Canva is a free online application, accessible on laptops, desktops and tablets that can be used to create a range of visual products, including comic strips and mind maps. The program offers a wide selection of templates and elements, facilitates users importing their own photos and videos, and allows text. In a primary learning context, Canva is easy to navigate and customise to create a unique piece of work. While Canva is a valuable tool for composing polished pieces, the comic strip and mind map functions of this technology can also be employed in planning to promote task appropriateness in creative activities by encouraging students to thoughtfully organise and sequence their ideas.
This approach to provoking careful thought while planning encourages students to be critical when developing novel ideas which promotes task-appropriateness; an essential component of creativity and design thinking (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2013; Koh et al., 2015). Design thinking is “implicit in the process of design” and involves the learner focusing on the need or opportunity they are addressing by exploring the field, developing ideas, experimenting and refining their product (Koh et al., 2015, p. 1). This model is often employed by schools with the Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach, which encourages students to develop projects that meet criteria based on practice, real-world problems (Kokotsaki, 2016).
Students can use Canva to make comic strips and mind maps that illustrate either the sequence of their ideas or the relationships between them, which prompts students to reflect on how their creative ideas meet the criteria of their task. In addition to introducing Canva to emphasis the significance of planning in design thinking, educators can also use this technology for formative assessment. For example, in a drama task where Stage Three students are asked to create a performance, students can use the comic strip templates on Canva to plan out the stages of the performance and ensure that they are logical, and all group members have a consistent understanding of their piece. Using Canva, students can visually communicate their ideas and reflect on task-appropriateness (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2013).
If students have access to digital devices, Canva’s free options is extremely accessible. The simplistic function reduces the risk of extraneous cognitive load and Canva’s elements and images can spark new ideas (Sweller, 2010). Off-task behaviour when using devices in the classroom is always a pedagogical design; however, in the exemplar learning activity, students would be working in groups which reduces the number of devices for educators to monitor.
References
Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2013). Fundamentals of creativity. Educational
leadership, 70(5), 10-15.
Koh, Chai, C. S., Wong, B., & Hong, H.-Y. (2015). Design Thinking for Education Conceptions and Applications in Teaching and Learning. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978- 981-287-444-3
Kokotsaki, D., Menzies, V., & Wiggins, A. (2016). Project-based learning: A review of the literature. Improving schools, 19(3), 267-277.
Sweller, J. (2010). Element interactivity and intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. Educational psychology review, 22, 123-138.
Hi Mikayla,
Great blog post with thorough information on the implementation of Canva for this week's topic of design thinking. I appreciated the depth of the elaboration on design thinking and linking it to the project based learning approach. I would however consider more drawbacks that Canva may have for the students, otherwise, great blog once again!
Eva Kostopoulos 20/03/23