Telling Stories, Building Skills: Canva for Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

 


Staff Development Training Plan: Creating Digital Stories with Canva

Title: Telling Stories, Building Skills: Canva for Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

Program Purpose:

This professional development session(s) is designed to introduce educators to the power of digital storytelling using Canva which is a free tool that allows teachers and students to combine visuals, text, audio, and creativity to tell meaningful stories for student engagement, reflection, and cross-curricular learning. This training is to support teacher confidence and creativity when integrating technology into teaching. By the end of the session, teachers will have the tools to create their own digital stories and begin implementing projects with students.

Preparation and Materials

Technology Setup:

  • Ensure each teacher is assigned a Chromebook/laptop with:
    • Google Chrome installed
    • Access to Canva.com
    • Audio/microphone support (for recording or uploading voiceovers)
  • Create a Canva for Education teacher account for each participant prior to training.
  • Trainer prepares a sample digital story in Canva to demonstrate features (choose an education-relevant theme).
  • Trainer logs into Canva Live/SmartBoard for screen sharing.

Ensure all devices are connected to Wi-Fi and can access Canva. Participants should sign in with a Google or Canva for Education account before the session.

Resource Sharing:

A shared Google Drive folder will be set up in advance, containing:

  • Step-by-step guides
  • Example digital stories
  • Reflection and assessment materials

Participant Support:

A facilitator will lead the session, with an assistant available to help troubleshoot issues during hands-on activities.

Workspace Structure:

Participants will work individually or in pairs. A projector or SmartBoard will display live demonstrations.

Ongoing Collaboration:

Teachers can use the same Google Drive folder to upload their digital stories, share ideas, and access updates or follow-up materials.

Digital Resources:

  • Canva for Education Digital Storytelling Guide (PDF)
  • Elements of Digital Storytelling
  • Optional additional tools:
    • Vocaroo (for voice recording)
    • Pixabay/Unsplash (free image sites)
    • Google Docs (scripting, collaboration)

Training Agenda (2.5–3 hours split over multiple sessions)

Part 1: Introduction & Inspiration (30 mins)

Objective: Understand what digital storytelling is and why it matters.

  • Watch the trainer’s sample Canva story
  • Share examples of classroom-ready digital stories (short: 2–3 mins)
  • Discuss educational value: creativity, critical thinking
  • Introduce the elements of Digital Storytelling with quick group brainstorm:
    • Point of View
    • Dramatic Question
    • Emotional Content
    • Voice
    • Soundtrack
    • Pacing
    • Economy

Part 2: Hands-On Exploration (45 mins)

Objective: Learn how to use Canva tools for storytelling.

  • Log into Canva
  • Explore Canva templates: "Video," "Presentation," and "Education" categories
  • Practice:
    • Adding text, images, transitions
    • Uploading or recording audio
    • Using animations and timelines
  • Mini Challenge: Create a 30-second story using stock photos and a personal quote

Part 3: Design Your Digital Story (60–75 mins)

Objective: Begin crafting a personal or classroom-based story.
Each participant:

  • Choose one of these prompts:
    1. “My Teaching Journey in 6 Slides”
    2. “A Classroom Moment That Changed Me”
    3. “Telling a Lesson Through Story” (e.g., a math problem, historical event, or science process)
  • Creates a 1–2 minute digital story in Canva
  • Can script in Google Docs or improvise with narration
  • Peer review & feedback

Assessment Task: “Reflection Mosaic” (15–20 mins)

Each teacher creates a one-page Canva visual reflection responding to these prompts. This can be turned in digitally or printed for a showcase board.

Include:

  1. A snapshot or screenshot from your digital story
  2. A quote that captures the essence of what you learned
  3. A sticky note-style reflection:

“I used to think digital storytelling was ___, now I think it’s ___.”

  1. A simple icon, symbol or some visual to represent how you'll use this with students
  2. A creative title for a future story your class might tell

Post-Training Follow-Up

  • Blog for sharing teacher-created stories and ideas
  • Encourage each teacher to implement a mini digital story project with students within the term and reflect in the blog/discussion space

Success Criteria

By the end of the training, teachers will:

  • Know how to use Canva to build a complete digital story
  • Understand how digital storytelling help students engage and develop skills
  • Be able to plan and implement a classroom project using this method
  • Create an example story and visual reflection to model for students

 

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