Teacher: “Today we are starting a project on the 1950’s! You are going to make a visual presentation.”
Students: “All right! Another easy Google Slides project.”
Without knocking Google Slides, which I like to use myself, there are a lot more web-based tools out there for creating engaging, original, and popping presentations. One such website that I frequently use is Canva, a graphic-design tool website. Canva utilizes a drag-and-drop format with access to millions of images, graphics, and fonts.
I was first introduced to Canva through an Etsy blog. I was looking for a digital tool to assist me in making a new, professional looking banner for my Etsy shop. I also wanted to be able to set that banner at the proper dimensions for a Facebook page banner as well. I was so pleased to see that Canva had formatting options in both sizes. Here is my first banner that I created (still a little clunky) and here is my newest banner.
When it came time to teach a unit on the American culture of the 1950s, my mind started to think of ways I could have my students make a creative presentation. I like the idea of gallery walks, but for this assignment, I wanted a digital project. I recalled a lesson I observed while substitute teaching where the students created digital projects, then rotated around the room viewing these projects on laptop computers. What digital tool could my students use to accomplish this task while also advancing my students’ technical skills beyond Slides? That’s when I recalled Canva!
After exploring Canva more, I learned that in addition to social media and website banner templates, it also has templates for social media posts, posters, and brochures, to name a few. As a Social Studies teacher, brochures are one of my go-to visual projects. My students have made brochures on topics from Chinese Dynasties to the benefits of credit cards. These templates would work well for 1950s culture projects.
I was very pleased with my students’ projects. There was a little bit of a learning curve (and a lot of reassuring by me), but they produced really nice presentations. Most used a menu or brochure template. Students found backgrounds and fonts that fit the time period well. There was one main drawback. Even though projects can be shared with multiple users, only one user can access the project at a time. This is different from Google, which allows multiple users to edit at once. Most pairs found a way to work around this by dividing responsibilities accordingly.
So next time you are planning for a visual presentation project, think of Canva and add it to your options. For those that have used Canva, share your experience in the comments. What is your favorite graphic-design tool?
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