My favorite Canva apps for use in higher education

Guest Author: Lindsay Foster is a former instructional designer at Tarrant County College Connect Campus and specializes in Accessibility and WCAG compliance. With over two decades of experience, Lindsay has held roles from elementary classroom educator and technology applications instructor, to instructional technology coach and designer. She was a TCEA Technology Administrator of the Year finalist (2021) and Connect Campus Instructional Support Member of the Year (2023).

As educators look for innovative ways to boost student engagement and improve learning outcomes, the integration of technology becomes increasingly essential. Higher education faculty and staff have demanding schedules, juggling administrative tasks and teaching duties alongside committee work, classes, and other commitments.

To help lighten your workload and boost your productivity, here are some top Canva apps I recommend for use in higher education:

1. Job and Resume⁠(opens in a new tab or window) AI (JARA) Copy and paste your resume and the job description and the AI will offer suggestions for tailoring to the position. Who can use: faculty, staff, and students

2. Profile Photo⁠(opens in a new tab or window) Update your headshot with lighting and backgrounds. Who can use: faculty, staff, and students

3. PeopleMaker⁠(opens in a new tab or window) Create custom, real synthetic humans to add as voice overs or to add to presentations to offer the humanization on the other side of the screen. Who can use: faculty, staff, and students

4. Multilingual⁠(opens in a new tab or window) Enter text in any language and generate a voiceover in another desired language. Who can use: faculty and staff

5. Typecard⁠(opens in a new tab or window) Create a digital business card and share it via QR code⁠(opens in a new tab or window). Who can use: faculty, staff, and students

6. Code Image⁠(opens in a new tab or window) Paste in your code and it will generate an image of that code that can be embedded into course work or an Open Educational Resource (OER). Who can use: faculty and students

More of my favorite apps

As a former instructional designer who specialized in accessibility, I’m always looking for ways to help students by making sure my designs are as accessible as possible. Check out some more of my favorite apps:

7. Text Extractor⁠(opens in a new tab or window) Upload an image that has text and image and add just the text to your design. As a former instructional designer who specialized in accessibility, I’m always looking for ways to help students by making sure

8. Equations⁠(opens in a new tab or window) Enter your equations so that they will be read by MathML or MathJax and appear cleanly in your Canva designs. Who can use: faculty and studentsTranscribe Audio. Upload an audio file (MP3, WAV, M4A, or OGG formats) and choose a font and generate a transcript for your audio files. Who can use: faculty, staff, and students

9. Subtitles⁠(opens in a new tab or window) Add subtitles to your Canva videos. Who can use: faculty and students

About the Canva app experience for higher education

Canva’s higher education offering, Canva for Campus⁠(opens in a new tab or window), equips faculty with user-friendly tools for design, collaboration, and communication. This platform empowers educators to craft engaging course materials, nurture student creativity, and offers IT and marketing teams a secure and straightforward design solution.

The Canva Apps Marketplace⁠(opens in a new tab or window) empowers the higher education community to import content, automate common design tasks, and streamline workflows. In Canva for Campus accounts, all apps are available by default, and settings can be modified by an IT administrator. However, apps might be disabled for student accounts that are not on a Canva for Campus license.

Summary

By harnessing the power of Canva for Campus⁠(opens in a new tab or window) and the magic of the Canva app marketplace, higher education faculty and staff can significantly enhance their efficiency and productivity while maintaining a high level of accessibility. The highlighted apps offer practical solutions for streamlining various tasks, from crafting compelling resumes to designing digital content that’s as accessible as possible. As the academic landscape continues to evolve, embracing these innovative applications can be a game-changer for higher education faculty, staff, and students.