In Australia’s classrooms, teachers are facing a tough, and all too familiar, challenge: how to hold students’ attention long enough to foster meaningful learning.
With studies showing that young peoples’ attention spans are shrinking, and their academic achievement declining in some key areas, traditional teaching methods often struggle to compete with the constant stream of digital stimuli that dominate young people’s lives. For teachers, this means that finding ways to not only capture a students’ attention but also sustain engagement is now mission-critical.
In classrooms across Australia, the innovative use of AI-driven tools like Canva have been bringing lessons to life in exciting ways while giving valuable time back to busy teachers.
During her time as a library educator at Moss Vale Public School, Bronwyn Deane used Canva’s digital platforms to deliver visually rich, interactive lessons, while a student-led “digital design club” inspires creativity and collaboration. Meanwhile, at South Grafton Public School, Digital Classroom Officer Kimberley Phillips is helping teachers embed Canva’s tools into everyday practice, saving time and boosting confidence.
Due to the strong outcomes they’ve been producing in their schools, Deane and Phillips have earned the title of ‘Canvassadors’ (Canva Ambassadors) – leaders of Canva’s different communities who are recognised for their leadership, knowledge, and values.
From short attention spans to lasting focus
Deane, who has since moved schools, primarily supported students in Kindergarten through Year 2. She says while children in this age group don’t typically use Canva independently, she relies on it extensively to design, deliver and share all her lessons.
“The shrinking attention span crisis is one of my greatest challenges as an educator,” Deane told The Educator. “How do teachers facilitate sustained engagement in curriculum-aligned content in a world where students are accustomed to instant gratification and endless streams of digital stimuli?”
Deane says that instead of competing with their shortened attention spans, educators can work within them, using students’ familiarity with digital media as a tool to gradually expand focus and engagement through purposeful, meaningful learning experiences.
“To support sustained engagement, I use Canva to design visually rich and dynamic presentations, specifically tailored to the unique needs and interests of the class I’m teaching,” she said.
“Canva presentations allow me to visually communicate content through embedded bite-sized videos, memorable images and interactive games.”
To reinforce key concepts, Deane designed matching worksheets and classroom displays, providing multiple exposures to key concepts in varied formats.
“And at the forefront of my lesson delivery, I am always asking myself, ‘How can I incorporate physical movement into this learning opportunity?’. Movement breaks and outdoor learning are just as important for re-energising and focusing attention.”
Building confidence and digital maturity
As a Digital Classroom Officer through the NSW Department of Education’s Rural Access Gap program, Kimberley Phillips supported teachers and students across the Clarence Valley area to embed technology into everyday learning, not as an extra, but as something woven into planning, teaching, assessment, and reflection.
“The role focused on building confidence and digital maturity across our school community, especially in rural and remote settings,” Phillips told The Educator.
“It has been the most collaborative experience of my teaching career to date. From troubleshooting with teachers in real time to setting up communities of practice and running point-of-need training, the goal was always to make technology approachable, accessible, and effective and I feel we really achieved that.”
Phillips said a key motivator of hers throughout this work is a belief that technology, used well, gives teachers time back, sparks student engagement, and helps tailor learning to individual needs.
“It’s not about keeping up with every new tool, it’s about using the right ones to build curiosity, adaptability, and confidence in both teachers and students.”
Restoring the spark in burnt-out educators
Deane said teachers play a vital role in integrating technology, not only to support student learning but also to stay current with the ever-evolving digital landscape.
“While many initiatives aim to reduce teacher workload and combat burnout, adopting new platforms often feels time-consuming, overwhelming, and costly,” she said.
“What I personally love about Canva is its intuitive, user-friendly design that makes it easy to use, even for those with non-design backgrounds like myself. And, it is of course free to use with free professional development training.”
Deane said when she introduces colleagues to Canva, they’re often surprised by how accessible it is and how quickly their confidence grows using the platform and discovering the endless possibilities of features to support their lessons.
“And despite concerns some educators hold over the role of AI undermining students’ critical thinking skills, my experience so far has been that the AI features within Canva enable boundless possibilities for fostering creativity, problem-solving, and deeper engagement with content,” she said.
“But one of Canva’s greatest strengths for educators is its vast library of free, syllabus-aligned templates.”
Deane said these resources save time and effort, allowing teachers to customise content to meet individual student needs.
“In the past, I’ve spent far too many hours of my term holidays reinventing the wheel to meet the incoming term’s programming requirements,” she said.
“Now, I simply adapt a design I’ve already created, or search for and customise an existing resource from Canva’s vast library of educational resources, designed by teachers for teachers.”
What does digital best practice look like in 2025?
Phillips said that in her experience, best practice in digital upskilling is “all about being practical, purposeful, and peer led.”
“The most effective training is short and relevant, think ten-minute demos at staff meetings or ready-made templates teachers can use straight away. It’s not about learning everything at once, but giving teachers a reason to try something new, on their own terms,” Phillips said.
“We always start with the learning goal, not the tool. When teachers see how Canva can help students communicate their ideas more clearly or support differentiated learning, the tech becomes part of quality classroom teaching, not an add-on.”
Collaboration is also key, Phillips pointed out.
“When teachers co-create templates, share lesson ideas, or learn from each other’s wins, digital confidence grows across the whole school,” she said. “As a Canva ambassador, I’ve found that peer trust really matters.”
Phillips noted that when resources come from someone who understands the classroom, teachers are more open to trying them and more likely to stick with it.
“Best practice isn’t about big programs or perfect tech use. It’s about small, purposeful steps that make a real difference to teaching and learning.”
Collaboration and pride in every design
At Moss Vale Public School, Deane commenced a Canva Club for students interested in exploring visual communication and building future-ready digital skills.
“The Canva that students use in the classroom is the same tool used by big and small businesses, giving me confidence that students were developing transferable skills with real-world relevance,” she said.
“Students engaged in a variety of creative projects, from designing posters to support student-led initiatives, to creating personalised stickers, end-of-year videos and collaborating with classmates in real time using Canva’s digital whiteboard features.”
Deane said students were highly engaged in learning these skills and even spent time at home refining them, then proudly sharing their designs with her.
“One of the most rewarding outcomes was seeing students take pride in their creations. They were excited to see their work displayed throughout the school, and often came up with innovative solutions to design challenges,” she said.
“Beyond the obvious technical skills, our school’s Canva Club fostered collaboration, critical thinking, and a genuine sense of ownership over their learning.”
One platform, endless learning possibilities
When asked about the Canva features that have seen noticeable reductions in teachers’ workloads, Phillips pointed to the platform’s ready-to-use templates, cheat sheets, and editable lessons, which she said has been “a game-changer”.
“Using Canva has completely streamlined how I deliver lessons and assignments. I no longer juggle multiple platforms or lose time searching for files,” she said.
“I can design engaging tasks, like a trading card on a historical figure or a persuasive social media post and share them instantly via Google Classroom. It’s lifted student engagement, improved the quality of work, and saved me hours.”
Phillips said regardless of whether an educator is new to Canva or is a confident user, the platform allows users to easily adapt existing resources to suit their students and have “something polished and purposeful in minutes.”
“Collaborative tools like whiteboards have also introduced new layers of learning. Students are co-creating, navigating shared digital spaces, and solving problems together. There’s a lot of learning [and laughter] in that,” she said.
“Canva’s Visual Suite lets me build everything in one place, documents, worksheets, presentations, which makes me feel more organised and in control. And Canva Code has opened a whole new world for creativity and differentiation. I’ve built learning games, puzzles, and activities that meet students where they’re at.”
Phillips said these tools are ultimately only valuable if they bring educators back to their core purpose as a teacher.
“Canva helps me create space to focus on what matters most: engaging students and helping them grow into curious, capable learners.”