I’ve been experimenting with Canva more this school year, and I have to say, it’s really finding a place in my workflow. There are plenty of times when I need to design something that serves a simple, temporary purpose but doesn’t need to look particularly polished or bespoke. In these moments, the Canva Mac app has helped me get the job done quickly.
Katie Miller has shared some fantastic ideas for using Canva in the music classroom. An edu account is free for teachers and packed with powerful features. Give it a shot, and read Katie’s post.
25+ Ways to Use Canva to Create Teaching Resources:
Being a teacher encompasses so many different skills. Some skills are taught and practiced in our pre-service work while others we have to figure out once we are deep in the trenches of student learning.
One of the skills that didn’t get much attention, at least in my pre-service program, was the practice of design in helping students gain, organize and use information. I understood the importance of design to prepare, present and practice standards that students needed to master but I didn’t have a way to easily do it.
I can remember copying transparencies to project onto paper so I could trace images to make my classroom materials more appealing. I also remember searching through clipart collections to find the perfect addition to digital items I created. And I will never forget making copy after copy to enlarge, reposition or get things to fit just right. Designing materials in my classroom involved lots of magic tape!
Thank goodness that things change! I have learned new skills and new tools, like Canva, have been created to make design as easy as drag and drop!
Music Ed Tech Talk 