Current and Emerging tech

That I have already tested in my classroom.

1. Canva

Canva has been central to my Digital Art and Yearbook curriculum, supporting projects such as logo design, business cards, newsletters, posters, and layout creation. Students have benefited greatly from its drag-and-drop tools, templates, and collaborative features, which allow them to produce polished, professional designs even at the middle school level. They can easily share their work with their teacher for review and feedback. The software is seamlessly collaborative.

2. Padlet

Padlet has served as an interactive digital bulletin board for brainstorming, sharing artwork, collecting inspiration, and hosting class discussions. It has helped students safely upload visuals, give peer feedback, and engage in collaborative critique sessions. I love that students can choose to participate through commenting, video upload, or even emojis. The platform makes for a fun, collaborative classroom experience.

3. Procreate (for iPad Design & Illustration)

Procreate has supported my Custom Shoe Design Unit and my independent Procreate tutorial days, allowing students to practice advanced digital illustration techniques. The layering tools, brushes, and pressure-sensitive drawing features give students a professional-level creative experience that bridges traditional art and digital design.

4. Adobe Express

Adobe Express has been used for student branding projects and quick-turn design tasks such as simple animations, social-media-style graphics, movie poster designs, and polished photo edits. Its beginner-friendly interface helps students explore Adobe’s creative ecosystem while giving them tools to enhance visual storytelling in yearbook spreads and digital art activities. It’s a nice alternative to Canva if your district pays for the educational license.

5. Google Workspace for Education (Docs, Slides, Classroom, Drive)

My curriculum consistently utilizes Google Drive for student portfolios, Google Slides for design presentations, and Google Classroom for organizing assignments and digital submissions. These tools ensure smooth workflow management, support collaboration during peer critiques, and help students build digital organization habits essential for creative work. The platform also allows me to make announcements to all students simultaneously, as well as give feedback on design projects, as well as provide rubrics and final grades for project submission.

Does one of these technology options sound like something that could work for your students? Are you too overwhelmed to even know how to start? Drop me a line!