Hello, and welcome to the Instructional Technology Coaching Matrix. Today I will be breaking down how you can use the matrix to integrate into your lesson plans using Canva. What is Canva? Canva is a free software that can be used on mobile or desktop. It is free to sign up and offers a plethora of FREE templates, items, and more at your fingertips. Premium plans offer more advanced tools. Something I love about Canva besides the fact you can do so much on the free platform is that it uses both the 4 Cs of Education and, later, the 7 Cs of Education.

The 4 Cs of Education:

1. Critical Thinking
2. Creativity
3. Collaboration
4. Communication

To many, this is pretty much a road map in guiding instruction: having students think critically about what they are learning, be creative in how they express and convey their learning and thinking, and having them collaborate both with their classroom and community outside the lesson and, later, outside their classroom both physically or digitally. 

The last 3 Cs are:

5. Community
6. Computational Thinking
7. Change Makers

These last three Cs are really where creating a blended learning curriculum becomes essential. What is the community you are trying to create as part of your lessons? How are students making these connections to their own daily lives and other learning environments? What will they do “differently” that will inspire change and allow breakthroughs in not only their learning, but the teacher’s lessons in the future?

How do you create a lesson that inspires change in how one learns and understands? That’s the big question many struggle with; I know I have. The best way to start creating your blended learning curriculum is by using Canva. Below is a breakdown using the 7 Cs for a lesson I have used for my Consumer Education class.

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Also by Ryan Read:

BLOG: The Best Way to Start Creating Your Blended Learning Curriculum

WEBINAR: Integrating PBL into Your Classes Using Free Creativity Tools and the Coaching Integration Matrix

Lesson: Unit 1: Chapter 2: International Trade
Lesson: Students will be introduced to the different trade types through different countries based on their Market Type (i.e, Mixed, Market, Command or Traditional).		The lesson will be divided into a 10-to-15-minute instruction. Then, students will research the country of their choice on their main export and create a promotional piece to get other countries interested in trading with them.
Tools	What Do They Do?	Devices	Lesson Notes
Pear Deck	Digital Tool that allows students to interact with a presentation and allows for questions and instructions both paced by the instructor and learners.	Can be used on any desktop or mobile device.	Presentations will be created in Google Slides/PowerPoint based on current facts and practices using ISTE and NGBF Standards.
Google Classroom	Local learning system available to my district where the main lesson and daily assignment list will be accessible to my learners.	Works through any desktop, Chromebook, or laptop computer that is logged into Gmail services. Mobile devices need to use the app.	Students must be logged into their G Suite to access.
Quizlet	Online flashcard system.	Works on any device or application.	Teacher must create flashcards first or have shared a previously created card set with their students.
Canva	Canva is a graphic design platform, used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents, and other visual content. The app includes templates for users to use.	Available on all devices.	Students will choose a social media template to create their promotional posters. Students are instructed to ONLY use free tools in Canva. Students are to make posters engaging and colorful, and create interest for the trade posters. Grades are based on a rubric that is attached.
Due Date	Turn in date set on Google Classroom.	Part of Google Classroom.	Keep date flexible in case students have technology issues or other circumstances outside of classroom control.

To get started with Canva, you can sign up for an account and use this instructional video. The links to create copies of the Instructional Technology Coaching Matrix are located here.

To the left is an example of student work creating an international trade poster for Natural Resources of Canada using the coaching matrix. The teacher was able to scaffold the lesson using the Google Advanced Search tool and look at one of the U.S.’ biggest trading partners to explain in simple images why and what Canada specializes in.

 

References:

Sail the 7 Cs with Microsoft Education by Becky Keene & Kathi Kersznowski

Project-Based Learning Anywhere by Dr. Lori Elliott

Courageous EDventures: Navigating Obstacles to Discover Classroom Innovation by Jennie Magiera

See also:

• Discover Infobase Learning Cloud Professional Development & Training!
• Solution Showcase: Personalize Your Professional Learning
• Trending Professional Development Topics in Our New Reality
• How to Improve Teacher-Student Communication in Virtual Classrooms
• Gamification: How Online Educational Games Keep Students Engaged in Virtual Learning
• Beyond Discussion Boards: Applying Interactive Tools and Assignments for Learning