We spoke with Rachelle, an 8th-grade science teacher who uses TeacherMade and Canva to create assignments for her students. 

Which online programs do you use to create assignments for your students?

I am an 8th-grade science teacher, and I make EVERYTHING for my classroom. From the work they do to the posters on my walls, it is rare that anything my students see isn't something I custom-made for my classroom. I have used the typical programs like Microsoft's Office Suite and the Google Office apps, but I've found that they had some limitations that didn't allow me to be as creative as I wanted without a fair amount of workarounds or extensions. I still will use Word Docs or Powerpoint Slides when typing an outline, but I mainly use Canva for anything I need to make for my classroom. 

Over the last year, I have been revamping all of my assignments, notes, slides, and guides using Canva because it gives me a lot of flexibility in what my assignments will look like. I can make anything in Canva that I could make on the other apps, short of a spreadsheet. I still need to use Excel or Google Sheets to make spreadsheets. On Canva, I have been able to make CLOZE notes, worksheets, lab assignments, slides, study guides, and even vocabulary posters. I even make shirts that I wear to class using Canva.

Do you use other apps with TeacherMade in your classroom?

One of the greatest things about Canva, though, is that I have been able to combine it with my other favorite teacher site, TeacherMade. I will usually start with one of my old resources, transform it in Canva, and then make it interactive using TeacherMade. When on the Canva site, you can choose from blank or pre-filled templates, but in both cases, they are fully editable. Typically I will start off with a template with some pre-filled elements and then make some swaps to make it fit my needs better. That includes uploading my own diagrams, pictures, and fonts. I try to have everything in a unit follow a similar "theme" related to the content. Once all my questions and activities have been typed out and formatted, it's ready to be downloaded, printed, or uploaded to TeacherMade. 

How do you format files to prepare them for TeacherMade?

If it is going to be uploaded to TeacherMade, I download the pages as a flattened PDF Print in RGB. From there, I start adding my answer boxes, answer choices, hot spots, draggable items, and links to the assignment. If I find an error in the PDF, I can go and fix it in Canva, redownload it, and replace the background of the assignment I already started creating in TeacherMade. As long as it wasn't a huge change in spacing or number of pages, all of my previous work is still in the right place!  

How has TeacherMade changed the way you create assignments?

I like that I can create what I want, where I want, but then I can make everything even better by putting the assignment in TeacherMade. It allows me to take the assignments to another level. I can make assignments that are challenging and engaging but also not have to spend hours and hours prepping the assignment or grading it. Once the assignment and answer key are created, it takes me about 10 minutes to make it into a digital assignment on TeacherMade.

How has TeacherMade changed the way you grade assignments?

On the other end, after students are done, I can grade a TeacherMade assignment in about 5 minutes, even when it has a lot of open-ended questions. I can quickly click to override/accept answers for auto-graded questions and type in points for teacher-graded ones. I don't even need to figure out what their grade will be because the website will give me a number grade and, better yet, gives my students an instant grade to let them know if they need to fix anything or let them know if they want to try again.

TeacherMade lets you create digital, interactive worksheets from your preexisting assignments. Take what you have already made and adapt it to fit the needs of your students.

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