Digital Graphic Organizers: Good, Bad, Somewhere In-Between?

Being all about reading and writing, you already know that graphic organizers are my JAM. Encourage them, use them, learn to love them. That being said, why not allow kids to do that however works best for them. Who cares if pencil and paper isn't their favorite way to organize. 

To be honest, I'm much more organized digitally than I am on paper. I love how clean everything looks on the computer - how there are no eraser marks. It satisfies the perfectionist in me. Some of our students are the same way - but the control freak in us is like "No, we must stick to this way and they have to do it this way, not that way." Yes, I get it, we spend hours and hours lesson planning and printing things off - just for one of our kids to be like "Yeah, that cute graphic organizer you made? I don't want to use that, I'd rather do it digitally." Talk about a stab right in the heart. 

I think as educators, you let children choose what feels best to them and what they're genuinely going to enjoy doing more. So many kids already hate reading and writing - if I can get a kid to use a digital graphic organizer to start the writing process, then bet your butt I'm doing it. 

So that being said, CANVA to the rescue! 

Canva is my absolute favorite digital creating app. I love all of the different resources, templates, free tools, etc. I think it's super easy to use and the opportunities are endless. I personally love how customizable it is - especially because I like all my things looking a certain way. This is definitely a good one to introduce to students if you haven't already. (For all things, not just graphic organizers).