NCTIES2025

In this session, we will discuss how scaffolding the use of a digital tool like Canva can benefit students in terms of products created and enhance learning experiences in the classroom. We would all agree that the more we use a tool, the more comfortable we are with it, and the better the products we produce. Do we approach student products the same way?
Canva provides a user-friendly platform that allows students to create visually appealing materials, graphics, websites, videos, audio recordings, and so much more but only if it is used tactfully and responsibly. This session will provide practical strategies and examples to effectively integrate Canva into your teaching practice and easy ways to connect activities building on the understanding of Canva as a tool leading to a higher level of creativity, more in-depth projects, and ultimately better products refocusing on the learning and not the challenge of learning a new tool all the time.

Participants will discuss how we scaffold learning content and how we apply this concept to tools in the classroom or if we even do. Then, we will walk through a sample yearly curriculum showcasing ways Canva could be tactfully applied and how the scaffolding concept would work. Lastly, participants will get a chance to share ways they have used Canva in the classroom and if they used the scaffolding concept or if scaffolding the use of the tool would have changed student outcomes.