ART EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT: ADOPTING CANVA APP AS A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR TEACHING GRAPHICS IN NIGERIAN ART SCHOOLS

Abstract

Over the years, the antiquated style of creating graphic visuals through the use of hands, using stenciling technique and/or direct color application with brushes and paints have monotonously been the major trend in almost all the three tiers of Nigerian tertiary education; either as a result of the long standing unimproved curricula the educators must key into, the inadequate funding of department of fine and applied arts in most of the Nigerian tertiary institutions or as a result of the inflexibility of the art educators. The resultant effect has always plagued most of the Nigerian graduates in art, especially graphics, with the inability to cope with the fast-rising technological demands in the art industries and/or media agencies. Hence, in neutralizing the plague, it behooves us to embrace curriculum modification by integrating technological innovation in curriculum delivery. Canva is a drag-and-drop graphic design platform for creating graphic visuals for social media, presentations, posters, documents, and other visual content. This study, therefore, unearthed the simplicity of using Canva, a smartphone application for enhancing curriculum delivery by graphic art educators in Nigerian art schools. The paper also aimed at exposing prospective graphic art students to the use of the application for creating simple graphic visuals in a bid to broaden their horizons technologically not excluding the possibility of generating income from its uses.