Canva Introduces Student-Safe AI Products, Customizable Lessons for Teachers, and Over 5,000 Free Classroom Resources to 50 Million Students and Teachers

SYDNEY Canva, the world’s only all-in-one visual communication platform, today announced the launch of a suite of K-12 education products as part of its Canva for Education platform, making it the first company to introduce AI-powered educational tools at scale.

The new suite of offerings  – which includes a range of AI tools, interactive lessons, and curriculum-supporting content – takes Canva from a classroom design tool to an end-to-end education platform capable of producing and teaching complete lessons with ease. The launch coincides with the company surpassing more than 50 million education users worldwide, a figure that has more than doubled in the last 12 months.

“Today marks the most significant leap forward in our journey with education to date. These new products evolve Canva from a classroom design tool to a comprehensive learning platform for students and educators,” said Cameron Adams, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Canva. “We’re incredibly excited to see how these tools help millions of teachers to supercharge their creativity, save time, and engage their students by embracing the best of what this new technology has to offer.”

Introducing Classroom Magic: A suite of groundbreaking AI learning tools
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence unlocks a myriad of opportunities for teachers and students to supercharge their creativity, save time on mundane work, and unlock new ways of thinking in an increasingly digital world. However, Canva’s AI study revealed that most teachers (93%) don’t know where to start with these tools. That’s why today, Canva is introducing Classroom Magic – a suite of new artificial intelligence tools designed for the classroom with privacy, trust, and safety at the forefront.

These new tools empower teachers to effortlessly manage lesson planning, content editing, document reformatting, image and text editing, multilingual support, and accessibility. For students, the tools unlock new ways of starting first drafts, testing ideas, reformatting content, editing images, and bringing creativity to life in a visual world. Teachers now have free access to the full suite of Canva’s Magic Studio products, with a subset now available for students at the discretion of their school district. The new products include:…Read More

How efficacy studies improve literacy instruction

Key points:

Prior to the pandemic, reading achievement had been showing little to no growth in the National Assessment of Educational Progress data. Scores have continued to decline, in part because of pandemic-related learning interruptions. In short, it has never been more critical to understand how to support students on the path to reading proficiency by the end of 3rd grade.

Applying research to practice is at the core of instruction based in the science of reading. The science can and should guide curriculum design. Efficacy research is a proven method of  evaluating instructional delivery decisions so teachers, parents, administrators, and students understand what practices and resources connect directly with gains in literacy achievement.…Read More

Fixing the K-12 cybersecurity problem

Key points:

In early September, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced a voluntary pledge for K-12 education technology software manufacturers to commit to designing products with a greater focus on security. In the announcement, CISA mentioned that six leaders in the education software industry had already committed to the pledge: PowerSchool, ClassLink, Clever, GG4L, Instructure, and D2L.

“We need to address K-12 cybersecurity issues at its foundation by ensuring schools and administrators have access to technology and software that is safe and secure right out of the box,” said CISA director Jen Easterly. “I want to thank ClassLink, Clever, D2L, GG4L, Instructure, and PowerSchool, who have already signed this pledge and for their leadership in this area. We need all K-12 software manufacturers to help us improve cybersecurity for the education sector by committing to prioritize security as a critical element of product development.”…Read More

And the winners of the 2023 K-12 Hero Awards are…

eSchool Media is pleased to announce the three winners of the 2023 eSchool News K-12 Hero Awards, which honors educators for their exemplary use of innovative edtech to support student learning:

  • John Arthur, 6th grade teacher at Meadowlark Elementary School in Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Dr. Jesus Jara, superintendent of Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada
  • Tom Lamont, painting and design technology instructor at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School (BVT) in Massachusetts 

Winners were chosen for their commitment to education despite obstacles–including achievement gaps, teacher burnout, and funding–and their creativity and innovation in helping all students continue learning while ensuring students felt safe, empowered, and engaged.

Nominations were judged by a panel of education experts, including Laura Ascione, eSchool News editorial director, and Eileen Belastock, CETL, Belastock Consulting. …Read More

The case for ChatGPT as the ultimate educator’s toolkit

Key points:

Innovations that have transformed education have often been met with skepticism. Just look at Sesame Street, which was once considered a wild, controversial experiment leveraging television for learning. Yet, by 1979, nine million children were watching the show, and kindergarten teachers had to upgrade their curricula because children were showing up knowing their ABCs and numbers and eager to learn more. What is now revered as an extraordinary show, which gently pushed the needle on integration, equity, and diversity, was once a radical experiment that rattled the American educational system.

Forty-four years later, Generative AI tools are causing a frenzy in the educational system and workforce, and in turn, for career educators who are attempting to help students prepare for the future of work.…Read More

Treering Leads the Yearbook Industry by Introducing Dyslexia-Friendly Fonts

San Mateo, CA – Treering, a leader in customizable yearbooks, proudly introduces a dyslexia-friendly font to its collection, marking a significant stride towards inclusivity in design. Recognizing the power of typography in storytelling, Treering unveils 44 new fonts that empower users to share their narratives with style and clarity.

Allison Vecchio, Treering’s Director of Design, notes, “Typography evolves with design trends, impacting message perception. We value user input and have responded to requests for diverse fonts.”

Inspired by the Dyslexia Friendly Font Collection, Treering embarked on the journey to incorporate a dyslexia-friendly font, resulting in the integration of OpenDyslexic. Designed by Abelardo “Abbie” Gonzalez, OpenDyslexic addresses challenges faced by dyslexic readers with features like enhanced letter weight, distinct shapes, and consistent baseline.…Read More

Cae Announces Multiyear Partnership with Project Lead The Way 

NEW YORK  The  Council for Aid to Education, Inc. (CAE), a leader in designing innovative performance tasks for measurement and instruction of higher order skills and for subject area assessments, today announced a multiyear collaboration with  Project Lead The Way (PLTW), the nation’s leading provider of PreK-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula. The partnership, which commences with the 2023-2024 school year and continues through 2028, will leverage CAE’s best practices and decades of experience in developing high-quality innovative assessments.

CAE will provide assessment design, content development, and psychometrics for end-of-course assessments in all 15 of PLTW’s high school courses within the engineering, computer science and biomedical science pathways. The assessments will be aligned to PLTW’s rigorous standards and will be designed to provide students with meaningful feedback on their progress.

“The partnership of CAE and PLTW unites two complementary organizations that are similarly driven to best prepare today’s students for the realities of the future workplace,” said Bob Yayac, CAE president and chief executive officer. “Our team has a deep understanding of the needs of STEM educators and learners, and we are excited to create assessments that will accurately measure student learning and support their progress. Our partnership will ensure that PLTW’s students have the opportunity to show what they know and can do, and that they are prepared for success in college, career, and beyond.”…Read More

3 reasons creativity is essential for the future of education

Key points:

I like to say I was raised by a combination of nonprofits and the arts. At 15 years old, I moved into Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, a nonprofit group home in Chicago, and attended an independent arts high school in Illinois, a unique model where there was a minimum requirement of three hours of art a day.

I’d leave in the late afternoon and walk to my after-school arts program, The Marwen Foundation in Chicago, where I practiced digital art making – including photography, design, or other creative tracks – until late into the evening.…Read More

GameMaker Introduces Free Space Rocks Tutorial for Schools and Educators

Dundee, Scotland — GameMaker, the fast and friendly cross-platform game development engine, has introduced Space Rocks – a comprehensive new game design tutorial and lesson program for teachers and educators. 

“Space Rocks makes it easier than ever for schools and educators to introduce game design lessons to help boost student engagement and support STEM learning,” said Frank Moody, education liaison lead at GameMaker, adding: “Not only are the CSTA standards-based lesson plans and materials absolutely free to use, but so is the latest version of GameMaker for Educators. Game on!”

Space Rocks has been developed in line with CSTA (Computer Science Teachers Association) standards, providing the perfect introduction to computational thinking concepts and game design principles. The tutorial provides all the written and video-based learning materials required to help students learn how to use GameMaker and create their own asteroid shooter game, in just three lessons. …Read More

Why education leaders should prioritize asset-based edtech

Key points:

  • In schools, an asset-based approach encourages partnership by celebrating progress and growth
  • Shifting away from this deficit-based approach requires leaders to change the way they see their students
  • See related article: How to focus on classroom accessibility

Since the pandemic began, the number of technologies districts use has nearly tripled, but not all of these tools have been effective. As education leaders review the utility and effectiveness of those solutions, an asset-based approach is an essential criterion in the evaluation process.

Leaders should be wary of products that convey urgency and impact through deficit-based design. A deficit-based approach emphasizes the weakness of groups or individuals, calling attention to negative outcomes such as falling behind or missing out. Although it is a pervasive advertising tactic, studies show that a deficit-based approach can affect students’ long-term resilience and lead them to feel isolated when they are seen as “the problem.”…Read More

Career and technical education needs a mental health revolution

Key points:

  • Students often struggle to transition to the workforce, and mental health can be a big factor in that struggle
  • One educator launched a new approach to student mental health to complement an existing emphasis on pre-vocational skill development
  • See related article: How our district engages students in a CTE program

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

As a longtime public school occupational therapist, I know what students look and sound like when they’re ready to transition from the work lab to the workforce.…Read More

Kidwind Celebrates Top Renewable Energy Innovations From Students At The 2023 National Kidwind Challenge

Boulder, Colo. – Being one of the best was the goal of each of the 80 teams while competing at the 2023 National KidWind Challenge in Boulder. Over the course of the three-day event, these highly skilled students were tested on their knowledge of renewable energy, their design and problem-solving skills, and their wind turbines’ energy output by a team of renewable energy educators and industry professionals. The top-performing teams are:

High School Division (Grades 9-12)

  • THS Wind Breakers from Tabb High School in Yorktown, Va.
  • Mauston Gummy Bears from Mauston High School in Mauston, Wis.
  • The Quilt Blockers from Darlington High School in Darlington, Wis.

Middle School Division (Grades 6-8)…Read More