Chiara Torriani, Senior Instructor, Department of French & Italian

"Acquiring writing skills is a complex task. It takes time, patience, and practice. It is also, very often, a solitary work. I wanted to create a project that allowed the students in a writing class to work together on a shared goal. This is how the idea of a class newsletter was born. Together, the students chose the topic, edited each other's writing, and worked on the graphic design. 

I made the decision to use Canva after participating in an ALTEC workshop this summer. It seemed to be an easy-to-use tool that did not require a long training for myself or the students. First, as a class, we looked at the various newsletter templates and selected one. At that point, I was able to create a document and I invited the students to join in. Every student was responsible for the text and the design of a specific page, but they were also encouraged to help each other. To create coherence and unity we decided to use a color scheme, and the same font type. Also, I acted as editor to guarantee the consistency of the format and look. As a final touch, a picture of the class captured during the Zoom meeting was added on the last page of the newsletter, and everybody ‘signed’ under it. Then we relaxed, read the newsletter together and savored the feeling of elation that comes when a successful project is completed."

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