is not flashy, which helps with memory retention. I have used this tool for my newsletter, my monthly class calendar, my instructional videos, and my handouts.

What are you waiting for?

Seriously, if you're not already using Canva to make your life easier as a teacher, why not? If you're worried about price, I'm excited to share that for teachers and students, Canva is free (Yes, you read that right!) If you're scared to try it or find it intimidating, I understand, but I promise you won't break it and it's super easy to use. You can do it!