Canva is a tool that I use almost daily for everything from creating YouTube thumbnails to designing full presentations like the one that I’m giving this afternoon. And as I wrote earlier this year, there are at least ten good ways to use Canva in your classroom. That’s why I was excited this morning when I read the news that Canva now offers a Windows and Mac desktop app. I’ve already installed it and it’s great! You can get the Windows version here and the Mac version here.

Canva for desktop includes all of the same features that are found in the web browser version. Those features include seemingly endless graphic design templates, image editing tools, animation tools, and simple website publishing tools. You’ll also find libraries of high quality pictures, drawings, icons, music, and b-roll video clips.

The aspect of Canva for desktop that I like the most so far is being able to have multiple designs open and quickly switch between them. I’m also excited about being able to run it in the background separate from my web browser. That feature should make it easier to present a slideshow made with Canva and not have to keep flipping between web browser windows when I want to give a demonstration of something outside of the slideshow.