Canva provides templates and easy to use web-based tools to enable everyone to create professional looking graphics, to fully edit images, and to create data based graphics.
What Does it Do?

Canva is a simplified graphic-design tool website. It uses a drag-and-drop format and provides access to photographs, vector images, graphics, and fonts. It is used by non-designers as well as professionals.
The tools can be used for both web and print media design and graphics.
Affordances
What is the relevance of this tool for Ontario Extend Educators?
- Simple intuitive editing tools
- Hundreds of pre-made templates to launch designs from
- Image libraries of open licensed media
Limitations
Things to keep in mind when considering use of this tool.
- Photo library access requires a paid upgrade
- Limited to two project folders
- Professional designers look down on use of the too; see The Case Against Canva
Examples in Action
These curated examples are ones created by Ontario Extend participants.
- Life is more fun if you play games (Kelly Brennan) an infographic created in Canva on using games in the classroom
- Faculty and Lynda.com at Canadore College (Jennifer Rouse Barbeau) This infographic created as part of the Extend mOOC shows data on the usage of this resource. See also Jennifer’s visual list created with Canva — Teaching is Mining for Gold
- Concept Map for a Course Syllabus (Krista McCracken) a response for the Teaching For Learning module where the syllabus for Introduction to Archival Studies is rendered as a visual map.
- Entrepreneurship for the trades mind map (Chad Flinn) a mind map created with Canva.
Activities Using Tool
See how this tool is used for Extend Module activities as well as in submitted responses.
- Graphic Information. Create an infographic to present data or explain a concept.
- Another Activity Name. Consec donte ligu vulputate mes tristique cursus. Nullanam quam, gravrty non, commodo a, sodales sit amet, nisi.
Related Tools
See other tools in the same modules that use this tool or explore similar ones organized by similar function.
By Module
By Family
Recommendation Rating
If you have experience using this tool, on a scale of 1 to 5 how highly would you recommend this tool to a colleague?
Learn More
- Canva Design School (Canva) includes video and demonstration tutorials covering basics of design as well as more in depth courses on design principles and techniques, all open and free to access.
- How to Use Canva Templates (Lifewire) This step by step illustrated lesson shows you how to use and modify the templates Canva provides
- Canva vs Piktochart (University of Windsor) An excellent TeacherTalk video