Top 3 features of Canva that every student should know about 

In the tech-driven era of today, digitisation of education is the only logical progression and that’s what has happened, especially during the pandemic era. Gone are the days when school students were required to complete their classwork and projects using reams of paper and tons of coloured pens. Now school projects are highly digitised. So, students need to resort to audio-visual tools to create PowerPoint presentations, videos, podcasts, monthly school bulletins, etc. Also, they need to use these tools for pursuing various extracurricular activities like e-books, posters and logos for their personal initiatives, so on and so forth. Here is where an online graphic tool like Canva comes into play. It has both app version for smartphones and a browser-based version for tabs or laptop. Canva is an easy-to-use graphics platform with a host of features. Here is a list of top three features that are helpful for students. 

Templates 

Canva features a library of over 50,000 free, professionally designed templates which can be selected tweaked, and personalised, based on requirements. Be it creating Instagram posts and stories, invitations, logos or bookmarks, students can do it all through Canva templates. New templates are added to Canva regularly. Hence, students would definitely be spoilt for choice here. 

How-to use templates in Canva: 

• Go to the Templates tab at the top left-hand side of the screen to select one. 
•  Select the template to be used and drag it onto the page.  
• Work on the template, save and download it. 

Free video transitions 

Today’s school curriculum lays as much emphasis on visual learning as textual. In this scenario, video-based projects are quite popular among school goers. With Canva’s video editor tool, students can add free video transitions such as dissolve, slide, fade, etc. to make their personal or academic video projects unique and engaging. 

How-to use video transitions in Canva: 

• Go to the Canva homepage and search for Youtube intro or Youtube video in the search bar. 
• Next, come to the Canva dashboard on the left-hand side and upload your chosen video from your laptop on Canva. 
• Now, the colour palette and transitions can be added from the dashboard and edited accordingly. 
•  Save and download the video. 

Video recording of PowerPoint presentations  

Nowadays, there is a growing need for PowerPoint presentations for academic and non-academic activities such as cultural competitions, science exhibitions, annual day celebrations, art and craft contests, etc. in schools. Canva not only helps students create stunning presentations, but also helps them record them in a video format.  

How to record PowerPoint presentations in Canva 

• Log on to the Canva website and search for ''Talking Presentation 'in the search bar to start designing one. 
• Browse Canva’s wide range of presentation templates in various styles and themes. 
• Personalise the layout with elements from a plethora of images, videos, music, fonts, and colours in the Canva media library. Students can also upload their own images and music to the Canva editor. They can add as many slides as they need and make them dynamic with the animation feature. 
• Access the Present and record' option on the Çanva video editor at top-right side or click on the three-dot menu to select it among recommended actions.  
• Select the 'Go to recording studio' option and set up your camera and microphone. Start recording with your notes in the Presenter’s View and use the options to pause and resume your recording, as required. 
• Click on the 'End recording' option and wait for it to upload. Share the recorded presentation with the target audience using the generated link or download it in MP4.