If you are teacher, you are well-aware about the importance of utilizing visual aids.

Common examples of visual aids are photographs, infographics, diagrams, videos, and charts.

Visual aids enhance student interest, comprehension, and retention and concepts. Further, these help teachers establish, explain, connect, and associate ideas and concepts to make the process of learning more interesting, enjoyable, and effective.

With rise of new technology, teachers are adapting. Many have switched to using digital visual aids, shown with the aid of a projector or television. [Note: Traditional visual aids should remain a key component of teaching, especially those requiring hands on practice.]

Problem is – creating PowerPoint presentation requires long and tedious process. You’ll need to type text, find photos and videos, insert these into slides – and soon you’ve spent a lot of time.

The solution – a platform where you can find everything, simply drag and drop the visuals. Type the text or ask an AI assistant to help with the elaboration (be sure to proofread the information especially if it’s AI generated), and stunning multimedia are there and can be inserted through drag and drop.

Is that possible? Yes. There is a graphic design tool called Canva. It is the perfect choice for those looking for a drag and drop solution to their visuals – which include PPTs.

And there’s even greater news. The Philippines’ Department of Education (DepEd) is providing Canva Premium to all its employees. This means, schoolteachers can use the platform’s full functionality without spending anything – it’s free, it’s provided by the government.

In this article, you are going to learn how to get Canva Premium for free as DepEd employee and create majestically designed teaching aids.

What is Canva?

Canva is a graphic design tool that allows users to create every kind of visuals through its drag and drop interface, vast library of templates, fonts, and design elements.

Visuals that can be created through the platform includes presentations, personal and business documents, social media posts, image and video editing, websites, brochures, newsletters, labels, infographics.

The design platform was launched January 1, 2013, with founders Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams. It operates under a freemium model, which means the service can be used for free, but users can upgrade to premium plans to fully utilize all its features.

Canva keeps adding new users to its platform. They’ve recently integrated powerful AI systems which allows users to generate images or videos, using text descriptions alone.

Moreover, they have features such as being able to sort whiteboard stickers, more than 100 languages in Translate feature, new ways to visualize date, and Canva doc to be published as website.

DepEd Provides Canva Premium to Employees

DepEd teachers and students can now access and use all the premium features of Canva, thanks to a partnership between the education department and Canva Philippines.

Secretary Sonny Angara has signed the partnership on October 2024, also present were the Australian ambassador and top Canva officials.

Angara has said that the rollout of Canva for Education seeks to bring digital design and creativity into classroom, thereby supporting teachers with user-friendly tools for more interactive learning.

“The President himself said in his SONA that classrooms should be incubators of creativity and innovation. With this partnership, we’re building those incubators, one design at a time,” Sec. Angara said.

Teachers can access their Canva Premium account through their DepEd email, package includes access to thousands of templates, interactive presentation tools, and design resources.

Ms. Yasi Hornilla-Donata, Country Lead of Canva Philippines, noted the importance of digital design and literacy; sharing her excitement to the empowerment of teachers and students with the tools and technology they need to spark creativity and innovation.

How to Get Canva Premium for Free as DepEd Employee

DepEd has issued Memorandum No. 055 s. 2025, on July 18, announcing that schoolteachers and learners will be provided free access to premium subscriptions of Canva for Education.

Premium features available include: (a) seamless collaboration with colleagues, (b) access to official DepEd brand kits and templates, (c) availability of professional learning resources, and (d) continued premium access to Canva for Education tools and resources.

While free, DepEd reminds employees that the account must be used strictly for educational purposes and the performance of official duties.

The subscription can be accessed through official DepEd email addresses. Here are two routes to claim your Canva Premium.

Through a Web Browser

1. Go to https://canvaph.com/deped-login
2. Log-in using your DepEd email address and password

Through the Canva Mobile or Desktop Application

1. Download the Canva app for the appropriate platform (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, or ChromeOS).
2. Open the app and select Log in or Sign Up.
3. Select Continue to Email and enter your DepEd email address.
4. Select Continue via Single Sign-On (SSO) to log in using DepEd credentials.

Inside DepEd Canva Resource Hub

Canva provides access to their vast library of templates – there are lots of useable in teaching. In addition, DepEd has created its own free templates, learning materials, and classroom management tools specifically made for Pinoy educators, learners, and staff.

These professionally made designs for the classroom and beyond has customized lesson materials for subjects like Physical Science and Araling Panlipunan. [click here to visit DepEd official Canva learning hub]

Other subjects are Science, Mathematics, English, Visual Arts, and Filipino. The editable templates complement with DepEd’s MATATAG curriculum. Likewise, students can find materials for group presentations, and more.

Cherylee Artates, IT Officer of DepEd Region 3, said, “With DepEd’s provision of Canva Education, administrative personnel are now equipped with a powerful tool that goes beyond classroom use.

“It enables the creation of clear, professional visualizations and engaging presentations, strengthening communication and supporting data-driven decision-making across the department.”

How to Fix: DepEd Ends Canva Account for Regional Emails

The education department has announced November 21, 2025, via Facebook that DepEd employees who uses Canva through their regional email could no longer access the platform’s services.

DepEd says that they are transitioning to the utilization of the official teacher email @deped.gov.ph and will end premium access for Canva using the @[region].deped.gov.ph.

“With the new update, Canva will now only use your @deped.gov.ph email. So, if you used your regional email before, you may be locked out.”

This directive follows a guideline issued by DepEd-ICTS on October 22, 2025.

DepEd has said that they are officially closing regional teacher accounts by December 1, 2025. Regional accounts will be provided for students only.

As a fix, teachers should transfer their designs to their new account [click here for a tutorial].

Final Thoughts

Mitchell Dave M. Cabuguas, a master teacher of DepEd Carcar City Division, said Canva empowers him to deliver high impact work with speed and creativity – that’s whether it’s designing classroom activities, crafting instructional materials, or producing visuals for DepEd programs.

Visual aids have been one of the best partners of educators in delivering quality instruction inside the classroom, and that has evolved from manila papers to presentations.

Presentations have advantages like clean fonts, adding colorful backgrounds, and stunning visuals; but finding images, videos, text, and putting them together is sometimes a daunting task.

With Canva Premium, however, DepEd teachers can easily create designs, add text, all in a single platform. The images are provided; it’s just simple drag and drop. AI tools can help with the text.

Boring no more, as you yourself gets excited with the majestic visuals available within Canva.