As a college student studying Elementary Education, I am constantly itching to be in the classroom. My favorite memories from this semester have been in the Early Education Center at Grove City College. I was so delighted when Dr. Fecich, GCC’s resident Instructional Technologist and assistant professor of education, allowed that experience to infiltrate her class, Technologies of Instruction.
During these experiences, preservice teachers worked one-on-one with preschool children, and put the power of technology into their hands. Our first assignment with them was to work with a digital tool called Canva. Canva is a free and easy-to-use graphic designing resource. The website offers hundreds of pre-made templates and infinite elements to add to our creations. Graphics can be created in any size the creator would like, so tiny graphics like invitations or business cards, or even large creations like wall-sized posters are possibilities!
Preservice teachers broke off into pairs or groups of three, the preschooler was the center of attention. With the preschool student, we discussed their hobbies, interests, favorite things, and of course their families! Together, we constructed posters with the focus being “All About Me”. The preservice teachers had little to no say in the process; they were just the helping hand with the technology. Everything you see is from the imagination of a preschooler.
The next time you go to make your Christmas cards, birthday party invitations, or flyers for school events, give Canva a try! Your child will light up when they see you joining them on such a fantastic, imaginative journey in graphic design.
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