When I discovered Canva I found it very useful to create infographics and other visual content like mindmaps or twitterheaders etc. as well. I googled for manuals (cognitivist), but this was not too helpful. Trying out different templates and options, clicking the buttons in the app and copying what others did was the best way to learn it.
The main educational theories behind my approach were andragogy (I am adult and had a clear motivation to solve a problem through learning), constructivism, social constructivism and constructionism (active process of constructing knowledge and learning from others) as well as experimential learning (trying things out and drawing conclusions).
This approach was the most effective because the tool in the end is fairly simple and easy to use and you understand intuitively were you have to click. With other software tools like Photoshop, Indesign or Adobe Premiere this would not work, since you have no idea where to click and will get frustrated very quickly.
My biggest aha moment in my approach to learning was during this course, when I analyzed the way how I learned before (at college or university) and applied learning theories. This theoretical “framework” changed my approach to learning. Understanding how learning theories can be applied to instruction has helped me gain a new perspective on the overall instructional design that need to be applied in order to learn successfully or create instructions.
