Background
Canva is a popular online graphic design platform that allows users to create and design a wide range of visual content, including posters, presentations, graphics, social media posts, and much more. According to Ibacache et al. (2021), research findings show that Canva, as a technological tool, provides an instinctive and friendly connection and link, thus making it very easy for people with little or no design knowledge and experience to access.
Canva provides a wide collection of pre-designed images, templates, fonts, and other design components, enabling users to customize depending on their preferences and needs. Canva supports drag-and-drop functions, allowing users to easily add and rearrange elements within their design. Users of Canva can also upload their images and include them in their creations.
Moreover, as Moencks et al. (2022) noted, Canva is simple and versatile as it caters to several design purposes, thus providing templates perfect for different platforms, including print, social media posts, marketing materials, posters, and presentations. This gives users quick creation of visually appealing designs without needing advanced design skills.
In addition, Canva, as a technological tool, offers collaborative features enabling users to perform project tasks by sharing designs and inviting others who might contribute ideas or provide feedback. It also gives team collaboration and professional features through subscription services for Canva Work. Overall, Canva has been popularly used as a tool by individuals, people running small businesses, and organizations to create professional designs and visuals to serve their specific purposes, help them market their brands, and improve communication efforts.
Canva in Education
Canva’s design tool is adaptable and thus can be used in educational settings. According to Grossi et al. (2018), research work, Canva can be used effectively by creating visual aids. It provides users with various examples and design components useful in creating visually appealing presentations, posters, and charts. Also, tutors can use the Canva tool to design catchy visual aids to enhance their lessons and make complicated concepts easily accessible to learners. This will make learning fun, thus drawing more attention from the learners.
Canva, as a technological tool, can be used by students to empower them to create professional and engaging projects. This is because it offers students a friendly platform for showcasing their uniqueness and creativity and effectively communicating their ideas. Learners can learn how to make simple posters for their birthdays and friends’ hangouts and create appealing posts that can be used on social media platforms.
Teachers and tutors can design customized worksheets and handouts using the Canva design tool guides and templates (Marachi et al., 2020). Doing so allows tutors to tailor the designs to their specific needs that fit the curriculum and teaching style. This, in return, makes learning more engaging, interactive, and fun for the learners. Students can interact in the lessons as Canva has interactive features such as links and clickable buttons. This allows learners to interact and actively participate in class, allowing a more enveloping and dynamic learning experience.
Canva can be used to create digital portfolios to showcase students’ works and achievements (Çeçen,2020). This is because Canva allows learners to compile their work, projects, artwork, creativity skills, and any other accomplishment they have in their learning time into a professional portfolio that can be shared with their peers, teachers, parents, or potential employers.
Students can utilize Canva features to create social media graphics such as Instagram posts, Facebook covers, and Twitter banners to promote events at their school. They can also be used to make announcements, thus helping to improve the school’s online presence and encouraging community engagement. Moreover, Canva can be used in collaborative projects. It allows many users to work together on a single design project, thus enabling users to collaborate remotely and exchange their ideas, resources, opinions, and feedback in real time.
Learning to Use Canva
Learning to use the Canva tool is not complex; it is a fair and straightforward process, as many find it adaptable and friendly. This is because the Canva tool provides a range of tutorials for writing, videos, and resources to help the learners get started. I learned Canva by creating an account on their website using a laptop or mobile app and signing in using my email or social media accounts.
Canva allows for easy creation of various types of content through a drop-down interface. Spend more time exploring the tool’s features, as there are many design options for social media posts, presentations, logos, posters, and more. The more you spend time exploring the tool, the easier it will become to use it effectively.
While the Canva tool simplifies the design process, it is notable that users must learn all the design principles and understand them more deeply. The knowledge gained will help the user create visually appealing, effective, and eye-catching designs that stand out. Familiarizing yourself with the tool is crucial as a user.
Another way to learn the Canva tool process is to utilize the examples and templates that serve different purposes. These templates are very helpful for beginners as they offer a professional look and feel. You can easily edit the text, images, layout, and colors to suit your needs and preferences. As a learner of the Canva process, you can customize your designs by experimenting with different available features, such as fonts, colors, and images, to personalize your design needs.
Moreover, Canva allows users to upload their photos or choose from various options in a library for free and much more (Anwar,2020). You can also add shapes, charts, and graphs to enhance the look of your design. All these allow learners to maximize their creativity by using Canva, thus sharpening their skills and creativity in creating professional designs that stand out.
Challenges and Recommendations
While learning the process of using Canva as a technological tool, I encountered several challenges. One of the major challenges in learning the Canva process is the need for more learning resources. Finding the right resources can be challenging, as searching for the right resources that fit your design requirements can be time-consuming.
Another challenge I experienced while using Canva was designing from scratch. While Canva provides templates and tutorials for learning, creating your design from scratch is quite challenging if you need more knowledge or have not familiarized yourself well with design concepts. Also, the need for more experience in the Canva tool is a big challenge for its users. It is advisable to enroll in online classes to enhance and learn more skills that can be incorporated into your designs (Marachi et al., 2020).
When exporting and printing my work, I faced quality challenges. The quality was lost from the original, thus not having the desired quality. It is, therefore, critical to have a deeper understanding of the different printing and export options available in the Canva tool. Also, verifying their recommended printing settings is crucial in ensuring your designs are printed correctly and meet your desires.
If someone were to start using the Canva tool, they should learn the basics first and have a deeper understanding of its design principles. Learning to use design principles will make it easy for you as a learner and help you avoid simple graphic mistakes that may ruin your designs (Sulun, 2018). Also, familiarizing oneself with the tool will help them avoid facing more challenges while using it. They can also overcome those challenges if they arise, as they have familiarized themselves well.
Reference
Anwar, K. (2021). The perception of using technology. Canva application as a media for English teachers creating virtual media teaching and English learning in Loei, Thailand. Journal of English Teaching, Literature, and Applied Linguistics, 5(1), 62-69.
Çeçen, G. (2020).Tertiary level EFL students’ perceptions regarding the use of Edmodo, Quizlet, and Canva within the technology acceptance model (TAM) (Doctoral dissertation, Bilkent Universitesi (Turkey)).
Grossi, M. G. R., Elias, M. C. A. S., Chamon, C. M., & Leal, D. C. C. C. (2018). The educational potentialities of the virtual learning environments Moodle and Canvas: a comparative study. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 8(7), 514-519.
Ibacache, K., Koob, A. R., & Vance, E. (2021). Emergency remote library instruction and tech tools. Information Technology and Libraries, 40(2).
Marachi, R., & Quill, L. (2020). The case of Canvas: Longitudinal datafication through learning management systems. Teaching in Higher Education, 25(4), 418-434.
Moencks, M., Roth, E., Bohné, T., Romero, D., & Stahre, J. (2022). Augmented Workforce Canvas: a management tool for guiding human-centric, value-driven human-technology integration in industry. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 163, 107803.
Sulun, C. (2018). The evolution and diffusion of learning management systems: The case of Canvas LMS. Driving Educational Change: Innovations in Action, 86.