Today in class, we played around with creating graphics. I chose to use the website Canva to design mine. Although I have used Canva for presentations in the past, I’m not super experienced with it, so this was definitely an experiment for me. At first, I wasn’t quite sure where to start, but luckily some of my classmates showed me how to begin with a blank image and then add text, shapes, and pictures to create a design. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to experiment a bit more, and I could see why people use Canva, it’s fairly user-friendly and makes it easy to build something that looks professional.

I’m currently using the free version, which works well for basic designs, but it does have some limitations. A lot of the fun templates, fonts, and graphics are locked unless you pay for Canva Pro. That’s definitely a downside because some of the features that could make my projects stand out the most aren’t available without upgrading. Still, I was able to make something that looked nice using the free tools.

As a future teacher, I can see many ways to use graphics in the classroom. I could design posters with classroom rules or motivational quotes, create fun visual instructions for activities, or make cute slides for lessons. Graphics could also help me communicate information to families in newsletters or classroom updates. I think using visuals can make learning more engaging for students, especially younger ones who benefit from bold designs that are easy to understand.

Overall, today’s class gave me a great introduction to graphic creation with Canva and allowed me to explore how valuable graphic design can be in education. The only real downside is that many of the premium features require a paid subscription, which can be limiting when you’re just starting out. Still, I enjoyed experimenting with the free tools and feel motivated to keep exploring and improving my design skills.