Learning AI

One of the first packages I bought into was Canva, the graphics app. I was impressed with the few graphics I managed to create and even more impressed with what other people were doing with it from their videos posted to YouTube. I did not, however, appreciate the full capabilities of the application. Until now…

I discovered 9 online training courses Canva provides, 7 of which lead to certification tests. Having completed all nine courses (and passed the tests to acheive my 7 certificates, I am proud to say), I now have my eyes opened to this incredible product. From social media templates and ease of resizng for differing platforms, presentation creation, image and video manipulation and editing, brand management, sharing and interaction with teams, and so much more. For example, I fed in a web site address and asked Canva’s AI to examine the site and produce a sales presentation for the site’s owner. The resulting presentation could then be shared as a pdf file, Powerpoint file, video or other options. Check out the resulting video here:

Next I fed Canva AI the following prompt:

“Create an OpenMaps experience of a tour of the ‘must-see’ locations in Vero Beach, Florida, USA, and include the best places to eat. Include ratings, brief descriptions, and visitor tips. User-friendly filters for dietary preferences, price ranges, and activity types. Make it look professional and minimal.”

https://verobeach.my.canva.site/vero-beach-tour-guide

The Canva classes are:

• Canva Visual Suite: https://www.canva.com/design-school/courses/meet-the-visual-suite
• Canva Essentials: https://www.canva.com/design-school/courses/canva-essentials
• Canva Work Smarter With AI: https://www.canva.com/design-school/courses/work-smarter-with-ai
• Canva Graphic Design Essentials: https://www.canva.com/design-school/courses/graphic-design-essentials
• Canva AI In The Classroom: https://www.canva.com/design-school/courses/ai-in-the-classroom
• Canva Presenting In Canva: https://www.canva.com/design-school/lessons/presenting-in-canva
• Canva Design Emails Worth Opening: https://www.canva.com/design-school/resources/email
• Canva For Work: https://www.canva.com/design-school/courses/canva-for-work
• Canva Marketing With Canva: https://www.canva.com/design-school/courses/marketing-with-canva

More AI courses are available from OpenAI and Google.

OpenAI Courses:

• ChatGPT Fundamentals
• Introducing GPT-5
• Prompting
• Personalize ChatGPT with custom instructions
• Image Generation with ChatGPT
• Market research with ChatGPT
• Deep Research
• ChatGPT for marketing
• ChatGPT for any role

Google Courses:

• Google AI Essentials Specialization
• Google Prompting Essentials
• Google Prompting Essentials Specialization