There are so many things that I love about this idea, “Mattergrams,” from Angela Maiers that it’s hard to think of where to begin!
Last week, I had lunch with a friend, and confessed that I hadn’t been feeling very “useful” as a person lately. A few days later, I received a beautiful card in my mailbox that, basically, reminded me that I matter. It made my day, and I have a feeling that I’m not the only person who could use this kind of pick-me-up — especially lately.
I’ve been a fan of Angela Maiers for many years (here is the first post in 2012 of several that I published on this blog about her). You can visit her website, Choose 2 Matter, to find out more about her mission. When I saw a recent Twitter post from her regarding “Mattergrams,” I had to click on the link to see what it was all about. After receiving my card from my friend a couple of days ago, I was reminded of the importance of telling people that they matter to you, and Angela Maiers has given everyone a simple way to do this. She offers 16 “Mattergram” templates that you can click on, edit, and share with the person whose day you want to brighten.
This is a wonderful concept, making it simple to take a few minutes to let someone know how important they are. But I was also fascinated by her method of delivery — using Canva in a way I hadn’t considered. I knew that you could publish a Canva creation to the web, and I knew that you could share Canva templates, but I never thought of combining those ideas in the way that her “Mattergrams” page does. This is the kind of content that makes so much sense to busy educators who want to give students choice without overwhelming them with options.
Educators and students get Canva free, though there are some Pro features they can’t use. However, as far as I know those subscriptions do give them the option to share template links and as websites, along with all of the other sharing options. So, as a teacher, you can find a few templates for something (like brainstorming templates, which abound on Canva), make links for them, add them to one page, and publish it as a web page. (Click on “Share” on top right, then “more” if you don’t see the options you want in the drop-down.) Share that web page link with your students, and they have choices without having to spend valuable class time hunting for them.
I know that sounds like it would be time-consuming, but Canva’s numerous templates and multiple sharing options really do make it easier than designing something from scratch. In the meantime, if you have a moment, send a “Mattergram” to someone out there. I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t need a boost right now!
For more ideas of how to create with Canva for your classroom, check out this post!
