Canva is a great (and free!*) tool for any number of graphic design projects. Here, we’ll be showing you how to use it to make a slide presentation, make a video of yourself talking through that slide presentation, and then making sure this object (slideshow or video) is accessible according to principles of Universal Design. You are welcome to make whatever kind of object you think best suits your students’ needs.
There are four short tutorial videos below, each of which also has a transcription and additional handouts. Feel free to watch and use whichever of these resources is useful to you:
- Canva basics: an overview of Canva– and some tips for making a slideshow presentation.
- Making your slideshow into a YouTube Video: This walks you through the how (and why!) of making a slideshow into a video on YouTube, as well as the Closed Captioning Process.
- A brief overview of accessibility on Canva: This video will help you make your slide show or video accessible.
- If you’re feeling fancy: Edpuzzle: This tutorial will help you make a YouTube video into a quiz.
You can sign up for Canva at the Canva signup link. *As I mentioned, it is free, but there is also a paid version, which includes more images and templates.
Before you begin the tutorials, you may want to take a look at the various iterations of a (very brief) lesson I wrote for a teacher training I facilitated for Composition instructors. Here is the lesson as a slide show:
And here is the same lesson as a video:
Lastly, here is the same lesson as an EdPuzzle. Edpuzzle allows you to ask participants questions during a video– this can be in the form of a quiz, or a discussion. Click on the image below:
1. Canva Basics
This video is just a basic wander-through of me showing you some of the features of Canva, specifically regarding presentations. For some more structured resources, you may want to take a look at Canva’s learning page on presentations. For some fast and furious design tips, take a look at visualmess.com. It’s very handy (and brief)!
2. Making Your Slideshow into Video
This video explains how– and why– to make a slideshow into a video, how to upload that video to YouTube, and how to use the subtitle feature in YouTube Studio. Please note: I go through this quite quickly in the video. You may also want to see this Making Canva slideshows into YouTube videos handout, which is a step-by-step guide to the process.
3. Canva and Accessibility
This brief video reviews some principles of Universal Design and gives tips for making an accessible document in Canva. Much of this information is also covered in this Accessibility and Canva handout. Further resources can be found here: Canva Usability and Accessibility
4. Making an Edpuzzle
This video will help you make any video into an interactive quiz or Q&A. For more info, you may want to see this step-by-step handout on making an EdPuzzle. Also, EdPuzzle’s help center and YouTube channel are quite helpful!
