Combining shapes to create placeholders

We use placeholders in Keynote and Pages all the time. They move the cognitive load away from app switching and place it on taking or choosing just the right image for the task that students are working on. Especially for our younger students this can save lots of time and frustration. I try to use the same image each time as a placeholder so that students have a consistent visual cue, prompting them to insert an image or video.

This video shows how to create a basic placeholder, and then how to combine shapes and turn them into an image to create a placeholder that includes instructions.