Digital poster projects are a fantastic way to help language learners build essential skills beyond just language acquisition. Creating a digital poster enables students to research, design, and present information in visually appealing and interactive ways. It also strengthens their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, particularly when using multimedia elements. Today’s digital tools make it easy for students to create posters that go beyond text and images, incorporating videos, audio, fonts, stickers, animations, and more. Here are nine recommended tools to bring creativity and learning to the forefront of the TESOL classroom.
1. Canva
Canva is a versatile, user-friendly design tool that offers a wide variety of templates specifically for posters, social media, presentations, and more. Students can choose from countless graphics, fonts, stickers, and images to bring their poster ideas to life. Canva’s drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for students to personalize their work without needing advanced design skills.
Best for: Creating visually rich posters with text, images, and icons.
Teaching Tip: Encourage students to use Canva’s audio and video features to add depth to their projects, like embedding a short spoken summary or relevant YouTube video.
2. Adobe Spark
Adobe Spark allows students to create visually appealing posters with animations, videos, and audio narration. It’s perfect for projects where students want to present their work interactively. Adobe Spark’s professional look makes it ideal for higher-level language learners who want to showcase their creativity.
Best for: High-quality posters with multimedia elements and animations.
Teaching Tip: Assign students to create a poster with animated text and transitions to make their project visually dynamic and engaging.
3. ThingLink
ThingLink is a powerful tool that enables students to create interactive images with embedded links, videos, text, and audio. Students can use an image as a base, then add “hotspots” that reveal additional content when clicked. It’s perfect for presentations where students want to incorporate multiple layers of information.
Best for: Interactive posters with clickable elements for more in-depth exploration.
Teaching Tip: Have students create a digital “museum exhibit” poster where they add hotspots to explain various aspects of a topic in detail.
4. Piktochart
Piktochart is known for its infographic-style designs, but it’s also ideal for creating informative posters. With a library of icons, images, and templates, Piktochart helps students convey complex information visually. This tool is excellent for language learners creating posters with a strong focus on data or structured information.
Best for: Infographic-style posters with charts, graphs, and data visualization.
Teaching Tip: Ask students to create a poster that compares different countries, cultural practices, or statistics using Piktochart’s chart and graph tools.
5. Glogster
Glogster is a multimedia platform where students can create “glogs,” or graphic blogs, that combine text, audio, video, and images on a single canvas. This tool is particularly effective for language learners who benefit from visually connecting ideas and presenting information in various formats.
Best for: Multimedia posters with interactive elements and embedded videos.
Teaching Tip: Encourage students to include audio recordings of their own voice explaining the poster, enhancing their speaking and pronunciation skills.
6. Postermywall
Postermywall provides an array of poster templates that are highly customizable with images, fonts, and colors. It also includes options for adding video clips and animations, making it a fun tool for students who want to create eye-catching posters.
Best for: Posters with animations and video clips for visual impact.
Teaching Tip: Assign a project where students add a video clip that complements the main theme of their poster, such as a clip about local customs in a cultural project.
7. Google Slides
Though traditionally used for presentations, Google Slides is a simple and effective tool for creating digital posters. The collaborative aspect of Google Slides makes it ideal for group projects, where multiple students can work on a poster together in real-time.
Best for: Collaborative poster projects with shared editing features.
Teaching Tip: Use Google Slides to assign collaborative posters where each student contributes a different section, such as vocabulary, cultural context, or images.
8. Prezi
Prezi is known for its zooming presentation style, but it’s also an excellent tool for creating posters that feel immersive. Students can use Prezi’s zoom-in and zoom-out feature to navigate through sections of their poster, making it highly interactive and engaging.
Best for: Interactive posters with a zoom-in feature for different sections.
Teaching Tip: Assign a “Zoom-In Cultural Poster,” where students focus on various aspects of a country or topic, zooming into each detail to give a thorough presentation.
9. Smore
Smore is a flyer and poster creation tool that is easy to use and designed to look like an online magazine or newsletter. Students can add various multimedia elements, from images and text to videos and audio. Smore also has a built-in sharing feature, making it easy for students to publish their work and share it digitally.
Best for: Online posters with a newsletter-style layout.
Teaching Tip: Have students create a “Monthly English Highlights” poster where they present vocabulary, idioms, or cultural facts they learned that month, allowing them to reinforce key content.
The Benefits of Digital Poster Projects in Language Learning
Digital posters do more than display information; they foster creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. By integrating visuals, multimedia, and interactive features, language learners develop valuable skills in a hands-on, enjoyable way. Digital posters also encourage public speaking when students present their projects, helping them build confidence and fluency in English.
Fun Fact: Did you know that visual learning can increase retention by up to 50%? Digital posters are a great way to engage visual learners and make complex information more digestible.
Final Thoughts: Making Learning Visual and Engaging
Incorporating digital posters into your TESOL classroom brings excitement and variety, while allowing students to explore their creative potential. From interactive images to video clips and animated elements, digital poster projects give students a memorable way to express their learning and connect with the material.
Try these tools in your next project, and watch your students’ creativity and language skills come to life in vivid, interactive posters!
Recommended Tools and Apps
- EduBuncee is a free poster web tool and iOS app with templates, stickers, ESL lesson plans, and allows embedding video and podcasts.
- Canva is a free web tool and app for creating social media posters, infographics, digital poster projects and more.
- Piktochart is the easiest way to create infographics with clip art, templates, and more in their library.
- Infogr.am is an infographic creator with graphs and templates.
- Smore is a free web tool to create digital flyers and infographics.
- Tackk has templates for creating About Me posters and other digital poster projects.
- ThingLink is a free web tool and app for creating posters with hotspots (links, videos, images, and more).
- Biteslides is a free tool for creating digital posters and scrapbooks and safe for students.
