Tommy Hills

Reflecting on the past twelve months, I am amazed at how my classroom practice has evolved. What I've learnt from a year of using Canva for Education is that it is no longer just a design tool; it has become central to how I deliver lessons, reduce my workload, and engage my pupils.

I have just published a new blog post breaking down my current workflow and what I am experimenting with next. Here are a few key takeaways:

✦ Reducing Cognitive Overload: I use Canva to encourage dual coding, purposefully pairing concise text with relevant visual representations to help students process complex STEM topics.

✦ Live Modelling & Code Blocks: For teaching Mathematics and modelling worked examples, Canva’s digital tools serve as a highly effective digital whiteboard. Furthermore, the Code app has been brilliant for creating stylised, syntax-highlighted code blocks directly on my slides.

✦ Classroom Gamification: I absolutely love using Canva Code to build custom interactive widgets and games. Powered by the Canva Sheets connection, I can manage live data and integrate dynamic classroom leaderboards.

✦ Standardised Lesson Phases: Creating set templates for "Starter Activities" and "Main Activities" means I can drop in the day's computing problem without formatting from scratch. It is a massive workflow win.

Because Canva is an approved tool within our Trust, I had the opportunity to lead a CPD session sharing these exact strategies with other educators. As the platform continues to level up, I look forward to experimenting with new ideas like Knowledge Organisers and Canva Forms in the future!

Read the full breakdown on my blog here: https://tommysthoughts.thetommyverse.com/canva-1-year.html

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I have been looking at the new DaVinci Resolve 21 update and it brings some really exciting changes to how we edit.

For those of you who don't know, I've been using Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve to edit since 2018, after previously using Vegas Pro and Premiere Pro. I found DaVinci to be my preferred editor to use and continue to watch excitedly for the new developments from Blackmagic.

We usually need to use several different software subscriptions to finish a single project. However, Resolve is now putting everything together in one place.

Here are the updates that stood out to me:

✦ Editing Photos: The new Photo Page is the biggest highlight for me. You can now use their node-based colour grading tools on still photos, right next to your video timeline. This will be a brilliant alternative to Adobe Lightroom, and makes use of existing knowledge of colour grading in Da Vinci Resolve.

✦ Finding Media: Sorting through lots of clips just got much easier. The new AI search tool lets you scan your footage for specific faces, objects, or even spoken words. This is going to save hours of manual logging.

✦ Useful AI Tools: These new AI features feel like they actually help with the workload. You can now change the focus of a shot after you have filmed it. There are also tools to fix blemishes, and an audio tool that creates a unique voiceover from just a ten second audio sample.

Having video, audio, motion graphics, and now photos in one workspace is a massive step forward. I am looking forward to testing this new workflow out and seeing how much time it can save.

Just when I thought I’d finally mastered last year's updates, Canva Create 2026 just changed the game again.

As a Canvassador and educator, I’m always looking for ways to bridge the gap between "great idea" and "finished resource." This year, it feels like Canva didn’t just add features, rather they fixed the entire fragmented creative process.

The standout announcement for me? Canva AI 2.0. It’s no longer just about generating a single image; it’s about "Agentic Orchestration." The AI now acts as a creative partner that understands your brand, your data, and your intent. I’ll try to summarise the most exciting features as best I can:

✦ Brand Intelligence: AI that actually knows your Brand Kit. It applies your fonts and styles to drafts automatically.

✦ Layered Object Intelligence: No more flat AI images. Everything generated is now fully layered and editable.

✦ Canva Connectors: Syncing live data from Notion, Google Drive, and emails directly into my docs.

✦ Canva Code 2.0: This is huge for gamification. You can now import HTML and edit it via drag-and-drop without touching the underlying code.

✦ Canva Offline: Editing without a signal is a massive win for teachers on the move.

With the integration of Affinity and the acquisition of Cavalry, the professional ecosystem is becoming hard to ignore. Is it time to move away from expensive Adobe subscriptions? I’m seriously starting to think so. Learning to use these tools properly is going to change the way I view design.

I’ve broken down exactly how these tools will shift the needle in the classroom in my latest blog post.

Read the full breakdown here: https://tommysthoughts.thetommyverse.com/canva-create-2026.html

tommysthoughts.thetommyverse.com

As I head into the final stretch of data collection for my MSc-R Computer Science Research Project at the University of Kent, I have to say a massive thank you to everyone who has participated so far.

But I'm not quite at the finish line yet. If you have 20 minutes to spare over the next few days, I’d love for you to contribute to my thesis, "Stand-Up and Deliver."

The core question remains: Can Artificial Intelligence actually write stand-up comedy? Does it possess genuine comedic ability?

To find out, I need you to evaluate some AI-generated comedy in my completely anonymous survey. Simply read a few versions of the generated jokes and pick the ones that work best to you!

Take the survey here: https://universityofkent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeN1DR5Mb3VlMHA

Sharing this post or passing the link to friends and colleagues is still incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for the ongoing support!

The dataset for participants for my research survey is growing, but I still need more human judges!

If you have 20 minutes free today, I would absolutely love your input on my thesis, "Stand-Up and Deliver." I am investigating whether Artificial Intelligence can actually write stand-up comedy, and I need you to evaluate its comedic ability.

The survey is completely anonymous. All you have to do is read a few variations of some AI-generated comedy and select the versions that are the most successful.

Take the survey here: https://universityofkent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeN1DR5Mb3VlMHA

Sharing this post or sending the link directly to colleagues and friends is also a massive help.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported my research so far!

A massive thank you to everyone who has already taken the time to participate in my "Stand-Up and Deliver" research survey!

If you haven't had a chance to participate yet, the survey continues to be open! I am still looking for people willing to answer a selection of questions to help me determine if Large Language Models can write and improve stand-up comedy.

To get involved, I need you to act as the judge via the survey below. It’s a completely anonymous, 20-minute survey where you simply read different versions of AI-generated jokes and pick the best ones.

Take the survey here: https://universityofkent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeN1DR5Mb3VlMHA

Please feel free to share this with anyone else who might enjoy rating some non-human written comedy. Every single response brings me one step closer to completing my research project. Thank you again for your support!

If you're wondering why I've been a bit quiet on here lately, it's because I've been working on my MSc-R Computer Science Research Project at the University of Kent. Now, I can share a little bit of what I've been working on!

One of the questions I'm tackling is this: Can Artificial Intelligence actually write stand-up comedy, or is human humour simply too complex for modern LLMs to compute?

My thesis, "Stand-Up and Deliver," explores AI-generated comedy, and I need your help to figure out if these AI have any real comedic ability.

I'm looking for participants to take a completely anonymous, 20-minute survey where you'll read a few versions of the same jokes and vote on which one made you laugh the most (or groan the least!).

Whether you're an AI enthusiast, a comedy fan, or just looking for a fun break in your day, I would love your input.

Take the survey here: https://universityofkent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeN1DR5Mb3VlMHA

Please feel free to share this post or send the link to anyone who might enjoy rating some robotic comedy. Thank you in advance for supporting my research!

(This research is supervised by Anna Jordanous and has been approved by the University of Kent Ethics Board).

✨ I’m officially a Canvassador! ✨

I’m thrilled to join the Canvassador community, and grateful for the opportunity to co-create, explore, and share Canva’s potential in education and visual innovation.

For those unfamiliar, this group of Canvassadors are volunteer educators who collaborate with the Canva for Education team to share ideas, inspire creativity, and help shape how Canva is used in classrooms around the world.

Over the past year, my blog (https://tommysthoughts.thetommyverse.com/) has been a space to explore the features Canva has to offer.

The main part of this has been to experiment with AI-powered, playable classroom games using Canva Code, turning lessons into immersive experiences.

I’ve always believed in the power of creativity and technology to unlock new pathways for engagement. Becoming a Canvassador feels like a perfect next chapter. Combining design, pedagogy, and digital storytelling into one vibrant journey.

A huge thank you to Jade for approaching me about this opportunity. I’m really excited to get started and to give back to the community that’s already given me so much inspiration.

I hope this will be an opportunity to continuing sharing the ideas I’ve had about using Canva and to learn from others.

This week, I attended the Teach First ‘AI in Education’ summit.

I had the privilege of joining Teach First, other educators, industry experts, and policy leaders to explore how we can use AI within education.

The highlights for me included:

- Gaining insights into how TeachMateAI is being used in practice and its potential to support teachers, in some wonderful talks and Demo’s by Jon Chippindall.

- An introduction to the ‘AI Safety’ resources as part of the Raspberry Pi Foundations ‘Experience AI’ curriculum, led by Rachel Arthur.

- Hearing Professor Rose Luckin give her thoughts on the evolving AI landscape post release-of-ChatGPT and what it means for schools.

What really struck me was hearing about how the government / DfE are trying to build (or support the building of) tools to help teachers with their workload and within the classroom, during the talks and panels by policy leaders.

However, as with an event like this, the best part was getting to meet more people and widen my network.

Huge thanks to Teach First and all the contributors for creating this event to have these exciting conversations.