Keeping students engaged in every lesson is becoming more difficult every year. Students have a plethora of distractions that keep them from being immersed in everyday lessons. With technology on the rise, teachers have the unique opportunity to add more visual aesthetics to increase student engagement. There are various programs that are readily available to teachers to aid in making lessons more appealing to students.
I will admit, some of these software programs are intimidating and are the reasons that I and other educators steer away from exploring their use (Lawrence, 2022, p. 109). There are many benefits to using design software in schools whether it be for student use in higher grades or teacher use in lower grades.
While other applications such as PowerPoint and Google Slides also offer the opportunity to engage students, software design programs give professionals and students the chance to add a personal affect to their presentation (Bonnici et al., 2023).
There are many different design options available for professional and student use. Some of those include:
Adobe is one option for educators to use in the classroom. There is much more to Adobe than just a PDF viewer and photoshop. It offers a plethora of options to enhance professional and educational presentation and materials. Adobe can be challenging but there are many tutorials and tools to help you understand the program (Lawrence, 2022, p. 110). One of the options that would be particularly beneficial to me, as an elementary school teacher, is InDesign. InDesign allows you to create booklets, pamphlets, and flyers with a personal touch. As educators we are always sending materials home to help students and parents. While Adobe has many pros it does have some cons. The only con for Adobe ,in my opinion, is that it is a paid platform. If you are an educator, unless your district pays for it, most likely you are looking for something that isn't going to break the bank.
Canva is another great option for professionals, educators, and students. There is a free option that gives limited access to designs but there is also Canva Pro. Canva Pro is a paid option, but if you are an educator, you can access Canva Pro for free. It is a great resource to make presentations, booklets, flyers, and more. I have personally used Canva in my classroom to make presentations more engaging, posters for the wall, and learning centers for students. As an educator, I would highly recommend signing up for Canva for Education. It gives teachers access to many resources and is user friendly. I have recommended Canva to many others at school and they have been able to enjoy the creation of flyers, projects, and more.
There are many professionals and educators that are reluctant to try new things and stick to PowerPoint or Google Slides instead of trying a design software (Bonnici et al., 2023). As a beginner, I would highly suggest starting with Canva. There are many video tutorials that help educators learn how to properly use Canva for Education. If you have time, check out the video below and start your journey to digital design.
References
Bonnici, I., Greene, H., Azzopardi, R. M., Azzorpardi, J., Liu, R., & Bonnici, J. (2023).
Changing Pedagogy for Contemporaneity with New Design Platforms. ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1391590.pdf
Canva. (2022, December 19). Welcome to Canva for Education | Getting Started with
Canva for Education course [Video].YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIcFqbIFGa8
Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital Writing: A Guide to Writing for Social Media and the Web.
Broadview Press.
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Before I became a teacher, I was in marketing and I did a lot of graphic design work. I used InDesign and Photoshop most of the time. I was not as good with Illustrator. But THEN platforms like Canva and Adobe Express came along and it was fantastic! It IS fantastic! Design work used to be so labor intensive, but now we have so many resources to help us breeze through projects. I use both of these web based design platforms in my classes. Canva, especially, is fabulous for teachers and students too! I think everyone should be using it or something similar! :-)
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ReplyDeleteMaking learning engaging and fun with both activities and visuals is becoming more and more important to maintain students' attention and focus during teaching. Lawrence talks about the visual rhetoric as a powerful tool, specifically how it can serve to help "create more persuasive and effective messages" (2022, p.117). I personally love using Canva in my classroom to create presentations, worksheets, and other digital communications such as reminders to send to families. I want to start using Canva to allow students to create digital content! This is where I feel I can improve my instruction and helping to best prepare students for the digital world and job market they are heading toward. The Merrills EDU has a great post about ways students can use Canva in the classroom. I am interested especially in the ideas of having students create presentations, portfolios, or creating additional digital media to synthesize their learning such as making trading cards or stickers (2021). I am hopeful to incorporate more digital creation in my lessons and offer student choice to demonstrate understanding and mastery before the end of the semester.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press.
@TheMerrillsEDU. (2021, December 28). 20 ways for students to use Canva in the classroom. Retrieved September 19, 2024 from https://www.themerrillsedu.com/blog-1/2021/12/3/20-ways-for-students-to-use-canva-in-the-classroom
Love the information about using digital design to increase student engagement. I agree that incorporating elements of digital design can significantly boost student motivation and interaction. As Lawrence (2022) notes, digital writing and design should be visually engaging, as it helps capture attention and encourages deeper interaction with content. I love using Canva for this purpose; in my classroom, my students have created amazing advertisements for their PBL projects using the platform, which really enhances their creativity and engagement.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I think it’s important to consider how digital design can also promote collaboration among students. When working on projects in groups, platforms like Canva not only allow for individual expression but also encourage teamwork as students brainstorm ideas and combine their skills. This collaborative aspect can deepen their understanding and make the learning experience more enriching. By integrating these design tools, we can create a more inclusive and interactive classroom environment where every student has a voice. Thanks for sharing your insight!
References:
Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Pearson.