Canva for EDU – Infinitely Teaching

Canva for EDU, part 4

May 29, 2022 Mandi

This is the final Canva for EDU post (for now) but I have only scratched the surface of what Canva can do for you in the classroom.

Canva for Edu Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

Classroom Kits

Let’s start by looking at the EDU menu you see when you hover over templates in the top dropdown menu. We’ve already touched on some of these, but I definitely want to look at classroom kits. Different kits contain different things, but each of them is theme coordinated including things like name plates, posters, Google classroom header, labels, and daily agenda.

Here is a snapshot of an ocean theme you could use.

Google Classroom Header

I have shared how to make your own Google Classroom header in Google Drawing. And as I’ve said before, I do love Google Drawing. This is just another option if you don’t want to start from scratch.

There are many templates available, but you can also start from scratch or just customize a template to fit your needs.

The newsletter templates are amazing! The size is set for 8.5 x 11 so it’s ready to print. There are over 100 templates to choose from.

Group Work/ Canva Classroom

We haven’t talked much about the Canva Classroom, but you can set up classroom in Canva and assign groups tasks. The groupwork templates are designed to be used this way. I am no expert in this area because I have not used it. Here is a link to a document created by Canva that can give you more information.

Planner

I love an interactive planner. I like to put mine in Notability with links and I have a digital planner I can write on. I’ve also created interactive planners in Google Slides that you can type on. Well…. you can create interactivity within Canva, but it didn’t save the links when I exported. You could always design this in Canva and export it to Google Slides or PowerPoint and add the navigation.

Here is the link to a quick template I threw together. It needs some work, but you get the basic idea.

There are folks on Twitter who know way more about Canva than I do. I hope this has been a good introduction to some options available. If you try any of the ideas, please let me know. I love to see what people create.

Canva

Canva for EDU, part 3

May 15, 2022 Mandi

More Canva fun for week 3. Check out week 1 and week 2 for more.

This week we will focus on student gift ideas, newsletters, and comics.

Student gift ideas

Bookmarks

We want to encourage reading over the summer, and what better way than to give students a bookmark. Canva has a ton of bookmark templates, but as always, you could make your own. You can print these in color and laminate them yourself, and add a fun tassel if you want. You could print these two sided and put a check list on the back so students can keep track of the books they read over the summer.

Using the believe in yourself bookmark you see above, here is the bookmark customized with my student’s name and a reading list for the back.

Stickers

What student wouldn’t love a sheet of custom stickers? Ok, what TEACHER wouldn’t love a sheet of custom stickers :-). You can use the templates available in Canva OR you can create you own. You can even use Bitmojis or Canva’s built in character creator. If you plan ahead, you can print your stickers in Canva. You can also just use adhesive paper and print them on a color printer. If you want to get fancy, you can use a laminate on just the top to make them more water resistant. You can cut them into squares, or if you have a Cricut or Silhouette machine you could make die cut stickers.

The templates come in the formatted sizes you see on the left in the image, but if you plan to use your own tools to print and cut, you can definitely make die cut stickers. Canva has a download as .SVG option (the file most cutting machines use) but I usually use a .PNG and then use the trace feature to put my cut lines around it.

Newsletters

The newsletter templates available in Canva are amazing. My large district uses Canva to send out monthly updates to the staff. Once the newsletter is created, you can share right from Canva. Super simple and super easy to use.

Once you have created your newsletter, go to share. You can send a view only link or you can share as a website. Our district uses the website option so it is optimized by screen size. Either option will keep links active for the viewer. You can also schedule the release of your newsletter with the free education account.

Comics

If you’ve been around my blog any amount of time, you know I love to create comics in my classroom. I have Google templates that I have used in the past. Canva is another free options to make comics. Canva has many layouts for comics and you can always start from scratch.

Canva has a blank layout that comes with character components you can use in the comic.

Canva also has a character builder where you can create your own characters to use in any creation. While in your comic (or any creation) click on more in the left panel and character builder is the face. This same area also has Pixton which contains even more characters to use. You do have to sign in to Pixton to use the features.

Using the template from above, I changed it to add photos, put a background (that students can change) and added story boxes. I would definitely demonstrate my process with students in class and give them time to explore.

Next week will be the final Canva post. I know I will only scratch the surface of everything Canva can do, but hopefully I have shown you something worth trying and you will explore.

Canva

Canva for EDU part 2

May 8, 2022 Mandi

Last week I started a short series on all the ways you can use the free Canva for educators. Check it out here.

This week we will focus on certificates, videos, cards & resumes.

Certificates

I’ve been in education long enough that I remember Print Shop software that you could print on a dot matrix printer. There was something nostalgic about looking through the certificate options that took me back to those Print Shop days. Canva says it has 7690 certificate options and, of course, you can customize them to anything you want.

I had a teacher who printed a certificate for every student in the class displaying a quality of that student. I have never been organized to do this with my 150 students each year but I know it would make them feel special. I have one student this year who was super shy so when we worked at the board (I use the Building Mathematical Thinking principles) she struggled to communicate with her team. She is now sharing her ideas and even visiting with them during seat time. This is a certificate I would give to her.

Videos

This is a template I never thought to look for but WOW does it create a professional looking video. There are some back-to-school templates, tutorials, promotional videos and so much more. Some of our classes are electives and I know they are always promoting their classes to get students involved. This would be a great way to do that. You could also create a professional looking end of the year video to share with families. In my video below I included images and video clips. The best part is that you can send a view link to the video right from Canva.

Cards

I wanted to share about the cards and invitations because you can print them from Canva. I ordered some for my daughter’s wedding shower and they were great quality and super affordable. I created her shower invitation from scratch, but as you’ve seen from other ideas in Canva, there are TONS of templates available. Since teacher appreciation just ended, maybe you need some thank you cards.

This templates was perfect for me! And when you click on share you can print your design is so many formats: t-shirts, stickers, postcards, folded cards, and so much more.

Resumes

Tis the season to be looking, so if you are looking for a new position, new school, or new career, the resumes on Canva are a game changer. There are so many options and I personalize my letter of interest to match my resume. I chose to replace the photo with my name logo, but many people include a photo. You do what you are comfortable with. With 7,062 templates to choose from, I’m sure you will find one that fits your personality. A friend of mine even changes her color scheme to match the school she is interviewing at. She calls it the Elle Woods touch. It worked because she will be an assistant principal next year.

Come back next week for part 3 and happy creating.