FTT - Aesthetics Matter! Design with Canva

 

Getting Creative with Canva

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

Aesthetics Matter

If our walls could talk, what would they say? That was a question posed by the Huntley High School Principal, Marcus Belin, during a professional development on Equity and Student SEL. In that presentation, he stressed the importance of utilizing every opportunity for communication and outreach. If your school community champions a particular set of ideals or core values, how can we leverage our building and grounds to promote them? It goes without saying that you must walk the walk after you talk the talk. Additionally, Principal Belin also wanted to utilize every available square inch of wall with messages of acceptance, excitement, and excellence to name a few.

If your classroom walls could talk, what would they say? We all know that merely providing accurate information or clear directions may not be enough. We are visual creatures and can be easily inspired by beauty in art and graphics. Here's where Canva can be a simple starting point in improving the aesthetics of your instruction. If the prospect of learning graphic design is daunting, Canva is a simple yet powerful web tool that allows you to create aesthetically pleasing graphics for various purposes. Here's what you can create:

Graphic Designs

Canva has myriad design templates you can alter to fit your instructional needs. Students and teachers alike can open free accounts to create posters, presentations, flyers, infographics, resumes, stickers, and more. The best part is that you don't have to start from scratch. Canva has amassed a number of templates that you can start with and adjust to your tastes and preferences. While there are plenty of uses for staff to design and create as the instructor, you'll be surprised to see how many students have used Canva before and can successfully create for their own uses. 

Presentations

If you've seen a Powerpoint/Slides presentation that looks especially professional and well done lately, there is a good chance that it was created in Canva. Canva has hundreds of gorgeous "Presentation Packages" that give you a number of presentation slides that you can plug and chug your information into, or make easy adjustments. They even have simple data graphs you can connect to Google Slides for easy access. 

I know we've all seen Ben Stein butcher a typically riveting economics lecture by being flat and disconnected. Perhaps Canva can be a simple way of infusing some fun into your lesson plan. If you'd like a crash course on Canva to create a poster or presentation, please let us know!