Nearly all, or 9 in 10 business leaders expect employees in non-design roles to have skills and knowledge, making visual communication a critical skill for the workforce of the future, according to the 2024 Canva Visual Economy Report.

The survey was conducted on over 3,700 business leaders across the globe.

“Today’s students have grown up with technology at their fingertips, and it’s shaped how they process information. At Canva Philippines, we’ve seen firsthand how visual communication enables creativity, and collaboration, and enriches learning,” Yani Hornilla-Donato, country manager, Canva Philippines, said.

“Through this event, we sought out to show what’s possible when visual communication is introduced in the classroom. Not only does it make learning more engaging, but more importantly, it nurtures creativity and collaboration among students which are vital skills needed in evolving workplaces,” she added.

Designing education’s future

As visual communication becomes a part of everyday life, it’s now more important than ever to empower students with the necessary skills to succeed in their future, beginning with digital and design literacy.

In a panel discussion on how visual communication and tools like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are advancing education, Donato highlighted the role that Canva plays in enabling future-proof learning and preparing students to be career-ready.

Through Canva for Education, K-12 schools, teachers, and students get access to Canva’s full suite of products and Pro features, for free.

First launched in 2019, Canva for Education has evolved to feature a vast library of customizable classroom resources, advanced accessibility features, and a suite of AI tools to streamline lesson planning and boost creativity.

Over 600,000 schools and 70 million students and teachers are now using Canva globally.

To reach more educators in the country, Canva Philippines also introduced technology solutions provider Rakso ED as its first local education learning partner.

As part of the partnership, Rakso CT will empower and train educators to use Canva to transform and support classroom learning and engagement.

“We are honored to become Canva Philippines’ first education learning partner in the country. As visual communication becomes an even more critical skill for our students to have, we share in Canva Philippines’ commitment to making design literacy accessible to all and to empower both Filipino students and teachers with the tools and skills to navigate our constantly changing digital world,” Allen Vasquez, president, Rakso ED, said.

In addition to the training by Rakso ED, Canva also unveiled Teacher Essentials, a free teacher certification course designed to equip teachers with all the essential skills needed to facilitate engaging learning with Canva.

Supercharging with AI

The summit also put the spotlight on the role of AI in education and how organizations can work together for its responsible use. “We deeply believe in the power of AI as an enabler in the classroom. It’s a valuable tool to enhance the learning experience, empower students, and support teachers as they continuously meet the growing demands of their profession. With the help of AI, teachers can save more time and increase student engagement,” Donato said.

Studio creates magic

Magic Studio, Canva’s suite of AI-powered tools, was launched in 2023 to supercharge content creation in the platform with AI. Some of these are available for educators and students.

For example, Magic Write, which is currently available only for teachers, is an AI-powered assistant that can help them streamline tasks such as lesson planning and presentation building. Magic Animate enables teachers and students to embed animations and eye-catching transitions in their designs.

The panel discussion also highlighted the importance of ensuring the responsible use of AI, and how teachers can maximize its advantages so that it becomes a more reliable tool for learning.